Umut Uzar, Ömer Faruk Kömürcüoğlu, Elif Duygu Kömürcüoğlu
This study seeks to offer fresh evidence on the relationship between FinTech development and environmental sustainability. Traditional approaches that measure welfare solely through economic indicators often overlook environmental costs, underscoring the need for a more comprehensive and inclusive evaluation framework. Accordingly, this work examines the outcome of FinTech on environmental degradation using a panel dataset covering 20 countries from 2012 to 2022. Two distinct environmental indicators—CO₂ emissions and ecological footprint—are employed to ensure a robust assessment. Additionally, income level, total energy consumption and renewable energy usage are incorporated into the model as control variables. The analysis is based on the method of moments quantile regression, while the robustness of the outcomes is verified through the Driscoll–Kraay estimator. Causal relationships are further explored using the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test. The research's original contribution lies in the construction of an innovative FinTech index focused on payment services, enabling a nuanced analysis of FinTech's multidimensional structure within an environmental context. The study shows that FinTech has the capacity to improve environmental performance, emphasizing a potential alignment between digital finance and ecological protection. Furthermore, the results indicate that income level and total energy consumption exacerbate environmental pressure, whereas the use of renewable energy contributes to its mitigation. These outcomes provide crucial insights for decision‐makers interested in advancing environmentally sustainable financial policies.
{"title":"The Impact of FinTech on Environmental Sustainability: Empirical Evidence Based on a Novel FinTech Index","authors":"Umut Uzar, Ömer Faruk Kömürcüoğlu, Elif Duygu Kömürcüoğlu","doi":"10.1002/bse.70546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70546","url":null,"abstract":"This study seeks to offer fresh evidence on the relationship between FinTech development and environmental sustainability. Traditional approaches that measure welfare solely through economic indicators often overlook environmental costs, underscoring the need for a more comprehensive and inclusive evaluation framework. Accordingly, this work examines the outcome of FinTech on environmental degradation using a panel dataset covering 20 countries from 2012 to 2022. Two distinct environmental indicators—CO₂ emissions and ecological footprint—are employed to ensure a robust assessment. Additionally, income level, total energy consumption and renewable energy usage are incorporated into the model as control variables. The analysis is based on the method of moments quantile regression, while the robustness of the outcomes is verified through the Driscoll–Kraay estimator. Causal relationships are further explored using the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test. The research's original contribution lies in the construction of an innovative FinTech index focused on payment services, enabling a nuanced analysis of FinTech's multidimensional structure within an environmental context. The study shows that FinTech has the capacity to improve environmental performance, emphasizing a potential alignment between digital finance and ecological protection. Furthermore, the results indicate that income level and total energy consumption exacerbate environmental pressure, whereas the use of renewable energy contributes to its mitigation. These outcomes provide crucial insights for decision‐makers interested in advancing environmentally sustainable financial policies.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145955004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
As global industries confront escalating environmental pressures, translating corporate sustainability ambitions into measurable circular outcomes has become increasingly essential. This study investigates how firm‐level sustainability targets (FST) drive the adoption of circular business strategies (CBS) among manufacturing firms in BRICS countries, where rapid industrialization intersects with institutional diversity and sustainability constraints. Grounded in the resource‐based view and strategic fit theory, the study proposes an integrated framework in which eco‐innovation mediates, and sustainable governance moderates, the FST–CBS relationship. Using a panel dataset of 789 listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2023, the study applies a dynamic panel generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation with additional instrumental variables to address potential endogeneity and enhance the robustness of the results. The findings reveal that FST significantly enhances circular adoption but follows a nonlinear pattern, indicating an optimal threshold beyond which excessive targets may strain resources and reduce strategic effectiveness. Eco‐innovation emerges as a key mechanism translating sustainability intent into operational circular practices, while strong governance further amplifies this effect. Heterogeneity analyses across industries, countries, and ownership structures reveal that the sustainability–circularity nexus is shaped by contextual and institutional factors. The study contributes novel empirical evidence on how strategic sustainability alignment and governance capabilities jointly determine the effectiveness of circular transformation. It offers actionable insights, urging firms to balance ambition with capacity and policymakers to strengthen ESG disclosure, incentivize innovation, and embed governance reforms that foster credible and scalable circular transitions within and beyond the BRICS economies.
{"title":"Pathways to Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Integrating Firm‐Level Sustainability Targets, Eco‐Innovation, and Sustainable Governance for Circular Business Transformation","authors":"Abednego Osei, Joseph Owusu Amoah","doi":"10.1002/bse.70531","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70531","url":null,"abstract":"As global industries confront escalating environmental pressures, translating corporate sustainability ambitions into measurable circular outcomes has become increasingly essential. This study investigates how firm‐level sustainability targets (FST) drive the adoption of circular business strategies (CBS) among manufacturing firms in BRICS countries, where rapid industrialization intersects with institutional diversity and sustainability constraints. Grounded in the resource‐based view and strategic fit theory, the study proposes an integrated framework in which eco‐innovation mediates, and sustainable governance moderates, the FST–CBS relationship. Using a panel dataset of 789 listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2023, the study applies a dynamic panel generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation with additional instrumental variables to address potential endogeneity and enhance the robustness of the results. The findings reveal that FST significantly enhances circular adoption but follows a nonlinear pattern, indicating an optimal threshold beyond which excessive targets may strain resources and reduce strategic effectiveness. Eco‐innovation emerges as a key mechanism translating sustainability intent into operational circular practices, while strong governance further amplifies this effect. Heterogeneity analyses across industries, countries, and ownership structures reveal that the sustainability–circularity nexus is shaped by contextual and institutional factors. The study contributes novel empirical evidence on how strategic sustainability alignment and governance capabilities jointly determine the effectiveness of circular transformation. It offers actionable insights, urging firms to balance ambition with capacity and policymakers to strengthen ESG disclosure, incentivize innovation, and embed governance reforms that foster credible and scalable circular transitions within and beyond the BRICS economies.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145955005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study investigates the associations between green human resource management (GHRM) practices and employees' eco‐friendly behavior (EEFB) within hospitality organizations. Drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and self‐determination theory (SDT), the research empirically tests a framework that incorporates organizational identification and environmental consciousness as parallel mediators and supervisory green support (SGS) as a contextual moderator. Data were collected from 385 hotel employees using a two‐wave time‐lagged survey design, and the model was analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM). The findings indicate that GHRM practices are positively associated with organizational identification and environmental consciousness. Among the mediating mechanisms, organizational identification significantly mediates the association between GHRM practices and eco‐friendly behavior, whereas environmental consciousness does not significantly mediate behavioral outcomes, consistent with the well‐documented gap between environmental attitudes and enacted behaviors in organizational settings. Furthermore, SGS exhibits a statistically significant moderation effect that attenuates the GHRM–EEFB association, indicating that higher levels of SGS are associated with a weaker positive link between formal GHRM practices and employees' discretionary eco‐friendly actions. Interpreted through SDT, this pattern is consistent with contexts in which supervisory “support” may be enacted or perceived as controlling rather than autonomy‐supportive, thereby dampening intrinsic motivation and weakening the behavioral impact of GHRM. Overall, the results highlight the greater behavioral salience of identity‐based mechanisms over awareness‐based mechanisms and underscore the importance of the perceived quality of supervisory enactment in shaping how organizational green signals translate into EEFB in service contexts.
{"title":"The Association Between Green HRM Practices and Employees' Eco‐Friendly Behavior","authors":"Erdem Baydeniz, Beyza Erer, Cemal Iyem","doi":"10.1002/bse.70532","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70532","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the associations between green human resource management (GHRM) practices and employees' eco‐friendly behavior (EEFB) within hospitality organizations. Drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and self‐determination theory (SDT), the research empirically tests a framework that incorporates organizational identification and environmental consciousness as parallel mediators and supervisory green support (SGS) as a contextual moderator. Data were collected from 385 hotel employees using a two‐wave time‐lagged survey design, and the model was analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM). The findings indicate that GHRM practices are positively associated with organizational identification and environmental consciousness. Among the mediating mechanisms, organizational identification significantly mediates the association between GHRM practices and eco‐friendly behavior, whereas environmental consciousness does not significantly mediate behavioral outcomes, consistent with the well‐documented gap between environmental attitudes and enacted behaviors in organizational settings. Furthermore, SGS exhibits a statistically significant moderation effect that attenuates the GHRM–EEFB association, indicating that higher levels of SGS are associated with a weaker positive link between formal GHRM practices and employees' discretionary eco‐friendly actions. Interpreted through SDT, this pattern is consistent with contexts in which supervisory “support” may be enacted or perceived as controlling rather than autonomy‐supportive, thereby dampening intrinsic motivation and weakening the behavioral impact of GHRM. Overall, the results highlight the greater behavioral salience of identity‐based mechanisms over awareness‐based mechanisms and underscore the importance of the perceived quality of supervisory enactment in shaping how organizational green signals translate into EEFB in service contexts.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145955006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thi Thuy Trang Nguyen, Eric Owusu Boahen, Cuong Nguyen
While prior studies have investigated climate risks in supply chains, customer ESG pressures, and shared climate exposure, this paper is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to provide direct empirical evidence on the relationship between climate change risks and firms' customer concentration. We argue that firms mitigate the financial impacts of climate change risks by reducing their dependence on a few major customers, thereby decreasing customer concentration. Analyzing a sample of US‐listed firms, we find a negative link between climate change risks and customer concentration. A series of endogeneity and robustness tests, including entropy balancing and instrumental variable regressions, suggest that the relationship is more likely to be causal, with climate change risks driving customer concentration. Additional analyses provide collaborating evidence that the impact of climate change risks on customer concentration is more pronounced for (i) firms with greater corporate social responsibility performance, (ii) firms with greater corporate innovation, (iii) firms with higher fixed asset intensity, and (iv) firms not operating in environmentally sensitive industries. Overall, we document the importance of addressing climate change risks, thus informing policy decision making for firms operating in regions with high climate change risks.
{"title":"Climate Change Risks and Customer Concentration: Evidence From US‐Listed Firms","authors":"Thi Thuy Trang Nguyen, Eric Owusu Boahen, Cuong Nguyen","doi":"10.1002/bse.70495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70495","url":null,"abstract":"While prior studies have investigated climate risks in supply chains, customer ESG pressures, and shared climate exposure, this paper is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to provide direct empirical evidence on the relationship between climate change risks and firms' customer concentration. We argue that firms mitigate the financial impacts of climate change risks by reducing their dependence on a few major customers, thereby decreasing customer concentration. Analyzing a sample of US‐listed firms, we find a negative link between climate change risks and customer concentration. A series of endogeneity and robustness tests, including entropy balancing and instrumental variable regressions, suggest that the relationship is more likely to be causal, with climate change risks driving customer concentration. Additional analyses provide collaborating evidence that the impact of climate change risks on customer concentration is more pronounced for (i) firms with greater corporate social responsibility performance, (ii) firms with greater corporate innovation, (iii) firms with higher fixed asset intensity, and (iv) firms not operating in environmentally sensitive industries. Overall, we document the importance of addressing climate change risks, thus informing policy decision making for firms operating in regions with high climate change risks.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145937973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dario Cottafava, Francesco Marengo, Giuseppe Emiliano Di Martino, Laura Corazza
The growing urgency of climate change demands educational programs capable of triggering rapid and stable transformative actions, as well as impact accounting protocols capable of assessing their long‐term effects. This study, thus, introduces a novel social impact accounting methodological framework for sustainability education for climate action (SECA)— accounting for the loops —based on system dynamics. This research applies the novel framework to a participatory case study of a university‐led community garden to identify leverage points that may affect a SECA educational activity. It integrates semi‐structured interviews with participants and stakeholders, qualitative inductive coding to identify relevant variables, and a causal loop diagram based on the identified variables to point out main leverage points that can amplify the positive impacts. Findings from the case study reveal that a sense of belonging and personal recognition activate reinforcing loops, while, counterintuitively, project size and community autonomy trigger balancing loops, increasing bureaucratic obstacles and required institutional support, which negatively affect participant motivation. The proposed approach offers both conceptual and methodological advancements for evaluating and designing sustainable community programs.
{"title":"From Impact Accounting to Accounting for the Loops: Activating Sustainable Communities for Climate Action","authors":"Dario Cottafava, Francesco Marengo, Giuseppe Emiliano Di Martino, Laura Corazza","doi":"10.1002/bse.70513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70513","url":null,"abstract":"The growing urgency of climate change demands educational programs capable of triggering rapid and stable transformative actions, as well as impact accounting protocols capable of assessing their long‐term effects. This study, thus, introduces a novel social impact accounting methodological framework for sustainability education for climate action (SECA)— <jats:italic>accounting for the loops</jats:italic> —based on system dynamics. This research applies the novel framework to a participatory case study of a university‐led community garden to identify leverage points that may affect a SECA educational activity. It integrates semi‐structured interviews with participants and stakeholders, qualitative inductive coding to identify relevant variables, and a causal loop diagram based on the identified variables to point out main leverage points that can amplify the positive impacts. Findings from the case study reveal that a sense of belonging and personal recognition activate reinforcing loops, while, counterintuitively, project size and community autonomy trigger balancing loops, increasing bureaucratic obstacles and required institutional support, which negatively affect participant motivation. The proposed approach offers both conceptual and methodological advancements for evaluating and designing sustainable community programs.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145937974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Surajit Bag, Gautam Srivastava, Susmi Routray, Andrea Chiarini
Despite growing enthusiasm for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in sustainability management, it remains unclear how such technologies translate vast ESG information into meaningful environmental outcomes. This study addresses this gap by investigating how ESG sensemaking capability mediates the relationship between GenAI integration and environmental performance, analyzing how sustainability information overload moderates the relationship between technological adoption and ESG sensemaking, and exploring the influence of regulatory uncertainty on the link between ESG sensemaking and environmental performance. Drawing upon organizational information processing theory (OIPT), the study develops and tests a conceptual framework using data collected from 610 firms. The results indicate that GenAI integration enhances environmental performance both directly and indirectly through improved ESG sensemaking. However, when sustainability‐related information becomes excessive, this positive effect weakens. In contrast, regulatory uncertainty amplifies the beneficial relationship between ESG sensemaking and environmental outcomes. These findings highlight that technology adoption alone does not guarantee sustainability gains; organizational interpretive capacity is important. This study extends OIPT by introducing ESG sensemaking capability as a distinct interpretive mechanism that bridges information‐processing fit and sustainability outcomes, distinguishing it from absorptive and dynamic capabilities. In addition to empirical evidence, we validate our findings through triangulation with real‐world use cases.
{"title":"Generative AI, ESG Sensemaking, and Environmental Performance: an OIPT Perspective","authors":"Surajit Bag, Gautam Srivastava, Susmi Routray, Andrea Chiarini","doi":"10.1002/bse.70520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70520","url":null,"abstract":"Despite growing enthusiasm for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in sustainability management, it remains unclear how such technologies translate vast ESG information into meaningful environmental outcomes. This study addresses this gap by investigating how ESG sensemaking capability mediates the relationship between GenAI integration and environmental performance, analyzing how sustainability information overload moderates the relationship between technological adoption and ESG sensemaking, and exploring the influence of regulatory uncertainty on the link between ESG sensemaking and environmental performance. Drawing upon organizational information processing theory (OIPT), the study develops and tests a conceptual framework using data collected from 610 firms. The results indicate that GenAI integration enhances environmental performance both directly and indirectly through improved ESG sensemaking. However, when sustainability‐related information becomes excessive, this positive effect weakens. In contrast, regulatory uncertainty amplifies the beneficial relationship between ESG sensemaking and environmental outcomes. These findings highlight that technology adoption alone does not guarantee sustainability gains; organizational interpretive capacity is important. This study extends OIPT by introducing ESG sensemaking capability as a distinct interpretive mechanism that bridges information‐processing fit and sustainability outcomes, distinguishing it from absorptive and dynamic capabilities. In addition to empirical evidence, we validate our findings through triangulation with real‐world use cases.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145938017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Companies are searching for ways to act sustainably while creating new business models focused on providing services via sustainable product–service systems (S.PSS). Yet, a considerable research gap persists regarding how B2B customers perceive and are willing to pay a price premium for S.PSS, influenced by operational and related costs. Utilizing structural equation modeling on data from 235 managers, this study finds that perceived benefits and supplier switching costs for S.PSS adoption indirectly affect customers' willingness to pay a premium, with customer attitudes serving as a mediator. Notably, corporate sustainability orientation affects attitudes solely through the perceived benefits of S.PSS. The results also confirm the direct effect of customer sustainability orientation on perceived benefits and attitude's direct effect on willingness to pay a price premium. The present study seeks to offer implications for both researchers and practitioners by advancing sustainability, servitization, and behavioral reasoning theory literature.
{"title":"Investigating Price Premiums for Sustainable Product–Service Systems: A Behavioral Reasoning Perspective on the Perceived Benefits and Switching Costs","authors":"Rıfgı Buğra Bağcı","doi":"10.1002/bse.70540","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70540","url":null,"abstract":"Companies are searching for ways to act sustainably while creating new business models focused on providing services via sustainable product–service systems (S.PSS). Yet, a considerable research gap persists regarding how B2B customers perceive and are willing to pay a price premium for S.PSS, influenced by operational and related costs. Utilizing structural equation modeling on data from 235 managers, this study finds that perceived benefits and supplier switching costs for S.PSS adoption indirectly affect customers' willingness to pay a premium, with customer attitudes serving as a mediator. Notably, corporate sustainability orientation affects attitudes solely through the perceived benefits of S.PSS. The results also confirm the direct effect of customer sustainability orientation on perceived benefits and attitude's direct effect on willingness to pay a price premium. The present study seeks to offer implications for both researchers and practitioners by advancing sustainability, servitization, and behavioral reasoning theory literature.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145938018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ashutosh Singh, Rsha Alghafes, Judit Petra Koltai, Sushant Kumar Vishnoi
Generative artificial intelligence is playing a significant role in the transformation of digital ecosystems by reinventing the processes of content generation, process automation, product innovation and customer experience. At the same time that these technologies are becoming more integrated into routine operations, the focus has shifted to the ethical and environmental consequences associated with their widespread application. An investigation of the operational sustainability associated with the generative artificial intelligence systems would be crucial, as it would provide information about how these systems match ideals such as efficiency, circularity and environmental responsibility. We explore how users understand and engage with sustainability principles, specifically lean, circular and green operational frameworks within generative artificial intelligence environments. We collect user reviews of 72 recently launched generative AI platforms from 2022 to 2024 and utilise advanced machine learning methods, including Word2Vec modelling, sentiment and regression analysis, to reveal how text datasets reflect customer perceptions. We find that the lean theme is the most prominent feature of operational sustainability, with the highest sentiment score, followed by the green and circular themes. Our findings show that there is a growing respect among the general public for artificial intelligence systems that exhibit responsible and efficient design.
{"title":"Harnessing Generative AI for Sustainable Supply Chains: Lean, Circular and Green Perspectives","authors":"Ashutosh Singh, Rsha Alghafes, Judit Petra Koltai, Sushant Kumar Vishnoi","doi":"10.1002/bse.70515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70515","url":null,"abstract":"Generative artificial intelligence is playing a significant role in the transformation of digital ecosystems by reinventing the processes of content generation, process automation, product innovation and customer experience. At the same time that these technologies are becoming more integrated into routine operations, the focus has shifted to the ethical and environmental consequences associated with their widespread application. An investigation of the operational sustainability associated with the generative artificial intelligence systems would be crucial, as it would provide information about how these systems match ideals such as efficiency, circularity and environmental responsibility. We explore how users understand and engage with sustainability principles, specifically lean, circular and green operational frameworks within generative artificial intelligence environments. We collect user reviews of 72 recently launched generative AI platforms from 2022 to 2024 and utilise advanced machine learning methods, including Word2Vec modelling, sentiment and regression analysis, to reveal how text datasets reflect customer perceptions. We find that the lean theme is the most prominent feature of operational sustainability, with the highest sentiment score, followed by the green and circular themes. Our findings show that there is a growing respect among the general public for artificial intelligence systems that exhibit responsible and efficient design.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"182 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145937544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Krishnendu Saha, Narain Gupta, Deniz E. Yoruk, Vikas Kumar
The transition to a circular economy (CE) in the textile and clothing (TC) industry is frequently attributed to sustainability‐oriented innovation (SOI), yet empirical understanding of the systemic conditions under which SOI enables CE remains underdeveloped. This study addresses the gap by offering a novel, context‐specific analysis of how consumer behaviour and institutional quality shape the effectiveness of SOI in a high‐consumption, developed economy context. Drawing on survey data from 280 UK‐based textile and clothing firms and employing rigorous partial least squares‐structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM), this study provides robust evidence that SOI has a significant positive influence on circular economy transitions (CET). However, this effect is contingent: it is strengthened by consumer willingness to buy and weakened by institutional voids. Notably, regulatory compliance, often assumed to drive sustainability, does not significantly moderate the relationship between the SOI and CET. These findings challenge linear models of innovation diffusion and reinforce a more relational, system‐aware understanding of circular transitions. The study makes an original theoretical contribution by modelling SOI as a second‐order construct and CET as a multidimensional outcome. It offers actionable insights for firms and policymakers by exposing the limitations of compliance‐led strategies and calling for more integrated, behaviourally informed approaches to managing innovation for sustainability.
{"title":"Sustainability‐Oriented Innovation and Circular Economy Transitions: Evidence From the UK Textile and Clothing Industry","authors":"Krishnendu Saha, Narain Gupta, Deniz E. Yoruk, Vikas Kumar","doi":"10.1002/bse.70518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70518","url":null,"abstract":"The transition to a circular economy (CE) in the textile and clothing (TC) industry is frequently attributed to sustainability‐oriented innovation (SOI), yet empirical understanding of the systemic conditions under which SOI enables CE remains underdeveloped. This study addresses the gap by offering a novel, context‐specific analysis of how consumer behaviour and institutional quality shape the effectiveness of SOI in a high‐consumption, developed economy context. Drawing on survey data from 280 UK‐based textile and clothing firms and employing rigorous partial least squares‐structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM), this study provides robust evidence that SOI has a significant positive influence on circular economy transitions (CET). However, this effect is contingent: it is strengthened by consumer willingness to buy and weakened by institutional voids. Notably, regulatory compliance, often assumed to drive sustainability, does not significantly moderate the relationship between the SOI and CET. These findings challenge linear models of innovation diffusion and reinforce a more relational, system‐aware understanding of circular transitions. The study makes an original theoretical contribution by modelling SOI as a second‐order construct and CET as a multidimensional outcome. It offers actionable insights for firms and policymakers by exposing the limitations of compliance‐led strategies and calling for more integrated, behaviourally informed approaches to managing innovation for sustainability.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Faisal Rasool, Marco Greco, Maria Chiara Di Guardo
Circular economy (CE) has become a crucial paradigm in sustainable business models, driving the shift from linear processes to closed‐loop systems. While CE practices focus on sustainability by eliminating waste and reusing resources, their role in fostering collaboration between firms and driving the adoption of digital technologies remains underexplored. Through qualitative analysis of expert interviews across various industries, this research uncovers how CE activities catalyse resource‐sharing, joint ventures and strategic alliances. Additionally, it is reported that integrating digital tools is crucial for the successful implementation of CE. Finally, the study reveals that regulations can both facilitate and hinder the adoption of CE practice, presenting a critical insight for policymakers. As a result, the findings highlight a synergistic relationship between CE practices, collaboration and digitalisation, providing valuable insights for firms, academia and policymakers aiming to achieve sustainability and improve firm performance through CE initiatives.
{"title":"How Do Circular Economy Practices Drive Interfirm Collaboration and Digitalisation?","authors":"Faisal Rasool, Marco Greco, Maria Chiara Di Guardo","doi":"10.1002/bse.70527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70527","url":null,"abstract":"Circular economy (CE) has become a crucial paradigm in sustainable business models, driving the shift from linear processes to closed‐loop systems. While CE practices focus on sustainability by eliminating waste and reusing resources, their role in fostering collaboration between firms and driving the adoption of digital technologies remains underexplored. Through qualitative analysis of expert interviews across various industries, this research uncovers how CE activities catalyse resource‐sharing, joint ventures and strategic alliances. Additionally, it is reported that integrating digital tools is crucial for the successful implementation of CE. Finally, the study reveals that regulations can both facilitate and hinder the adoption of CE practice, presenting a critical insight for policymakers. As a result, the findings highlight a synergistic relationship between CE practices, collaboration and digitalisation, providing valuable insights for firms, academia and policymakers aiming to achieve sustainability and improve firm performance through CE initiatives.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145937529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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