Review of extant research on the corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) link generally demonstrates a positive relationship. However, some arguments and empirical results have demonstrated otherwise. As a result, researchers have called for a contingency approach to this research stream, which moves beyond the basic question “does it pay to be green?” and instead asks “when does it pay to be green?” In answering this call, we provide a meta-analytic review of CEP–CFP literature in which we (...) identify potential moderators to the CEP–CFP relationship including environmental performance type (e.g., reactive vs. proactive performance), firm characteristics (e.g., large vs. small firms), and methodological issues (e.g., self-report measures). By analyzing these contingencies, this study attempts to provide a basis on which to draw conclusions regarding some inconsistencies and debates in the CEP–CFP research. Some of the results of the moderator analysis suggest that small firms benefit from environmental performance as much or more than large firms, US firms seem to benefit more than international counterparts, and environmental performance seems to have the strongest influence on market-measures of financial performance. (shrink)

Firms are increasingly integrating sustainability into their supply chain management (SCM) practices. The goal is to achieve sustainable flows of products, services, information and capital to provide maximum value to all corporate stakeholders. Prior research on SCM integration has insufficiently addressed sustainability. The objective of this research is to provide for a coherent and testable model of sustainable supply chain management integration (SSCMI). By drawing on four cases from the German manufacturing industry, we seek to identify the most important factors (...) that enable or impede the integration of sustainability into SCM. (shrink)

This study examines the relationship between corporate diversification strategy and the pollution activity of subsidiaries within the U.S. chemical industry using TRI data (EPA's Toxic Release Inventory). The subsidiaries of conglomerates were found to exhibit higher pollution levels for direct emissions than those of firms pursuing more related diversification strategies. Additionally, the subsidiaries of conglomerates exhibited more variance in overall pollution emissions compared to related diversified firms.

In a world of limited resources, it could be argued that companies that aspire to be good corporate citizens need to focus on making best use of resources. User value and environmental harm are created in supply chains and it could therefore be argued that company business ethics should be extended from the company to the entire value chain from the first supplier to the last customer. Starting with a delineation of the linkages between business ethics, corporate sustainability, and the (...) stakeholder concept, this article argues that supply chains generally have a great innovation potential for sustainable development. This potential could be highlighted with system thinking and the use of change management knowledge, promoting not only innovations within technology but also within organizational improvement. We propose process models and performance indicators as means of highlighting improvement potential and thus breaking down normative business ethics' requirements to an opertionalizable corporate level: Good business ethics should focus on maximizing stakeholder value in relation to harm done. Our results indicate that focusing on supply chains reveals previously unknown innovation potential that seems to be related to limited system understanding. The assumption is that increased visibility of opportunities will act as a driver for change. Results also highlight the importance of focusing on sustainability effects of the core business and clearly relating value created to harm done. (shrink)

Barriers to energy efficiency have been extensively discussed in the energy literature, but little is known about positive drivers. This paper investigates the role of top managers and more specifically of top operations managers on the adoption of energy-efficiency practices, based on 5779 energy efficiency recommendations made to 752 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms under the US Department of Energy's IACs Program, through which teams of students and faculty from engineering schools provide free energy assessments. Top operations managers possess knowledge (...) of production processes, for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. We find that their involvement significantly increases the adoption of energy-efficiency initiatives, while involvement of general top managers without an operational role has little or no effect. Involvement of top operations managers increases the percentage of recommended energy savings that are implemented by 13.4% on average and increases the probability of adoption of more disruptive individual recommendations related to process and equipment change from 31% to 44%. Our findings imply that, in order to advance energy efficiency in SMEs, it may be advisable to target managers who are sufficiently senior but still in a clearly operationally-focused position. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. (shrink)