Do corporate sustainability practices enhance organizational economic performance?
International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences
ISSN: 1756-669X
Article publication date: 15 June 2015
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to clarify the relation between sustainability practices and financial and market performance, and also, the role of non-financial performance outputs in this relation. Corporate sustainability is a growing area of importance for organizational development. Managing sustainability practices successfully is an imperative in achieving competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
Using empirical data based on a large-scale survey among organizations in five countries (i.e. Germany, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Spain), this paper utilized mediation analysis to estimate and test the mediated effects in a multiple mediator model. As such, the sizes of indirect effects of sustainability practices on financial and market performance through potential mediators were estimated.
Findings
The results showed that innovation performance exerts a mediation effect in the relation between sustainability practices and financial and market performance. The main conclusion is that a greater engagement in sustainability practices leads to an increased innovation performance, which in turn leads to financial and market performance.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first attempts to empirically validate sustainability exploitation and sustainability exploration practices. Besides, the analysis of the direct and indirect effects of sustainability exploration and sustainability exploitation practices on financial and market performance has not been yet addressed to a great extent.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals who contributed in many invaluable ways to the realization of the international survey: Beata Starzyńska, Poznan University of Technology; Carmen Jaca, Tecnun, University of Navarra; Jovan Filipović, University of Belgrade; Michael Brusch, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences; and Wieslaw Urban, Bialystok Technical University.
Citation
Maletic, M., Maletic, D., Dahlgaard, J., Dahlgaard-Park, S.M. and Gomišcek, B. (2015), "Do corporate sustainability practices enhance organizational economic performance?", International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, Vol. 7 No. 2/3, pp. 184-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-02-2015-0025
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited