Exploring corporate sustainability integration into business activities. Experiences from 18 small and medium sized enterprises in the Netherlands

Although companies have shown a growing awareness of the importance of Corporate Sustainability (CS), integration of CS into their business activities is still problematic. Most of the CS research focuses on large corporations, with limited discussions of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Research on SMEs has shown that most CS activities have been developed in isolation, and have not yet been totally integrated into the business activities. This research aims to understand how SMEs integrate CS into their business activities. Eighteen SMEs were analysed. These SMEs were, on their explicit request, supported in enhancing the integration of CS into their business activities. The external change agents connected to this consultancy firm applied four CS integration tools, which was based on their own experience in supporting the integration of CS in companies. The data generated through the application of these tools gives this research a specific, external change agent perspective that contributes to the understanding of CS integration. Tables including the tool data of all companies were used to analyse all eighteen cases as well as to enable a cross case comparison. The data showed that a balance proved to be necessary between a physical and social focus in the SMEs' vision on CS, the CS integration activities, the conditions for the CS change agent and the CS assessment. The research also found that although companies in a more advanced CS growth stage have more management system certifications, the management system itself is not used to ensure CS integration.

[1]  S. Laforet.  A framework of organisational innovation and outcomes in SMEs , 2011 .

[2]  S. Hart.  Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World. , 1997 .

[3]  Dexter Dunphy,et al.  Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability: A Guide for Leaders and Change Agents of the Future , 2002 .

[4]  David M. McCutcheon,et al.  Conducting case study research in operations management , 1993 .

[5]  C. Searcy.  Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: A Review and Research Agenda , 2012 .

[6]  C. Cassell,et al.  Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research , 2004 .

[7]  J. Cramer,et al.  Governance through learning: making corporate social responsibility in Dutch industry effective from a sustainable development perspective , 2004 .

[8]  Thomas Dyllick,et al.  Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability , 2002 .

[9]  A. Mac.  When firms make sense of environmental agendas of society , 2002 .

[10]  H. Bradbury,et al.  Handbook of action research : participative inquiry and practice , 2001 .

[11]  M. Asif,et al.  An integrated management systems approach to corporate sustainability , 2011 .

[12]  Antonio Tencati,et al.  Sustainability and Stakeholder Management: the Need for New Corporate Performance Evaluation and Reporting Systems , 2006 .

[13]  M. Epstein,et al.  Sustainability in Action: Identifying and Measuring the Key Performance Drivers , 2001 .

[14]  Adam Lindgreen,et al.  Designing and Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility: An Integrative Framework Grounded in Theory and Practice , 2009 .

[15]  E. Hansen,et al.  Sustainability-Oriented Innovation of SMEs: A Systematic Review , 2014 .

[16]  Rupert J. Baumgartner,et al.  Organizational culture and leadership: Preconditions for the development of a sustainable corporation , 2009 .

[17]  Cory Searcy,et al.  Measuring Enterprise Sustainability , 2016 .

[18]  R. Lozano.  Creativity and Organizational Learning as Means to Foster Sustainability , 2014 .

[19]  Nigel Roome,et al.  Sustainable business: learning – action networks as organizational assets , 1999 .

[20]  Howard Thomas,et al.  Theories of the Firm - Implications for Strategy Research , 1994 .

[21]  Jean-Pascal Gond,et al.  Configuring management control systems: Theorizing the integration of strategy and sustainability , 2012 .

[22]  Matthew Hannon,et al.  Co-evolution of innovative business models and sustainability transitions: The case of the Energy Service Company (ESCo) model and the UK energy system , 2012 .

[23]  S. Schaltegger,et al.  The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard – linking sustainability management to business strategy , 2002 .

[24]  R. Yin.  Validity and generalization in future case study evaluations , 2013 .

[25]  Adisa Azapagic,et al.  SYSTEMS APPROACH TO CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY A General Management Framework , 2003 .

[26]  Martina K. Linnenluecke,et al.  Subcultures and sustainability practices: The impact on understanding corporate sustainability , 2009 .

[27]  Eric Abrahamson,et al.  CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE AND STRATEGIC SHIFTS: THE ROLE OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CHANGE ADVOCATES* , 1991 .

[28]  S. Schaltegger,et al.  Two Decades of Sustainability Management Tools for SMEs: How Far Have We Come?* , 2016 .

[29]  R. Baumgartner.  Managing Corporate Sustainability and CSR: A Conceptual Framework Combining Values, Strategies and Instruments Contributing to Sustainable Development , 2014 .

[30]  Johan Graafland,et al.  Strategies and Instruments for Organising CSR by Small and Large Businesses in the Netherlands , 2003 .

[31]  M. Linnenluecke,et al.  Firms and sustainability: Mapping the intellectual origins and structure of the corporate sustainability field , 2013 .

[32]  Ye Cai,et al.  Doing Well While Doing Bad? CSR in Controversial Industry Sectors , 2012 .

[33]  H. Jenkins.  Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility , 2006 .

[34]  R. Pojasek.  Implementing a sustainability management system , 2012 .

[35]  Ben Shepherd,et al.  Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Global Markets: A Differential Approach for Services? , 2014 .

[36]  Marcel van Marrewijk,et al.  Multiple Levels of Corporate Sustainability , 2003 .

[37]  John Elkington,et al.  Partnerships from cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st‐century business , 1998 .

[38]  M. Linnenluecke,et al.  Corporate sustainability and organizational culture , 2010 .

[39]  Rodrigo Lozano,et al.  Towards better embedding sustainability into companies’ systems: an analysis of voluntary corporate initiatives , 2012 .

[40]  Maria Gianni,et al.  Management systems integration: lessons from an abandonment case , 2015 .

[41]  F. Székely,et al.  Responsible Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility:: Metrics for Sustainable Performance , 2005 .

[42]  Kathleen M. Eisenhardt,et al.  Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges , 2007 .

[43]  Danny Samson,et al.  Effective case research in operations management: a process perspective , 2002 .

[44]  S. Zeng,et al.  ISO and OHSAS certifications , 2013 .

[45]  Marc J. Epstein,et al.  Solving the sustainability implementation challenge , 2010 .

[46]  René Schmidpeter,et al.  SMEs, Social Capital and the Common Good , 2003 .

[47]  R. Jeurissen,et al.  FAMILY OWNERSHIP, INNOVATION AND OTHER CONTEXT VARIABLES AS DETERMINANTS OF SUSTAINABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SMES: AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH STUDY (INTERACTIVE PAPER) , 2010 .

[48]  K. Sriramesh,et al.  Corporate Social Responsibility: Perceptions and practices among SMEs in Colombia , 2014 .

[49]  Germán Arana,et al.  Alternative models for environmental management in SMEs: the case of Ekoscan vs. ISO 14001 ☆ , 2010 .

[50]  Robin Holt,et al.  Knowledge, learning and small firm growth: A systematic review of the evidence , 2007 .

[51]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[52]  Jacqueline Cramer,et al.  Making sense of Corporate Social Responsibility: Exploring organizational processes and strategies , 2010 .

[53]  R. Lozano.  A Holistic Perspective on Corporate Sustainability Drivers , 2015 .

[54]  L. Harris,et al.  The Greening of Organization Culture: Managers View on the Depth, Degree and Diffusion of Change , 2002 .

[55]  M. Arnold.  Stakeholder Dialogues for Sustaining Cultural Change , 2010 .

[56]  Bernd Siebenhüner,et al.  Organizational learning to manage sustainable development , 2007 .

[57]  D. Jamali,et al.  Insights into triple bottom line integration from a learning organization perspective , 2006, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[58]  R. Lozano.  Are Companies Planning their Organisational Changes for Corporate Sustainability? An Analysis of Three Case Studies on Resistance to Change and their Strategies to Overcome it , 2013 .

[59]  Ulrich Steger,et al.  The Business Case for Corporate Sustainability:: Literature Review and Research Options , 2005 .

[60]  Haitao Yin,et al.  Why Do Standardized ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Lead to Heterogeneous Environmental Outcomes? , 2008 .

[61]  P. Pontrandolfo,et al.  Investigating corporate social responsibility in supply chains: a SME perspective , 2008 .

[62]  Frank Figge,et al.  Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework , 2014 .

[63]  M. Uhl‐Bien,et al.  Leadership in complex organizations , 2001 .

[64]  R. Baumgartner,et al.  Corporate sustainability strategies: sustainability profiles and maturity levels , 2010 .

[65]  Dionysis Skarmeas,et al.  When consumers doubt, Watch out! The role of CSR skepticism , 2013 .

[66]  Jacqueline Cramer,et al.  Company learning about corporate social responsibility , 2005 .

[67]  Andrea Martínez,et al.  A methodology for supporting strategy implementation based on the VSM: A case study in a Latin-American multi-national , 2015, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[68]  Chad West,et al.  Action Research as a Professional Development Activity , 2011 .

[69]  S. L. Manring,et al.  Strategy development in small and medium sized enterprises for sustainability and increased value creation , 2009 .

[70]  Ruediger Kuehr,et al.  Strategic sustainable development — selection, design and synergies of applied tools , 2002 .

[71]  S. Benn,et al.  Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability , 2014 .

[72]  A. Price,et al.  Managing for sustainability: findings from four company case studies in the UK precast concrete industry , 2010 .

[73]  Marc J. Epstein,et al.  Identification and Use of Sustainability Performance Measures in Decision-Making , 2010 .

[74]  Matthew B. Miles,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook , 1994 .