Title: The impact of sustainable governance and practices on business performance: an empirical investigation of global firms

Authors: Pratim Datta; Venugopal Gopalakrishna-Remani; Karoly Bozan

Addresses: College of Business, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA ' The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd, BUS 120, Tyler, Texas 75799, USA ' College of Business, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA

Abstract: In a globally-competitive market, can sustainable policies and operations sustain business performance? Considering the current substantial focus on sustainable practices in companies around the world, this study investigates the effects of sustainable practices on overall business performance. This research forwards a hypothesised framework that traces interlinkages between sustainability governance, supply chain (SC) operations and business performance followed by a time-lagged empirical investigation using archival data for Fortune-100 global environmentally-sustainable companies in line with World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) green productivity measures. The study surprisingly reveals the disparity in translating governance policies in sustainable SC practices and dismal direct effects of sustainable SC practices on business performance. However, lackluster direct effects are mitigated by institutionalised sustainable reporting transparency that positively impacts overall business performance, highlighting the imperative role of sustainability reporting as a prerequisite to financial performance in a global market.

Keywords: sustainability reporting; business performance; institutional theory; sustainable governance; sustainable practices; sustainable development; firm performance; global firms; supply chain management; SCM; supply chain operations; green productivity measures; reporting transparency; financial performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2015.069912

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2015 Vol.7 No.2, pp.97 - 120

Published online: 16 Jun 2015 *

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