ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL PRESSURES AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES A CASE OF STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

18 Pages : 196-212

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/ger.2023(VIII-I).18      10.31703/ger.2023(VIII-I).18      Published : Mar 2023

Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management

    Sustainability and environmental conservation have become key concerns for the developing and developed world, prompting firms to embrace sustainable business practices. The recent decade has witnessed a rise in environmental sustainability consciousness, with businesses and legislators incorporating environmental aspects into their strategic planning and practices. Strategic environmental management emphasizes the implementation of environmental management strategies through the incorporation of environmental concerns into business plans and decisions. This study proposes to investigate the isomorphic pressures that influence organizational behaviour and the significant determinants for addressing sustainable business practices. The qualitative research design is adopted and data is primarily collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study from four significant service sectors highlighted various certifications, business requirements, corporate image and corporate social responsibility as the driving forces behind strategic environmental management. Legislations from government the appeared as the most influential factor to assume responsibility for the environment and society by the firms.

    Strategic Environmental Management, Sustainability, Isomorphic Pressures, Institutional Theory, Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Regulations
    (1) Mahum Fatima
    M.Phil. Research Scholar, Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
    (2) Ghalib Ata
    Assistant Professor, Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
    (3) Aisha Rizwan
    Assistant Professor, Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
  • Abbasi, M. N. (2012). Sustainable Practices in Pakistani Manufacturing Supply Chains- Motives, Sharing Mechanism and Performance Outcome. Journal of Quality and Technology Management VIII(II), 51–74. http://www.documents.pk/file/Punjab%20University%20(PU)%20-%20Sustainable%20Practices%20in%20Pakistani%20Manufacturing%20Supply%20Chains %20Motives,%20Sharing%20Mechanism%20and%20Performance%20Outcome.pdf
  • Adams, D., Donovan, J., & Topple, C. (2022). Sustainability in large food and beverage companies and their supply chains: An investigation into key drivers and barriers affecting sustainability strategies. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3198
  • Ali, S., Danish, M., Khuwaja, F. M., Sajjad, M. S., & Zahid, H. (2019). The Intention to Adopt Green IT Products in Pakistan: Driven by the Modified Theory of Consumption Values. Environments, 6(5), 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments6050053
  • Ashrafi, M., Magnan, G. M., Adams, M., & Walker, T. R. (2020). Understanding the Conceptual Evolutionary Path and Theoretical Underpinnings of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Sustainability. Sustainability, 12(3), 760. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030760
  • Bansal, P. (2005). Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development. Strategic Management Journal, 26(3), 197–218. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.441
  • Barnett, M. L., & Salomon, R. M. (2012). Does it pay to be really good? Addressing the shape of the relationship between social and financial performance. Strategic Management Journal, 33(11), 1304-1320. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.1980
  • Bhaskar, K., & Kumar, B. (2019). Electronic waste management and sustainable development goals: Is there a business case for linking the two? Journal of Indian Business Research, 11(2), 120–137. https://doi.org/10.1108/jibr-01-2018-0051
  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  • Camilleri, M. A. (2021). Strategic attributions of corporate social responsibility and environmental management: The business case for doing well by doing good! Sustainable Development, 30(3), 409–422. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2256
  • Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct. Business & Society, 38(3), 268–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/000765039903800303
  • Clarke, V., Braun, V., & Hayfield, N. (2015). Thematic analysis. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods, 3, 222-248.
  • Clarkson, P. M., Li, Y., Richardson, G. D., & Vasvari, F. P. (2008). Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33(4-5), 303–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2007.05.003
  • Delmas, M., & Toffel, M. W. (2004). Stakeholders and environmental management practices: an institutional framework . Business Strategy and the Environment, 13(4), 209–222. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.409
  • DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160.
  • Doh, J. P., & Guay, T. R. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Policy, and NGO Activism in Europe and the United States: An Institutional-Stakeholder Perspective . Journal of Management Studies, 43(1), 47–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00582.x
  • Douglas, T. J., & Judge, W. Q. (1995). INTEGRATING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT INTO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT . Academy of Management Proceedings, 1995(1), 475–479. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.1995.17537536
  • El Saadany, A. M. A., Jaber, M. Y., & Bonney, M. (2011). Environmental performance measures for supply chains. Management Research Review, 34(11), 1202–1221. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409171111178756
  • Esfahbodi, A., Zhang, Y., & Watson, G. (2016). Sustainable supply chain management in emerging economies: Trade-offs between environmental and cost performance . International Journal of Production Economics, 181(2), 350–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.02.013
  • Ghobadian, A., Viney, H., James, P., & Lui, J. (1995). The influence of environmental issues in strategic analysis and choice: A review of environmental strategy among top UK corporations . Management Decision, 33(10), 46–58. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749510100230
  • Goldstein, D. (2002). Theoretical perspectives on strategic environmental management. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 12(5), 495–524. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191-002-0128-6
  • Greenwood, R., & Hinings, C. R. (1996). Understanding Radical Organizational Change: Bringing together the Old and the New Institutionalism. The Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1022. https://doi.org/10.2307/259163
  • Gunarathne, N., & Lee, K.-H. (2019). Institutional pressures and corporate environmental management maturity. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 30(1), 157–175. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq-02-2018-0041
  • Henriques, I., & Richardson, J. (2013). The triple bottom line: Does it all add up? Routledge.
  • Hoffman, A. (2000). Competitive environmental strategy . Washington, DC: Island Press.
  • Huberman, A. M., & Miles, M. B. (1994). Data management and analysis methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 428–444). Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Japneet Dhillon, V. S. (2020). E-Waste Management Strategy in Organizations - a Conceptual Framework. Journal of critical reviews, 7(01). https://doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.01.76
  • Kraus, S., Rehman, S. U., & García, F. J. S. (2020). Corporate social responsibility and environmental performance: The mediating role of environmental strategy and green innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 160, 120262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120262
  • Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). Interviews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing. sage.
  • Lau, C.-M., Tse, D. K., & Zhou, N. (2002). Institutional Forces and Organizational Culture in China: Effects on Change Schemas, Firm Commitment and Job Satisfaction. Journal of International Business Studies, 33(3), 533–550. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8491030
  • Ma, Y., Wang, J., & Lv, X. (2022). Institutional pressures and firms’ environmental management behavior: the moderating role of slack resources. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2022.2079077
  • McWilliams, A., Siegel, D. S., & Wright, P. M. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategic Implications. Journal of Management Studies, 43(1), 1–18. wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00580.x
  • Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage.
  • Miles, M. P., & Covin, J. G. (2000). Environmental Marketing: A Source of Reputational, Competitive, and Financial Advantage. Journal of Business Ethics, 23(3), 299–311. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25074246
  • Montabon, F., Sroufe, R., & Narasimhan, R. (2006). An examination of corporate reporting, environmental management practices and firm performance. Journal of Operations Management, 25(5), 998– 1014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2006.10.003
  • Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–13. SagePub. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
  • Oliver, C. (1991). Strategic Responses to Institutional Processes. The Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 145. https://doi.org/10.2307/258610
  • Pole, C. J., & Lampard, R. (2002). Practical social investigation: Qualitative and quantitative methods in social research. Pearson Education.
  • Porter, M. E., & van der Linde, C. (1995). Toward a new conception of the environment-competitiveness relationship. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(4), 97-118.
  • Rehman, S.-U., Kraus, S., Shah, S.A., Khanin, D. and Mahto, R.V. (2021), Analyzing the relationship between green innovation and environmental performance in large manufacturing firms, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 163, 120481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120481
  • Schaltegger, S., & Wagner, M. (2006). Managing the business case for sustainability: The integration of social, environmental and economic performance. Journal of Business Ethics,66(2-3), 99-114. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351280525
  • Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2011). The new political role of business in a globalized world: A review of a new perspective on CSR and its implications for the firm, governance, and democracy. Journal of management studies, 48(4), 899-931.
  • Scott, W. R. (2008). Institutions and organizations: Ideas, interests, and identities. Sage Publications.
  • Selznick, P., & Carlston, K. S. (1957). Law and the Structures of Social Action. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2(2), 258. https://doi.org/10.2307/2390698
  • Sharma, S., & Vredenburg, H. (1998). Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 19(8), 729–753. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199808)19:8%3C729::aid-smj967%3E3.0.co;2-4
  • Singh, S. K., & El-Kassar, A.-N. (2019). Role of big data analytics in developing sustainable capabilities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 213, 1264–1273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.199
  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Qualitative research. Grounded Theory; SAGE Publications Ltd.: New York, NY, USA
  • Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches. The Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610. https://www.jstor.org/stable/258788
  • Taylor, S. J., & Bogdan, R. (1984). Introduction to qualitative research methods: The search for meanings. Wiley-Interscience.
  • Teles, M. de F., & Sousa, J. F. de. (2014). Environmental Management and Business Strategy: Structuring the Decision-Making Support in a Public Transport Company. Transportation Research Procedia, 3, 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2014.10.101
  • Welford, S. B. a. R. (1998). Corporate Strategy and the Environment: the Theory. Earthscan Publications Ltd
  • Wood, D. J. (2002). Business Citizenship. The Ruffin Series of the Society for Business Ethics, 3, 59–94. https://doi.org/10.5840/ruffinx200232
  • Yang, Y., Lau, A. K. W., Lee, P. K. C., Yeung, A. C. L., & Cheng, T. C. E. (2019). Efficacy of China’s strategic environmental management in its institutional environment. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 39(1), 138–163. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijopm-11-2017-0695
  • Yin, 2018 – Yin, R.K. (2018). Case study research: Design and methods (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Yin, R. K. (2003). Designing case studies. Qualitative research methods, 5(14), 359-386.
  • Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (Vol. 5). Sage.

Cite this article

    APA : Fatima, M., Ata, G., & Rizwan, A. (2023). Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management. Global Economics Review, VIII(I), 196-212. https://doi.org/10.31703/ger.2023(VIII-I).18
    CHICAGO : Fatima, Mahum, Ghalib Ata, and Aisha Rizwan. 2023. "Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management." Global Economics Review, VIII (I): 196-212 doi: 10.31703/ger.2023(VIII-I).18
    HARVARD : FATIMA, M., ATA, G. & RIZWAN, A. 2023. Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management. Global Economics Review, VIII, 196-212.
    MHRA : Fatima, Mahum, Ghalib Ata, and Aisha Rizwan. 2023. "Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management." Global Economics Review, VIII: 196-212
    MLA : Fatima, Mahum, Ghalib Ata, and Aisha Rizwan. "Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management." Global Economics Review, VIII.I (2023): 196-212 Print.
    OXFORD : Fatima, Mahum, Ata, Ghalib, and Rizwan, Aisha (2023), "Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management", Global Economics Review, VIII (I), 196-212
    TURABIAN : Fatima, Mahum, Ghalib Ata, and Aisha Rizwan. "Institutional Pressures and Sustainable Business Practices: A Case of Strategic Environmental Management." Global Economics Review VIII, no. I (2023): 196-212. https://doi.org/10.31703/ger.2023(VIII-I).18