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The political bottom line: the emerging dimension to corporate responsibility for sustainable development

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  • Jem Bendell
  • Kate Kearins

Abstract

This paper explores the idea that businesses are being moved to proactively manage their political activities and influence in relation to their often‐expressed responsibility for promoting sustainable development, which we define as managing the ‘political bottom line’. We argue that three key drivers account for this shift: first, the growing criticism of voluntary corporate responsibility initiatives; second, the increasing awareness and targeting of corporate political activities, and third, a realization among certain corporate executives and financiers that, without changes to public policies, an individual company's own voluntary responsibility may not deliver sufficient commercial returns. We describe several initiatives on public policy dimensions of sustainable development, which indicate that some companies are beginning to manage their political power in light of societal concerns. In conclusion, we discuss the potential and limits of a ‘political bottom line’ concept by critiquing the mainstream triple bottom line discourse.Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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  • Jem Bendell & Kate Kearins, 2005. "The political bottom line: the emerging dimension to corporate responsibility for sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(6), pages 372-383, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:14:y:2005:i:6:p:372-383
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.439
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    2. Gjølberg Maria, 2011. "Explaining Regulatory Preferences: CSR, Soft Law, or Hard Law? Insights from a Survey of Nordic Pioneers in CSR," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(2), pages 1-33, August.
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    4. Juliana Segura-Salazar & Luís Marcelo Tavares, 2018. "Sustainability in the Minerals Industry: Seeking a Consensus on Its Meaning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-38, May.
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    6. Christy Glass & Alison Cook & Alicia R. Ingersoll, 2016. "Do Women Leaders Promote Sustainability? Analyzing the Effect of Corporate Governance Composition on Environmental Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(7), pages 495-511, November.
    7. Bakel, J.C. & Loorbach, D.A. & Whiteman, G.M. & Rotmans, J., 2007. "Business Strategies for Transitions towards Sustainable Systems," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2007-094-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    8. Subhabrata Bobby Banerjee & Annabel‐Mauve Bonnefous, 2011. "Stakeholder management and sustainability strategies in the French nuclear industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 124-140, February.
    9. Tom Thomas & Eric Lamm, 2012. "Legitimacy and Organizational Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 191-203, October.
    10. Sukhbir Sandhu & Lucie K. Ozanne & Clive Smallman & Ross Cullen, 2010. "Consumer driven corporate environmentalism: Fact or fiction?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(6), pages 356-366, September.
    11. Cody Jones, 2013. "Moving Beyond Profit: Expanding Research to Better Understand Business Environmental Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-29, June.
    12. Maria Joutsenvirta, 2009. "A language perspective to environmental management and corporate responsibility," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 240-253, May.
    13. F. Birkin & A. Cashman & S. C. L. Koh & Z. Liu, 2009. "New sustainable business models in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 64-77, January.
    14. Sanja Pekovic & Marcus Wagner & Sebastian Vogt, 2022. "Differential effects of corporate social responsibility on downsizing: Evidence from the United States," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1021-1033, July.
    15. Derk Loorbach & Janneke C. van Bakel & Gail Whiteman & Jan Rotmans, 2010. "Business strategies for transitions towards sustainable systems," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(2), pages 133-146, February.
    16. Galbreath, Jeremy, 2017. "Drivers Of Environmental Sustainability In Wine Firms: The Role And Effect Of Women In Leadership," Working Papers 253851, American Association of Wine Economists.
    17. Frank‐Martin Belz, 2006. "Marketing in the 21st Century," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 139-144, May.
    18. Weiwei Wu & Zhou Liang & Qi Zhang, 2020. "Effects of corporate environmental responsibility strength and concern on innovation performance: The moderating role of firm visibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1487-1497, May.
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