IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i3p1125-d316723.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Toward an Organizational Theory of Sustainability Vision

Author

Listed:
  • Sooksan Kantabutra

    (Center for Research on Sustainable Leadership and ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue, College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand)

Abstract

While vision is considered as the starting point for any transformation process toward sustainability, little is known about how such a vision looks. To fill in a fundamental gap in the corporate sustainability literature, the present study advances a theory of organizational vision into a coherent theory of sustainability vision. It adopts the theory-building approaches of covering-law, enlightenment, and process by comparing and contrasting a diverse set of relevant plausible, logical, empirical, and/or epistemological conjectures so that highlighting occurs to form the substance of the refined theory. The resulting theory of sustainability vision asserts that effective sustainability visions are characterized by the seven attributes of brevity, clarity, future orientation, stability, challenge, abstractness, desirability or ability to inspire and one imagery of stakeholder satisfaction. Relevant propositions and a model are introduced for future research, followed by practical implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Sooksan Kantabutra, 2020. "Toward an Organizational Theory of Sustainability Vision," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-26, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:1125-:d:316723
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/1125/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/1125/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luo, Yadong, 2007. "A coopetition perspective of global competition," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 129-144, June.
    2. Frances Westley & Henry Mintzberg, 1989. "Visionary leadership and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(S1), pages 17-32, June.
    3. Nuttasorn Ketprapakorn & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2019. "Culture Development for Sustainable SMEs: Toward a Behavioral Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-15, May.
    4. Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2014. "Managing Corporate Sustainability and CSR: A Conceptual Framework Combining Values, Strategies and Instruments Contributing to Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 258-271, September.
    5. Deborah Peel & Greg Lloyd, 2005. "City-Visions: Visioning and Delivering Scotland's Economic Future," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 20(1), pages 40-52, February.
    6. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    7. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    8. Fenwick Jing & Gayle Avery & Harald Bergsteiner, 2014. "Enhancing performance in small professional firms through vision communication and sharing," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 599-620, June.
    9. Peterlin, Judita & Dimovski, Vlado & Colnar, Simon & Grah, Barbara, 2017. "Professional Development of Business Students: Vision Creating," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2017), Dubrovnik, Croatia, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 7-9 September 2017, pages 288-295, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    10. Nuttasorn Ketprapakorn & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2019. "Sustainable Social Enterprise Model: Relationships and Consequences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-39, July.
    11. Ireland, R. Duane & Hirc, Michael A., 1992. "Mission statements: Importance, challenge, and recommendations for development," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 34-42.
    12. Phillips, Robert & Freeman, R. Edward & Wicks, Andrew C., 2003. "What Stakeholder Theory is Not," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 479-502, October.
    13. Katherine L. Christ & Roger L. Burritt & Mohsen Varsei, 2017. "Coopetition as a Potential Strategy for Corporate Sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 1029-1040, November.
    14. Constance E. Helfat & Margaret A. Peteraf, 2003. "The dynamic resource‐based view: capability lifecycles," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(10), pages 997-1010, October.
    15. Dorel Mihai Paraschiv & Estera Laura Nemoianu & Claudia Adriana Langă & Tünde Szabó, 2012. "Eco-innovation, Responsible Leadership and Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(32), pages 404-419, June.
    16. Siti Nur Syahirah Mohd Adnan & Raju Valliappan, 2019. "Communicating shared vision and leadership styles towards enhancing performance," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 68(6), pages 1042-1056, March.
    17. Sooksan Kantabutra, 2019. "Achieving Corporate Sustainability: Toward a Practical Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-39, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ulrich Schmitt, 2021. "Reframing a Novel Decentralized Knowledge Management Concept as a Desirable Vision: As We May Realize the Memex," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-37, April.
    2. Xiaode Ji & Yanzhao Su & Yue Zhang & Hui Wang, 2023. "Making Our Firm More Sustainable: The Role of CEO Vision Communication of Sustainability on Sustainability Performance," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    3. Phallapa Petison & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2022. "A Quest for a Sustainable Social Enterprise Model: The Case of Amphawa Chaipattananurak, the Kingdom of Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-31, December.
    4. Sooksan Kantabutra, 2021. "Exploring Relationships among Sustainability Organizational Culture Components at a Leading Asian Industrial Conglomerate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-32, February.
    5. Suparak Suriyankietkaew & Krittawit Krittayaruangroj & Nacharee Iamsawan, 2022. "Sustainable Leadership Practices and Competencies of SMEs for Sustainability and Resilience: A Community-Based Social Enterprise Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-36, May.
    6. Jana Hornungová & Kateřina Petrová & František Milichovský, 2020. "Modeling Cause and Effect Relationships of Strategy Map Using Economic and Social Performance Factors in the Organizational Culture," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 68(3), pages 613-624.
    7. Khaled Abdulrahman Alfalah, 2024. "Banks' vision statements: peculiarities and missing links," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 12(1), pages 112-123, September.
    8. Nijsiree Vongariyajit & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2021. "A Test of the Sustainability Vision Theory: Is It Practical?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-20, July.
    9. Warat Winit & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2022. "Enhancing the Prospect of Corporate Sustainability via Brand Equity: A Stakeholder Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    10. Sooksan Kantabutra & Nuttasorn Ketprapakorn, 2021. "Toward an Organizational Theory of Resilience: An Interim Struggle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-28, November.
    11. Sooksan Kantabutra, 2022. "Toward a System Theory of Corporate Sustainability: An Interim Struggle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
    12. Jane Boeske & Peter A. Murray, 2022. "The Intellectual Domains of Sustainability Leadership in SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sooksan Kantabutra, 2021. "Exploring Relationships among Sustainability Organizational Culture Components at a Leading Asian Industrial Conglomerate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-32, February.
    2. Sooksan Kantabutra, 2019. "Achieving Corporate Sustainability: Toward a Practical Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-39, August.
    3. Nuttasorn Ketprapakorn & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2019. "Sustainable Social Enterprise Model: Relationships and Consequences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-39, July.
    4. Nijsiree Vongariyajit & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2021. "A Test of the Sustainability Vision Theory: Is It Practical?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Forliano, Canio & Ferraris, Alberto & Bivona, Enzo & Couturier, Jerome, 2022. "Pouring new wine into old bottles: A dynamic perspective of the interplay among environmental dynamism, capabilities development, and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 448-463.
    6. Phallapa Petison & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2022. "A Quest for a Sustainable Social Enterprise Model: The Case of Amphawa Chaipattananurak, the Kingdom of Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-31, December.
    7. Guo, Jingjing & Guo, Bin & Zhou, Jianghua & Wu, Xiaobo, 2020. "How does the ambidexterity of technological learning routine affect firm innovation performance within industrial clusters? The moderating effects of knowledge attributes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    8. Hee‐Chan Song, 2020. "Sufficiency economy philosophy: Buddhism‐based sustainability framework in Thailand," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 2995-3005, December.
    9. Omar Rabeea Mahdi & Islam A. Nassar, 2021. "The Business Model of Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Strategic Leadership Capabilities and Knowledge Management Processes to Overcome COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, September.
    10. Onexy Quintana-Martinez & Antonio-Rafael Ramos-Rodriguez, 2016. "Changes in the Axes of Convergence of Innovation Management Research," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(5), pages 1-96, April.
    11. Sooksan Kantabutra, 2022. "Toward a System Theory of Corporate Sustainability: An Interim Struggle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
    12. Stefano D’Angelo & Angelo Cavallo & Antonio Ghezzi & Francesco Di Lorenzo, 2024. "Understanding corporate entrepreneurship in the digital age: a review and research agenda," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(12), pages 3719-3774, December.
    13. Lorenz, Steffi, 2015. "Diversität und Verbundenheit der unternehmerischen Wissensbasis: Ein neuartiger Messansatz mit Indikatoren aus Innovationsprojekten," Discussion Papers on Strategy and Innovation 15-01, Philipps-University Marburg, Department of Technology and Innovation Management (TIM).
    14. Quan Anh Nguyen & Gillian Sullivan Mort, 0. "Conceptualising organisational-level and microfoundational capabilities: an integrated view of born-globals’ internationalisation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-23.
    15. repec:ehu:cuader:33232 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Rui Baptista & Murat Karaöz & João Correia Leitão, 2020. "Diversification by young, small firms: the role of pre-entry resources and entry mistakes," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 103-122, June.
    17. Xiao Zhang & Luqun Xie & Jiatao Li & Li Cheng, 2022. "“Outside in”: Global demand heterogeneity and dynamic capabilities of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(4), pages 709-722, June.
    18. Nay Chi Khin Khin Oo & Sirisuhk Rakthin, 2022. "Integrative Review of Absorptive Capacity’s Role in Fostering Organizational Resilience and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-27, October.
    19. Samadhiya, Ashutosh & Yadav, Sanjeev & Kumar, Anil & Majumdar, Abhijit & Luthra, Sunil & Garza-Reyes, Jose Arturo & Upadhyay, Arvind, 2023. "The influence of artificial intelligence techniques on disruption management: Does supply chain dynamism matter?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    20. Jensen, Peter D. Ørberg, 2012. "A passage to India: A dual case study of activities, processes and resources in offshore outsourcing of advanced services," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 311-326.
    21. Thierry Sauvage & Tony Cragg & Sarrah Chraibi & Oussama El Khalil Houssaini, 2018. "Running the Machine Faster: Acceleration, Humans and Warehousing," Post-Print hal-02905068, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:1125-:d:316723. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.