IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v29y2022i1p124-134.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Encouraging corporate sustainability through effective strategic partnerships

Author

Listed:
  • Juan Pablo Valbuena‐Hernandez
  • Natalia Ortiz‐de‐Mandojana

Abstract

There is a substantial body of theoretical evidence and a wide variety of recommendations from multilateral agencies on the importance of develop partnerships to achieve sustainability but not all partnerships could be equally effective. The purpose of this study is to establish which characteristics of partnerships could be related to greater improvements in firms' sustainability. To achieve this goal, we based on the resource‐based view, to emphasize the importance of expanding firm resources and capabilities through strategic partnerships. The longitudinal panel data used includes information from sustainability reports published by Spanish listed firms between 2016 and 2019. We find evidence that greater diversity referring to social sectors involved and longer duration partnerships improve sustainability measures, but only in responsive firms (environmentally pollutants). By contrast, in nonresponsive firms, diversity and longer‐tenure partnerships implied less improvement. Finally, we analyze the implications of these results to build effective partnerships and encourage sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Pablo Valbuena‐Hernandez & Natalia Ortiz‐de‐Mandojana, 2022. "Encouraging corporate sustainability through effective strategic partnerships," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 124-134, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:29:y:2022:i:1:p:124-134
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2188
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2188
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.2188?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ashman, Darcy, 2001. "Civil Society Collaboration with Business: Bringing Empowerment Back in," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1097-1113, July.
    2. Hao Liang & Luc Renneboog, 2017. "On the Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 853-910, April.
    3. Enrico Fontana, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility as Stakeholder Engagement: Firm–NGO Collaboration in Sweden," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 327-338, July.
    4. Lys, Thomas & Naughton, James P. & Wang, Clare, 2015. "Signaling through corporate accountability reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 56-72.
    5. Sarah Elena Windolph & Dorli Harms & Stefan Schaltegger, 2014. "Motivations for Corporate Sustainability Management: Contrasting Survey Results and Implementation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 272-285, September.
    6. Michelon, Giovanna & Pilonato, Silvia & Ricceri, Federica, 2015. "CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 59-78.
    7. Kolk, Ans & van Tulder, Rob & Kostwinder, Esther, 2008. "Business and partnerships for development," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 262-273, August.
    8. Stuart L. Hart & Gautam Ahuja, 1996. "Does It Pay To Be Green? An Empirical Examination Of The Relationship Between Emission Reduction And Firm Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 30-37, March.
    9. Frances Bowen & Aloysius Newenham-Kahindi & Irene Herremans, 2010. "When Suits Meet Roots: The Antecedents and Consequences of Community Engagement Strategy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 297-318, August.
    10. Gabriel Eweje & Nitha Palakshappa, 2009. "Business partnerships with nonprofits: working to solve mutual problems in New Zealand," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(6), pages 337-351, November.
    11. Francesco Rosati & Lourenço Galvão Diniz Faria, 2019. "Business contribution to the Sustainable Development Agenda: Organizational factors related to early adoption of SDG reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 588-597, May.
    12. Ananya Reed & Darryl Reed, 2009. "Partnerships for Development: Four Models of Business Involvement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 3-37, May.
    13. Iteke van Hille & Frank G.A. de Bakker & Julie E. Ferguson & Peter Groenewegen, 2019. "Navigating tensions in a cross‐sector social partnership: How a convener drives change for sustainability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 317-329, March.
    14. Andrew Ngawenja Mzembe & Julia Meaton, 2014. "Driving Corporate Social Responsibility in the Malawian Mining Industry: A Stakeholder Perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(4), pages 189-201, July.
    15. Cathy L. Hartman & Peter S. Hofman & Edwin R. Stafford, 1999. "Partnerships: a path to sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(5), pages 255-266, September.
    16. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    17. Diana Trujillo, 2018. "Multiparty Alliances and Systemic Change: The Role of Beneficiaries and Their Capacity for Collective Action," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 425-449, June.
    18. Russell W. Coff, 1999. "When Competitive Advantage Doesn't Lead to Performance: The Resource-Based View and Stakeholder Bargaining Power," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(2), pages 119-133, April.
    19. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    20. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss & Frank Figge, 2015. "Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 297-316, March.
    21. David M. Drukker, 2003. "Testing for serial correlation in linear panel-data models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 3(2), pages 168-177, June.
    22. Jakki Mohr & Robert Spekman, 1994. "Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behavior, and conflict resolution techniques," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 135-152, February.
    23. van Staden, Chris J. & Hooks, Jill, 2007. "A comprehensive comparison of corporate environmental reporting and responsiveness," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 197-210.
    24. Pratima Bansal, 2005. "Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 197-218, March.
    25. Bas Arts, 2002. "‘Green alliances’ of business and NGOs. New styles of self‐regulation or ‘dead‐end roads’?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(1), pages 26-36, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Jose Ignacio Galan & Jose Angel Zuñiga‐Vicente, 2023. "Discovering the key factors behind multi‐stakeholder partnerships for contributing to the achievement of sustainable development goals: Insights around the electric vehicle in Spain," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 829-845, March.
    2. Enrico Fontana, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility as Stakeholder Engagement: Firm–NGO Collaboration in Sweden," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 327-338, July.
    3. Jay Joseph & Marc Orlitzky & Bruce Gurd & Helen Borland & Adam Lindgreen, 2019. "Can business‐oriented managers be effective leaders for corporate sustainability? A study of integrative and instrumental logics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 339-352, February.
    4. Franck Brulhart & Sandrine Gherra & Bertrand V. Quelin, 2019. "Do Stakeholder Orientation and Environmental Proactivity Impact Firm Profitability?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 25-46, August.
    5. Jing Jia & Zhongtian Li, 2022. "Corporate Environmental Performance and Financial Distress: Evidence from Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 188-200, June.
    6. Jing Jia & Zhongtian Li, 2022. "Corporate sustainability, earnings persistence and the association between earnings and future cash flows," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 299-336, March.
    7. de Villiers, Charl & Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2022. "Are boards' risk management committees associated with firms’ environmental performance?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    8. Simone Carmine & Valentina De Marchi, 2023. "Reviewing Paradox Theory in Corporate Sustainability Toward a Systems Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 139-158, April.
    9. Helfaya, Akrum & Aboud, Ahmed & Amin, Essam, 2023. "An examination of corporate environmental goals disclosure, sustainability performance and firm value – An Egyptian evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    10. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    11. Dewan Muktadir‐Al‐Mukit & Firoz Haroon Bhaiyat, 2024. "Impact of corporate governance diversity on carbon emission under environmental policy via the mandatory nonfinancial reporting regulation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 1397-1417, February.
    12. Sylvain Marsat & Guillaume Pijourlet & Muhammad Ullah, 2021. "Is there a trade‐off between environmental performance and financial resilience? International evidence from the subprime crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4061-4084, September.
    13. Eduardo Duque-Grisales & Javier Aguilera-Caracuel, 2021. "Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scores and Financial Performance of Multilatinas: Moderating Effects of Geographic International Diversification and Financial Slack," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 315-334, January.
    14. Tiberio Daddi & Domenico Ceglia & Guia Bianchi & Marcia Dutra de Barcellos, 2019. "Paradoxical tensions and corporate sustainability: A focus on circular economy business cases," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 770-780, July.
    15. Mehrnaz Ashrafi & Gregory M. Magnan & Michelle Adams & Tony R. Walker, 2020. "Understanding the Conceptual Evolutionary Path and Theoretical Underpinnings of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, January.
    16. Zhongtian Li & Jing Jia & Larelle J. Chapple, 2022. "Textual characteristics of corporate sustainability disclosure and corporate sustainability performance: evidence from Australia," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(3), pages 786-816, February.
    17. Anne Norheim-Hansen, 2018. "The Virtues of Green Strategies: Some Empirical Support from the Alliance Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1161-1173, September.
    18. Zhongtian Li & Jing Jia & Larelle (Ellie) Chapple, 2022. "The corporate sustainability committee and its relation to corporate environmental performance," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(5), pages 1292-1324, July.
    19. Thomas J. Chemmanur & Dimitrios Gounopoulos & Panagiotis Koutroumpis & Yu Zhang, 2022. "CSR and Firm Survival: Evidence from the Climate and Pandemic Crises," Working Papers 935, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    20. Gong, Mengfeng & Gao, Yuan & Koh, Lenny & Sutcliffe, Charles & Cullen, John, 2019. "The role of customer awareness in promoting firm sustainability and sustainable supply chain management," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 88-96.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:corsem:v:29:y:2022:i:1:p:124-134. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.