IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-02887705.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Achieving greener growth: a business perspective for proactive commitment

Author

Listed:
  • Fabien Martinez

    (Cardiff Business School)

  • Diego Vazquez-Brust
  • Ken Peattie
  • Keivan Zokaei

Abstract

This chapter examines the strategic integration of Environmental and Social Responsibility (ESR) into business operations. We contend that the enhancement of corporate productivity can be achieved via the symbiotic pursuit of green values and lean production practices. A framework is presented-drawing on the contingency theory (Burns & Stalker, 1961; Donaldson, 2008)-to suggest basic requirements for successful symbiotic 'green and lean' relationships. The model proposes that a sustainable corporate action plan, enabling a strategic orientation of lean and green decision-making, draws upon five interrelated dynamic contingencies: corporate values, consumption, business benefits, legislation, and technology. The theoretical propositions are illustrated and extended using the case study of Adnams Brewery (Southwold, UK)-a company that has come to symbolise the benefits of adopting strong eco-friendly values to 'green' the business and its products. Drawing on in-site visits, interviews with Andy Wood (Managing Director) and analysis of corporate reports, the case corroborates the idea of a symbiotic relationship of lean and green. Adnams case ratifies the importance of integrating responses to the five dynamic contingencies as companies seek to combine business performance with good corporate citizenship. Strongly driven by technological excellence and 'eco-friendly' organisational values instilled by top managers and inciting employees' commitment, Adnams is an instructive epitome of syncretism of ESR with economic performance; in particular, the company is effectively exploiting marketing opportunities-"strong brand and growing reputation"-and enhancing productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabien Martinez & Diego Vazquez-Brust & Ken Peattie & Keivan Zokaei, 2012. "Achieving greener growth: a business perspective for proactive commitment," Post-Print hal-02887705, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02887705
    DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-4417-2_10
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02887705
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-02887705/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/978-94-007-4417-2_10?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. Dam, Lammertjan & Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "Environmental regulation and MNEs location: Does CSR matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 55-65, August.
    2. Huppes, Gjalt & Ishikawa, Masanobu, 2007. "Sustainability evaluation: Diverging routes recombined?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 199-200, April.
    3. Cohen, Boyd & Winn, Monika I., 2007. "Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 29-49, January.
    4. Salama, Aly, 2005. "A note on the impact of environmental performance on financial performance," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 413-421, September.
    5. Donald S. Siegel & Donald F. Vitaliano, 2007. "An Empirical Analysis of the Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 773-792, September.
    6. Lex Donaldson, 2008. "Ethics Problems and Problems with Ethics: Toward a Pro-Management Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(3), pages 299-311, March.
    7. David P. Baron & Daniel Diermeier, 2007. "Strategic Activism and Nonmarket Strategy," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 599-634, September.
    8. Andrew King & Michael Lenox, 2002. "Exploring the Locus of Profitable Pollution Reduction," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(2), pages 289-299, February.
    9. Sangwon Suh & Kun Mo Lee & Sangsun Ha, 2005. "Eco‐efficiency for Pollution Prevention in Small to Medium‐Sized Enterprises: A Case from South Korea," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 9(4), pages 223-240, October.
    10. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss, 2010. "Trade‐offs in corporate sustainability: you can't have your cake and eat it," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 217-229, May.
    11. Dienhart, John W., 2008. "The Separation Thesis: Perhaps Nine Lives are Enough," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(4), pages 555-559, October.
    12. Glen Dowell & Stuart Hart & Bernard Yeung, 2000. "Do Corporate Global Environmental Standards Create or Destroy Market Value?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(8), pages 1059-1074, August.
    13. David A. Waldman & Donald S. Siegel & Mansour Javidan, 2006. "Components of CEO Transformational Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1703-1725, December.
    14. Holm, Stig-Olof & Englund, Göran, 2009. "Increased ecoefficiency and gross rebound effect: Evidence from USA and six European countries 1960-2002," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 879-887, January.
    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. Fabien Martinez, 2014. "Corporate strategy and the environment: towards a four-dimensional compatibility model for fostering green management decisions," Post-Print hal-02887618, HAL.

    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. Angeloantonio Russo & Stefano Pogutz & Nicola Misani, 2021. "Paving the road toward eco‐effectiveness: Exploring the link between greenhouse gas emissions and firm performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3065-3078, November.
    2. Aseem Kaul & Jiao Luo, 2018. "An economic case for CSR: The comparative efficiency of for‐profit firms in meeting consumer demand for social goods," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 1650-1677, June.
    3. Fabien Martinez, 2014. "Corporate strategy and the environment: towards a four-dimensional compatibility model for fostering green management decisions," Post-Print hal-02887618, HAL.
    4. Suhong Li & Thomas Ngniatedema & Fang Chen, 2017. "Understanding the Impact of Green Initiatives and Green Performance on Financial Performance in the US," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 776-790, September.
    5. Ghisetti, Claudia & Rennings, Klaus, 2013. "Environmental innovations and profitability: How does it pay to be green? An empirical analysis on the German innovation survey," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-073, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Ho, Ly & Bai, Min & Lu, Yue & Qin, Yafeng, 2021. "The effect of corporate sustainability performance on leverage adjustments," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    7. Andreas Ziegler, 2012. "Is it Beneficial to be Included in a Sustainability Stock Index? A Panel Data Study for European Firms," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 52(3), pages 301-325, July.
    8. Patricia Crifo & Vanina Forget, 2013. "La responsabilité sociale et environnementale des entreprises : mirage ou virage ?," Working Papers hal-00830642, HAL.
    9. Baron, David P. & Harjoto, Maretno A. & Jo, Hoje, 2008. "The Economics and Politics of Corporate Social Performance," Research Papers 1993, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    10. Urs von Arx & Andreas Ziegler, 2008. "The Effect of CSR on Stock Performance: New Evidence for the USA and Europe," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 08/85, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    11. Horváthová, Eva, 2010. "Does environmental performance affect financial performance? A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 52-59, November.
    12. Markus Kitzmueller & Jay Shimshack, 2012. "Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 51-84, March.
    13. Patricia Crifo & Vanina D. Forget, 2015. "The Economics Of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Firm-Level Perspective Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 112-130, February.
    14. Patricia Crifo & Vanina Forget, 2012. "The Economics of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Survey," Working Papers hal-00720640, HAL.
    15. Markus Hang & Jerome Geyer‐Klingeberg & Andreas W. Rathgeber, 2019. "It is merely a matter of time: A meta‐analysis of the causality between environmental performance and financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 257-273, February.
    16. Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini & Raul Caruso & Rocco Cifone, 2019. "The Impact of ESG Scores on both Firm Profitability and Value in the Automotive Sector (2002-2016)," Working Papers 1004, European Centre of Peace Science, Integration and Cooperation (CESPIC), Catholic University 'Our Lady of Good Counsel'.
    17. Jongjin Sohn & Jongseon Lee & Nami Kim, 2020. "Going Green Inside and Out: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Financial Performance under Regulatory Stringency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-23, May.
    18. Altunbaş, Yener & Khan, Atiqur & Thornton, John, 2023. "Do M&As impact firm carbon intensity?11The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the institutions with which they are affiliated.," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    19. Kroes, James R. & Manikas, Andrew S. & Gattiker, Thomas F., 2018. "Operational leanness and retail firm performance since 1980," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 262-274.
    20. Eng, Li Li & Fikru, Mahelet G. & Vichitsarawong, Thanyaluk, 2021. "The impact of toxic chemical releases and their management on financial performance," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

    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:hal:journl:hal-02887705. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.