Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Factors affecting the outcome of corporate sustainability policy: a review paper

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite having a focus on sustainability policy planning, failures occur during the implementation process. The gap between policy and its implementation causes failures of the sustainability policy. Against this backdrop, the primary objective of the present study is to explore the factors that create hurdles in the implementation of corporate sustainability policy in letters and spirits. The study adopts a systematic literature review (SLR) approach and reviews all the possible studies from 1950 to 2019 published by six major publishing houses. These studies were found using selected keywords. The findings of SLR reveal governance, education, and SMEs as frequently appearing words while exploring corporate sustainability. The stakeholder theory and the institutional theory appear as the most cited theories in the sustainability literature. The grassroots approach, environmental impact assessment, integrated sustainability assessment, evidence-based practice approach, systematic approach, economical instrument policy approach, and consultant services approach appear as the most relevant approaches used for policymaking in corporate sustainability. The SLR findings reveal five significant factors that influence corporate sustainability policy implementation and can cause the gap between policy and its implementation. These factors are government institutions (including macro and meso-institutions), internal and external stakeholders, management, organizational barriers, and normative references.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrams FW (1951) Management’s responsibilities in a complex world. Harvard Business Review 29(3):29–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Abreu MCSD (2009) How to define an environmental policy to improve corporate sustainability in developing countries. Business Strategy and the Environment 18(8):542–556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed A, Ahmed I (2011) Corporate conscience CSR in Pakistan - a study. Bangalore: Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)

  • Al Am A (2016) Corporate social responsibility and sustainability: theory and practice in Lebanon. International Journal 8(1):59–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Alam GM, Al-Amin AQ, Forhad AR, Mubarak MS (2020) Does the private university sector exploit sustainable residential life in the name of supporting the fourth industrial revolution? Technol Forecast Soc Change 159:120200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander R (2020) Emerging roles of lead buyer governance for sustainability across global production networks. Journal of Business Ethics 162(2):269–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong JH, Kamieniecki S (2019) Sustainability policy research: a review and synthesis. Policy Studies Journal 47:S45–S65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson R, Klausen JE (2011) Understanding sustainability policy: Governance, knowledge and the search for integration. J Environ Policy Plan 13(3):231–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bachus K, Vanswijgenhoven F (2018) The use of regulatory taxation as a policy instrument for sustainability transitions: old wine in new bottles or unexplored potential? Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 61(9):1469–1486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey IG (1999) Competition, sustainability and packaging policy in the UK. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 42(1):83–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal P (2005) Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development. Strategic management journal 26(3):197–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal P, Roth K (2000) Why companies go green: a model of ecological responsiveness. Academy of Management Journal 43:717–747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barron V (2010) “How standards contribute to sustainable development”, BSI White Paper, available at: www.bsigroup.co.uk/en/Forms/Document-Downloads/How standardscontribute-to-sustainable-development/ (accessed March 20, 2011)

  • Baumgartner RJ (2014) Managing corporate sustainability and CSR: a conceptual framework combining values, strategies and instruments contributing to sustainable development. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 21(5):258–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beise M, Rennings K (2005) Lead markets and regulation: a framework for analyzing the international diffusion of environmental innovations. Ecol Econ 52(1):5–17

  • Berle AA (1932) For whom corporate managers are trustees: a note. Harvard Law Review 45(8):1365–1372

  • Bonn I, Fisher J (2011) Sustainability: the missing ingredient in strategy. Journal of Business Strategy 32(1):5–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bos Brouwers HEJ (2010) Corporate sustainability and innovation in SMEs: evidence of themes and activities in practice. Business Strategy and the Environment 19(7):417435

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowen HR (1953) Social responsibilities of the businessman. Harper & Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Brundtland G, Khalid M, Agnelli S, Al-Athel S, Chidzero B, Fadika L, ..., Okita S (1987) Our common future ('Brundtland report'): Oxford University Press

  • Busch T, Hoffmann VH (2009) Ecology-driven real options: an investment framework for incorporating uncertainties in the context of the natural environment. Journal of Business Ethics 90:295–310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0043-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldera HTS, Desha C, Dawes L (2019) Transforming manufacturing to be ‘good for planet and people’, through enabling lean and green thinking in small and medium-sized enterprises. Sustainable Earth 2(1):4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnegie A (1889) Wealth. The North American Review 148(391):653–664

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll AB (1991) The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons 34(4):39–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll AB (1999) Corporate social responsibility: evolution of a definitional construct. Business & Society 38:268–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark JM (1916) The changing basis of economic responsibility. Journal of Political Economy 24(3):209–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark JM (1926) Social control of business

  • Clark SG (2009) An informational approach to sustainability: “intelligence” in conservation and natural resource management policy. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 28(6-7):636–662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke S, Roome N (1999) Sustainable business: learning action networks as organizational assets. Business Strategy and the Environment 8(5):296–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collier U (1997) Sustainability, subsidiarity and deregulation: new directions in EU environmental policy. Environmental Politics 6(2):1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dankova P, Valeva M, Štrukelj T (2015) A comparative analysis of international corporate social responsibility standards as enterprise policy/governance innovation guidelines. Systems Research and Behavioral Science 32(2):152–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies AR (2009) Does sustainability count? Environmental policy, sustainable development and the governance of grassroots sustainability enterprise in Ireland. Sustainable Development 17(3):174–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis K (1960) Can business afford to ignore social responsibilities? California Management Review 2(3):70–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deakin S, Hobbs R (2007) False dawn for CSR? Shifts in regulatory policy and the response of the corporate and financial sectors in Britain. Corporate Governance: An International Review 15(1):68–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driessen PP, Dieperink C, van Laerhoven F, Runhaar HA, Vermeulen WJ (2012) Towards a conceptual framework for the study of shifts in modes of environmental governance–experiences from the Netherlands. Environmental Policy and Governance 22(3):143–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elkington J (1994) Towards the sustainable corporation: Win-win-win business strategies for sustainable development. California Management Review 36(2):90–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engert S, Baumgartner RJ (2016) Corporate sustainability strategy–bridging the gap between formulation and implementation. Journal of Cleaner Production 113:822–834

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engert S, Rauter R, Baumgartner RJ (2016) Exploring the integration of corporate sustainability into strategic management: a literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production 112:2833–2850

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein MJ, Roy MJ (2007) Implementing a corporate environmental strategy: establishing coordination and control within multinational companies. Business Strategy and the Environment 16(6):389–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahey BK, Pralle SB (2016) Governing complexity: recent developments in environmental politics and policy. Policy Studies Journal 44(S1):S28–S49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairbrass J (2011) Exploring corporate social responsibility policy in the European Union: a discursive institutionalist analysis. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 49(5):949–970

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng C, Huang JB, Wang M (2018) Analysis of green total-factor productivity in China’s regional metal industry: a meta-frontier approach. Resour Pol 58:219–229

  • Fischer F (2000) Citizens, experts, and the environment: the politics of local knowledge. Duke University Press, Durham

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer D, Brettel M, Mauer R (2020) The three dimensions of sustainability: a delicate balancing act for entrepreneurs made more complex by stakeholder expectations. Journal of Business Ethics 163(1):87–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman RE (1984) Strategic management: a stakeholder approach. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman M (1962) Capitalism and Freedom. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (Capitalisme et Liberté, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Galbreath J (2009) Building corporate social responsibility into strategy. European Business Review 21(2):109–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner JS, Sinclair AJ (2003) Evaluation of capacity and policy development for environmental sustainability: a case from Himachal Pradesh, India. Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d’études du développement 24(1):137–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gouldson A, Sullivan R (2007) Corporate environmentalism: tracing the links between policies and performance using corporate reports and public registers. Business Strategy and the Environment 16(1):1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guohui S, Eppler MJ (2008) Making strategy work: a literature review on the factors influencing strategy implementation. Handbook of Strategy Process Research, 252–276

  • Hayat N, Hussain A, Lohano HD (2020) Eco-labeling and sustainability: a case of textile industry in Pakistan. Journal of Cleaner Production 252:119807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helleno AL, de Moraes AJI, Simon AT (2017) Integrating sustainability indicators and Lean Manufacturing to assess manufacturing processes: application case studies in Brazilian industry. Journal of cleaner production 153:405–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendriks CF (2004) A New Vision on the Building Cycle. Boxtel, Aeneas

    Google Scholar 

  • Hörisch J, Schaltegger S, Freeman RE (2020) Integrating stakeholder theory and sustainability accounting: a conceptual synthesis. Journal of Cleaner Production 275:124097

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard B (1953) Social responsibilities of the businessman. Happer & Brothers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Islam T, Islam R, Pitafi AH, Xiaobei L, Rehmani M, Irfan M, Mubarak MS (2019) The impact of corporate social responsibility on customer loyalty: The mediating role of corporate reputation, customer satisfaction, and trust. Sustain Prod Consum 25:123–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janaina AK, Miguel P Jr, Davi BG, Barrella W (2020) Textile sustainability: a Brazilian etiquette issue. Environmental Science & Policy. 109:125–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jang YJ (2020) The role of stakeholder engagement in environmental sustainability: a moderation analysis of chain affiliation. J Hosp Tour Res 1096348020936348

  • Jasanoff S (2009) The fifth branch: science advisers as policymakers. Harvard University Press

  • Jiménez A, Pérez-Foguet A (2010) Water point mapping for the analysis of rural water supply plans: case study from Tanzania. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 137(5):439–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jnr BA, Majid MA, Romli A (2019) Green information technology adoption towards a sustainability policy agenda for government-based institutions. J Sci Technol Pol Manag

  • Kehbila AG, Ertel J, Brent AC (2010) Corporate sustainability, ecological modernization and the policy process in the South African automotive industry. Business Strategy and the Environment 19(7):453–465

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy D (1996) Competition in regulated industries. Centre for the Study of Regulated Industries, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler EH (Ed.) (2013) Encyclopedia of management theory. Sage Publications

  • Khan SA, Mubarik MS, Kusi-Sarpong S, Zaman SI, Kazmi SHA (2020) Social sustainable supply chains in the food industry: A perspective of an emerging economy. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (CSREM)

  • Klettner A, Clarke T, Boersma M (2014) The governance of corporate sustainability: empirical insights into the development, leadership and implementation of responsible business strategy. Journal of Business Ethics 122(1):145–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klewitz J, Zeyen A, Hansen EG (2012) Intermediaries driving eco-innovation in SMEs: a qualitative investigation. European Journal of Innovation Management 15(4):442–467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konard R, Thorsten H, Carsten W, Patrick D, Pavel L (2008) Learning and classification

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotler P (2001) Marketing Management, tenth edn. Pearson Education, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreps TJ (1940) Measurement of the social performance of business: In an Investigation of concentration of economic power for the Temporary National Economic Committee. US Government Printing Office, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar PS, Saravanan A (2017) Sustainable wastewater treatments in textile sector. In Sustainable fibres and textiles (pp. 323-346). Woodhead Publishing

  • Lange P, Bornemann B, Burger P (2019) Sustainability impacts of governance modes: insights from Swiss energy policy. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning 21(2):174–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luan CJ, Tien C, Wu PH (2013) Strategizing environmental policy and compliance for firm economic sustainability: evidence from Taiwanese electronics firms. Business Strategy and the Environment 22(8):517–546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch-Wood G, Williamson D, Jenkins W (2009) The over-reliance on self-regulation in CSR policy. Bus Ethics Eur Rev 18(1):52–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma Y, Rong K, Mangalagiu D, Thornton TF, Zhu D (2018) Co-evolution between urban sustainability and business ecosystem innovation: evidence from the sharing mobility sector in Shanghai. Journal of Cleaner Production 188:942–953

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marland G, Kowalczyk T, Cherry TL (2015) “Green fluff”? The role of corporate sustainability initiatives in effective climate policy: comment on “science-based carbon targets for the corporate world: The ultimate sustainability commitment, or a costly distraction?”. J Ind Ecol 19(6):934–936

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masurel E (2007) Why SMEs invest in environmental measures: sustainability evidence from small and medium-sized printing firms. Business Strategy and the Environment 16(3):190–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathis A (2007) Corporate social responsibility and policy making: what role does communication play? Business Strategy and the Environment 16(5):366–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLean BL, Borén T (2015) Barriers to implementing sustainability locally: a case study of policy immobilities. Local Environment 20(12):1489–1506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ménard C, Jimenez A, Tropp H (2018) Addressing the policy-implementation gaps in water services: the key role of meso-institutions. Water International 43(1):13–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H, Waters JA (1985) Of strategies, deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal 6(3):257–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miska C, Szőcs I, Schiffinger M (2018) Culture’s effects on corporate sustainability practices: a multi-domain and multi-level view. Journal of World Business 53(2):263–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moktadir MA, Rahman T, Rahman MH, Ali SM, Paul SK (2018) Drivers to sustainable manufacturing practices and circular economy: a perspective of leather industries in Bangladesh. Journal of Cleaner Production 174:1366–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore J (2005) Barriers and pathways to creating sustainability education programs: policy, rhetoric and reality. Environmental Education Research 11(5):537–555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan G, Ryu K, Mirvis P (2009) Leading corporate citizenship: governance, structure, systems. Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society 9(1):39–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mubarik MS (2015) Human capital and performance of small & medium manufacturing enterprises: A study of Pakistan (Doctoral dissertation, University of Malaya)

  • Mubarik MS, Naghavi N (2020) Digital technologies and consumption: how to shape the unknown?. In: The palgrave handbook of corporate sustainability in the digital era (pp. 529–541). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Nutley SM, Walter I, Davies HT (2007) Using evidence: How research can inform public services. Policy press

  • Nykvist B, Nilsson M (2009) Are impact assessment procedures actually promoting sustainable development? Institutional perspectives on barriers and opportunities found in the Swedish committee system. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 29(1):15–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orji IJ (2019) Examining barriers to organizational change for sustainability and drivers of sustainable performance in the metal manufacturing industry. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 140:102–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulraj A (2009) Environmental motivations: a classification scheme and its impact on environmental strategies and practices. Business Strategy and the Environment 18(7):453–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen ER (2006) Making corporate social responsibility (CSR) operable: how companies translate stakeholder dialogue into practice. Business and Society Review 111(2):137–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrini F, Minoja M (2008) Strategizing corporate social responsibility: evidence from an Italian medium-sized, family-owned company. Business Ethics: A European Review 17(1):47–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radaelli CM (1995) The role of knowledge in the policy process. Journal of European Public Policy 2(2):159–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raja ASM, Arputharaj A, Saxena S, Patil PG (2019) Water requirement and sustainability of textile processing industries. In Water in textiles and fashion (pp. 155-173). Woodhead Publishing

  • Ramus CA, Montiel I (2005) When are corporate environmental policies a form of greenwashing? Business & Society 44(4):377–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rennings K, Ziegler A, Ankele K, Hoffmann E (2006) The influence of different characteristics of the EU environmental management and auditing scheme on technical environmental innovations and economic performance. Ecological Economics 57(1):45–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roosa SA (2007) Energy policy and sustainability in sunbelt cities in the United States. International Journal of Green Energy 4(2):173–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheinbaum-Pardo C, Ruiz-Mendoza BJ, Rodríguez-Padilla V (2012) Mexican energy policy and sustainability indicators. Energy Policy 46:278–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair AJ, Fenton RW (1997) Stewardship for packaging and packaging waste: key policy elements for sustainability. Canadian Public Administration 40(1):123–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiller PT, Savedoff WD (1999) Spilled water: institutional commitment in the provision of water services. Inter-American Development Bank

  • Springett D (2003) An ‘incitement to discourse’: benchmarking as a springboard to sustainable development. Business Strategy and the Environment 12(1):1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trianni A, Cagno E, Neri A (2017) Modelling barriers to the adoption of industrial sustainability measures. Journal of Cleaner Production 168:1482–1504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Türkel S, Akan A (2015) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication: a Turkish industry example. In Integrated communications in the postmodern era (pp. 151-174). Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • UN Global Compact (n.d.-a) The power of principle. Retrieved from https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles. Accessed 10 July 2020

  • UN Global Compact (n.d.-b) 17 Goals to transform our world. Retrieved from: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/sdgs/17-global-goals. Accessed 10 July 2020

  • van Hemel C, Cramer J (2002) Barriers and stimuli for ecodesign in SMEs. Journal of Cleaner Production 10(5):439–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vincenza Ciasullo M, Troisi O (2013) Sustainable value creation in SMEs: a case study. The TQM Journal 25(1):44–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WCED, S. W. S (1987) World commission on environment and development. Our Common Future 17:1–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Werther WB Jr, Chandler D (2010) Strategic corporate social responsibility: stakeholders in a global environment. Sage

  • Whitmarsh L, Turnpenny J, Nykvist B (2009) Beyond the regime: can Integrated Sustainability Assessment address the barriers to effective sustainable passenger mobility policy? Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 52(8):973–991

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xanthos D, Walker TR (2017) International policies to reduce plastic marine pollution from single-use plastics (plastic bags and microbeads): a review. Marine pollution bulletin 118(1-2):17–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang N, Ha-Brookshire JE (2019) Truly sustainable or not? An exploratory assessment of sustainability capability of textile and apparel corporations in China from the moral responsibility perspective. Fashion and Textiles 6(1):15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu Y, Chen Z, Wei L, Wang B (2017) The low-carbon technology characteristics of China’s ferrous metal industry. Journal of Cleaner Production 140:1739–1748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahn E (1979) Strategische Planung zur Steuerung der langfristigen Unternehmensentwicklung: Grundlagen zu einer Theorie der Unternehmensplanung. Duncker & Humblot

  • Zhou Y, Pan M, Zhou DK, Xue L (2018) Stakeholder risk and trust perceptions in the diffusion of green manufacturing technologies: evidence from China. J Environ Dev 27(1):46–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Q (2016) Institutional pressures and support from industrial zones for motivating sustainable production among Chinese manufacturers. International Journal of Production Economics 181:402–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

The authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, search, and collection of relevant articles and reviews were performed by Mushtaq Ahmed and Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Mushtaq Ahmed. Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik and Muhammad Shahbaz thoroughly checked the first draft. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mushtaq Ahmed.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable

Consent of publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

Not applicable

Additional information

Responsible editor: Nicholas Apergis

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ahmed, M., Mubarik, M.S. & Shahbaz, M. Factors affecting the outcome of corporate sustainability policy: a review paper. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 10335–10356 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12143-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12143-7

Keywords

Navigation