Strategic perspectives of corporate sustainability management to develop a sustainable organization

CITATION

Baumgartner, R., & Rauter, R. (2017). Strategic perspectives of corporate sustainability management to develop a sustainable organization. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 81–92

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ABSTRACT
Sustainable development refers to an economic, environmental and social development that meets the
needs of the present and does not prevent future generations from fulfilling their needs. In this context,
businesses play an important role. However, progress towards sustainable development has been slow,
indicating the need for more concrete guidance that will allow businesses to act strategically and successfully
in a sustainable way. This theoretical paper connects three distinct, but complementary, dimensions
of strategic management as viewed from the perspective of sustainability in order to
encourage the integration of sustainability issues into corporate activities and strategies. These three
dimensions are: strategy process, strategy content and strategy context. Sixteen propositions related to
these dimensions have been developed to explore the contributions of corporate sustainability management
to the creation of value for businesses, society and nature. This theoretical discussion contributes
to existing research in that it reveals relationships between strategic management and
sustainable development and provides an agenda for further empirical research.


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