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Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 May 2023) | Viewed by 27155

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Taewoo Roh

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Guest Editor

School of International Studies, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
Interests: environmental sustainability; green management; global strategy; knowledge and innovation; business ethics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Byung Il Park

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Guest Editor

HUFS Business School, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul 02450, Republic of Korea
Interests: knowledge acquisition from MNEs; MNE subsidiary performance; corporate social responsibility of MNEs; the impacts of FDI on economic growth
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Jootae Kim

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Guest Editor

College of Business, Dankook University, Yongin-si 16890, Korea
Interests: global management; corporate governance; green management and green finance; strategic information technology

Dr. Jinsup Jung

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Guest Editor

International Business, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
Interests: business strategy; global business case; global strategic management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is a growing need to implement a green economy approach to product and service development throughout the corporate environmental strategy. In this effort, sustainable management plays a vital role, encompassing environmental, social, and economic perspectives. To meet the needs of stakeholders through a multifaceted approach, companies are adopting corporate environmental strategy that accommodates a green economy approach to socially qualified products and services. By reallocating and reusing resources and converting waste streams into inputs for further production, green economy has become rampant, driven by rapid urbanization, climate change, technological advances, and increasing demand for limited natural resources. We assume that the benefits of the green economy include optimizing resources, improving stakeholder relationships, improving brand reputation, and alleviating uncertainty in global markets, leading to a virtuous cycle of sustainability.

However, given the circumstances described above, the related discussion of the green economy is still underdeveloped. Key topics such as corporate environmental strategy and stakeholder management require more research in both theoretical and empirical settings. Corporate environmental strategy leads to a resource-circulating economy by changing the global supply chain in predominant business disciplines. For example, multinational efforts to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have gone beyond the agenda of the United Nations hasten companies’ realization that the SDGs are closely related to stakeholders. Therefore, SDGs as a catalyst for a green economy can be seen as an inevitable alert to accelerate the green transition of the current business model of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal. In this regard, the submission of manuscripts answering these questions is encouraged to fill research gaps.

To further develop green economy approaches, to foster dialogue on corporate environmental responsibility, and to promote research findings in the field of stakeholder management, this Special Issue calls for papers focusing on the following topics:

Green economy and sustainability
- Green economy approaches for consumers;
- Sustainable business models for green economy;
- Sustainability and green economy through sustainable innovation;
- Quantitative and qualitative methodologies for green economy;
- Conceptual approach for carbon footprint;
- Other issues/fields related to green economy and sustainability.
Corporate environmental strategy for green economy
- Sustainable production and consumption;
- Eco-design, eco-labeling, eco-packaging, and eco-shopping;
- Green supply chain management;
- Green product innovation and green process innovation;
- Green marketing strategy;
- Other issues/fields related to green economy and corporate environmental strategy.
Green economy and stakeholder management
- Stakeholder pressures for eco-friendly environment;
- Policy promotions for green economy;
- Corporate social responsibility for sustainability;
- Consumer awareness of green economy and stakeholder management;
- Literature review for green economy and stakeholder management;
- Other issues/fields related to green economy and stakeholder management.

Dr. Taewoo Roh
Dr. Byung Il Park
Dr. Jootae Kim
Dr. Jinsup Jung
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

green economy
corporate environmental strategy
sustainable innovation
sustainable business
stakeholder management
green innovation

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 858 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relationship between Organizational Climate and Service Performance in South Korea and China

by Xuezhe Quan, Myeong-Cheol Choi and Xiao Tan

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10784; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410784 - 10 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1066

Abstract

Both South Korea and China have collective cultures; however, there are significant differences in employee behavior due to cultural, economic, and environmental factors. This study explores the influence of organizational climate on employee innovative behavior and service performance using a competitive value model, as well as the mediating effects of social capital and organizational silence. Adopting the interpersonal relationship, rational goal, and internal process approaches, it focuses on three aspects: supervisory support, pressure to produce, and formalization. A total of 773 valid questionnaires were collected from four- and five-star hotels in South Korea and China, and the data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. The results showed that supervisory support and pressure to produce positively affected employee social capital, thereby affecting their service performance. Formalization positively affected organizational silence and negatively affected employees’ innovative behaviors. This study confirmed the mediating effects of social capital and organizational silence in the organizational environment. The positive effects of supervisory support and pressure to produce on social capital were similar in South Korea and China. However, among the effects of organizational silence, Korean employees were more likely to benefit from formalization. This study identified the differences in organizational climate and organizational performance between South Korea and China and provides implications for enterprises’ sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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20 pages, 507 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Corporate Social Responsibility and Green Technology Innovation: The Moderating Role of Stakeholders

by Yixuan Chen and Shanyue Jin

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8164; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108164 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3130

Abstract

With economic globalization, sustainable development has become the preferred choice of enterprises facing fierce competition. Innovation is the primary driving force of development. As the driving force of sustainable development, green technology innovation (GTI) is crucial for enterprises. As a key influencing factor for green technological innovation, corporate social responsibility (CSR) behavior has received increasing attention. Based on stakeholder theory, stakeholders influence enterprises’ long-term strategic development goals. This study aims to examine the importance of CSR in advancing GTI and the involvement of stakeholders. Thus, this study selected Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020 as research objects and used fixed-effects regression models. The results identify the positive effects of CSR on GTI. This study also divided the stakeholders into different groups and elucidated, from different stakeholder perspectives, the positive moderating effects of government environmental subsidies, investor attention, and executive environmental attention on the relationship between CSR and GTI. This study verifies the direct impact of CSR on GTI, enriches the theoretical foundations of stakeholder theory and resource-based theory, and provides practical suggestions for enterprises to improve their social and environmental performance and green development. It also reveals the cognitive roles of governments, investors, and executives in environmental protection and governance, which will help Chinese enterprises to better fulfil their social responsibility, improve their own green technological innovation, and achieve sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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27 pages, 2901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influential Variables and Causal Relations Impact on Innovative Performance and Sustainable Growth of SMEs in Aspect of Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation

by Seoksoo Kim and Taekwan Ha

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7310; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097310 - 27 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2482

Abstract

Digital Transformation is essential in the global industry for survival and sustainable growth, and SMEs are mainly required to apply digital technology for sustainable growth. This study aims to verify the causal relationship between the variables significantly affecting Digital Transformation’s sustainable growth and innovative performance and suggest critical variables and strategies in which Digital Transformation’s constituent factors affect sustainable growth. Data were collected from an online survey of 303 CEOs of SMEs. Using Smart PLS, analyzed the factors affecting the sustainable growth of SMEs and verified the causal relationship. We found that applying Digital Transformation in SMEs is necessary because Digital Transformation affects innovation performance and ultimately impacts sustainable growth. By verifying the variables that affect the sustainable growth of 7 industrial sectors, we establish sustainable growth strategies suitable for each industry and provide the variables that affect sustainable growth. The findings imply that DT is essential for the sustainable growth of SMEs and that impact variables appropriate to the industry should be applied. The study results will be a new area of interest for future researchers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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30 pages, 373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Effect of Corporate ESG Management on Corporate Financial & Market Performance and Export

by Oh-Suk Yang and Jae-Hoon Han

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2316; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032316 - 27 Jan 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3399

Abstract

The objective of this article is to discover whether a company’s ESG management consistently has a positive impact on various corporate performance, such as financial, market and export performance. An empirical analysis employing a fixed effect panel model was conducted using empirical panel data from 2011 to 2021 for 806 non-financial manufacturing and service sector companies in Korea. The main findings are the impact of corporate ESG management on corporate performance varies depending on the type of performance, E and G have a positive effect on corporate profitability, and both positive and negative effects are observed on exports. Regarding market performance, neither ESG was found to have significant effect. The diverse and disproportionate influence of ESG management on financial, market, and export performance presented in this study will provide firms with theoretical and practical implications. However, it is necessary to examine more closely whether these analysis results are the result of actual strategic choices of companies, or a phenomenon in which the level or speed of regulatory and institutional development differs by ESG sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

16 pages, 1021 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Capital—Can It Weaken the Influence of Abusive Supervision on Employee Behavior?

by Jie Cheng, Myeong-Cheol Choi and Joeng-Su Park

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2042; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032042 - 20 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1842

Abstract

The travel industry has been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The operating pressure on enterprises has sharply increased, leading to the prominent phenomenon of abusive supervision. Managers employ this management method so that employees perceive work pressure as motivation to work harder and improve their performance. Employees may adopt the behavior of defensive silence to protect themselves from abusive supervision, which can subsequently affect employee behavior. However, social capital and relationships may lessen this effect. This study analyzed survey data on 475 workers from the Chinese tourism service industry to examine the mediating role of workers’ defensive silence under abusive supervision, employee behavior, and the moderating role of social capital. The results showed that abusive supervision does not promote employee performance but hinders employee growth. Employees’ defensive silence also affects employee behavior and has a partially mediating role in the relationship between abusive supervision and employee behavior. Social capital can mitigate the negative impact of abusive supervision on employee behavior. This study theoretically expands the applicable scope of employee silence as a mediating variable and social capital as a moderating variable. It is helpful for managers to change their negative leadership style, follow the suggestions of employees, pay attention to the organizational atmosphere, and enhance their team cohesion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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25 pages, 7960 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Developing a Sustainable Business Model of Ecotourism in Ethnic-Minority Regions Guided by the Green Economy Concept

by Wuxiang Chen

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1400; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021400 - 11 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2197

Abstract

China as a relatively large group of ethnic minorities in a country, the existence of ethnic minorities on the development of society had a great impact. At present, mass tourism in minority areas has brought many positive benefits, but also produced negative effects such as environmental pollution, local culture extinction and over-commercialization, which affected the business model of sustainable development of tourism in minority areas. Therefore, this paper aims at optimizing the environment, culture, commercialization and other issues of tourism in ethnic minority areas, and promoting the sustainable development of tourism in ethnic minority areas. Using principal component analysis and high-order confirmatory factor analysis model, this paper discusses the basic situation of tourism environment in minority areas from the perspective of tourists’ cognition. Taking the 4A-level scenic spots in three emerging areas of China as a case study, this paper provides a reference for the future tourism development of emerging areas, and considers the impact of COVID-19 epidemic. Firstly, it introduces the current tourism development in emerging areas. Then, the scale is designed by high-order factor analysis. Six first-order factors and 31 s-order factors are used to analyze the perceived quality of tourists in ethnic areas. Finally, this paper evaluates the tourism development in minority areas through the above design. In this paper, a total of 863 random tourists are investigated. It is found that the perceived quality of tourists in emerging market areas is the inclusive perception and evaluation of tourists. It involves the supply of tourism enterprises, the service of tourism staff, infrastructure and public management, the life of community residents and personal tourism experience. This paper comprehensively evaluated the tourism development of emerging areas from the above six aspects, and provided reference for the future green sustainable development of tourism in emerging areas through factor analysis. The research results provide a reference for optimizing the basic mode of tourism environment, culture and commercialization in emerging areas. Meanwhile, it also contributes to optimizing the research methods of tourism development and user perception in emerging market areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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19 pages, 494 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mechanism of the Impact of Export Trade on Environmental Pollution: A Study from a Heterogeneous Perspective on Environmental Regulation from China

by Haiyan Luo, Xiaoe Qu and Yanxin Hu

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16330; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416330 - 07 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1376

Abstract

The majority of the literature currently in existence on trade and pollution has concentrated on the analysis of both factors’ combined effects, and only a few studies have used heterogeneous environmental regulation as a starting point to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the impact of export trade on environmental pollution at the indirect level. We construct a mediating and moderating effect model using panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2002 to 2019 to investigate the mechanism of the effect of export trade on environmental pollution. Export trade produces large indirect inhibitory effects on environmental pollution only through market incentive-based restrictions, whereas the mediation impacts of government administrative and public monitoring laws are not significant. By interacting with elements such as technical innovation and energy structure, export trade can also negatively regulate its bad consequences on environmental degradation. According to the heterogeneity analysis’s findings, processing trade indirectly reduces pollution emissions by changing administrative rules and cutting emission costs, but general trade indirectly increases environmental pollution by favorably impacting market-based incentives regulations. The moderating effects of improving energy structures, industrial structure optimization, and R&D competition effects diminish the positive aggravating effect of general trade on pollution emissions, while processing trade has the opposite effect. The only means of controlling the harmful impact of processing trade on environmental degradation is through interaction with technical progress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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24 pages, 3018 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rural Ecological Environment Promotes the Improvement of the Mechanism of Bilateral Economic Interest Connection between Agricultural Enterprises and Farmers under the New Retail Format

by Gao Chao and Meixue Feng

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16204; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316204 - 05 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1385

Abstract

In order to further explore the rural ecological environment promoting the new retail format, the research on improving the mechanism of bilateral economic interest linkage between agricultural enterprises and farmers under the rural ecological environment promoting the new retail format was proposed. Through in-depth analysis of the bilateral interest linkage mechanism between agricultural enterprises and farmers under the new retail format, this study starts with specific cases to deeply summarize the specific problems of the bilateral economic interest linkage mechanism between agricultural enterprises and farmers under the development trend of the rural ecological environment and fully reveal the unreasonable phenomena in the linkage mechanism. The results show that the main problems of the current agricultural enterprise linkage mechanism are the frequent occurrence of default events, the low stability of the linkage, the loose connections, and the lack of risk sharing and value creation mechanisms. On this basis, starting from the economic benefits acquisition and development needs of farmers and enterprises, this paper focuses on the innovation and improvement strategies of the bilateral economic benefit linkage mechanism from the aspects of the development of cooperative economic organizations, capital investment, and innovation of the industrial operation mode. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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15 pages, 303 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability: From a Corporate Governance Perspective

by Lijuan Wu and Shanyue Jin

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15457; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215457 - 21 Nov 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3399

Abstract

Sustainable corporate development has become essential for many enterprises in the context of economic globalization and fierce technological competition. In fact, it is being tackled at a strategic level by most companies. The fulfillment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is significant in building a corporate image, improving brand competitiveness, and promoting sustainable corporate development. Simultaneously, the level of corporate governance is a crucial factor in an enterprise’s long-term development. Therefore, this study clarifies whether CSR has a positive impact on the sustainable development of enterprises through empirical analysis; it also analyzes the effects of internal governance factors on the relationship between the two, from the perspective of corporate governance. A fixed-effects regression analysis was conducted on a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2019. According to the results, active CSR can promote sustainable development. Furthermore, corporate governance factors such as internal control, management capabilities, and accounting information quality have a moderating role in the CSR process on sustainable corporate development. This study provides a theoretical basis for future research on CSR and sustainable development, and its findings can inspire governments and enterprises from the perspective of corporate governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

14 pages, 582 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Firms Can Improve Sustainable Performance on Belt and Road Initiative

by Tao Zhao, Jung-Mo Koo and Min-Jae Lee

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14090; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114090 - 28 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1487

Abstract

This study investigates the digitalization capabilities and the moderating effect of green open innovation (GOI) that firms need to achieve triple bottom line (TBL) performance in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This study explores the structure of business ecosystems that firms need to achieve sustainable performance and investigates open innovations that can be promoted based on them. The data used in the analysis was collected from 474 manufacturing firms pursuing partnerships among ecosystem participants to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the BRI. The moderating regression analysis is used in this study. We found that digitization capabilities (DCs) have a significant effect on a firm’s TBL performance. In addition, it was confirmed that GOI has a positive moderating effect on digitalization capabilities and a firm’s economic performance. Based on these results, we also believe our model contributes to the current knowledge by filling several research gaps, and our findings offer valuable and practical implications not only for achieving sustainable growth but also for the creation of competitive advantage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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17 pages, 2450 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Shareholding of the National Pension Fund on Environmental, Social, Governance, and Financial Performance: Evidence from the Korean Manufacturing Industry

by Jootae Kim, Sungjin Son and Ick Jin

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11788; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811788 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2364

Abstract

With the growing number of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) problems, many companies have begun to implement more sustainable business practices. In the midst of this change, institutional shareholders declare and adopt socially responsible investment procedures, which is a way of engaging in investor activism. Despite the growing interest in investor activism following the introduction of the stewardship code, little attention has been paid to how socially responsible investment practices of institutional investors affect the non-financial value of the pillars of environmental, social, and governance as well as financial performance, including short-term accounting (ROE, ROA) and long-term market performance (Tobin q). The current study examines whether the national pension fund (NPF), the world’s third-largest Korean pension fund, can increase the ESG performance of investee firms in addition to accounting and market performance through institutional investors’ shareholding. This study, by applying path analysis, attempts to explore the relationship between the NPF’s socially responsible investing, ESG, and the financial performance of the investee firms. This research offers evidence that ESG performance acts as a moderator or a mediator between NPF’s shareholding and financial performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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17 pages, 518 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Business Groups Survive Institutional Advancements? Examining the Role of Internal Market for Non-Tradable, Intangible Assets

by Kyuho Jin

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10936; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710936 - 01 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1095

Abstract

Business groups are observed everywhere except in the U.S. and U.K.; their global presence is widely acknowledged. The most successful explanation for this preponderance has been based on the relative efficiency of business groups’ internal market vis-à-vis the external market conventionally observed in underdeveloped or emerging economies. Unsurprisingly, this view cannot explain why business groups also prosper in advanced economies where their internal market is thought to no longer match efficient external markets. This study addresses this contradiction by drawing attention to non-tradable, intangible assets and putting forward an institution-free, micro-level explanation. Specifically, we reason that the external market for organizational capabilities is bound to be missing regardless of institutional advancements and economic development due to human beings’ innate cognitive limits and information and behavioral uncertainties, while business groups’ internal markets may overcome these limits via their distinctive organizing mechanism underpinned by group identity, solidarity, mutual trust, shared organizational architecture, and enhanced communicability. In other words, business groups can outperform the external market in coordinating and facilitating exchanges of non-tradable assets and organizational capabilities in particular that are becoming increasingly crucial for successful competition. Using panel data of large business groups in Korea during the periods between 2003 and 2016, we confirm that affiliation with business groups and accessing their internal market enhances technological capability. Thus, this study extends our understanding of business groups beyond the institution-based explanation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Environmental Strategy and Stakeholder Management from a Green Economy Perspective)

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