Continuous improvement and business sustainability in companies of an emerging market: Empirical analysis

Abstract

Purpose: The article analyses the impact of continuous improvement (system and teams) on business sustainability dimensions (social, environmental, operational and financial) as a competitive strategy to create value for all stakeholders in emerging economy context.Design/methodology/approach: The data collected is from 120 companies of different sizes and 13 different industrial sectors such as food, energy, health, financial services, and logistics in Colombia. The design of multivariate logistic regression is to identify the critical aspects of the continuous improvement practices that significantly affect the dimensions of business sustainability.Findings: The analysis shows that from continuous improvement aspects (system and teams), employee involvement, human talent maintenance, training, and evaluation accompanied by feedback impact business sustainability. These elements impact financial and operational dimensions significantly but in the environmental and social aspects with less intensity.Research limitations/implications: Research is limited to the general sustainability analysis applying resource-based strategy in Colombia. Practical implications: Generate overall awareness of the importance of the equilibrium of sustainability dimensions in strategic planning and implementation in emerging economies.Originality/value: This work applies an empirical study to establish the impact of continuous improvement (system and teams) on each of the business sustainability dimensions (social, environmental, operational and financial) in companies of emerging economies.

The Moderating Role of Innovation in the Relationship Between Business Sustainability and Organizational Performance in Companies of an Emerging Economy

“…In this sense, despite the limited effect of innovation on business sustainability, it was identified that the innovation practices that have the greatest impact on business sustainability are: (i) creating new production or service delivery or logistics processes, or implementing significant changes in these processes, (ii) managing the company or any of its units differently, (iii) introducing new goods or services, and (iv) registering patents and/or licensing industrial property. This confirms the findings of Mahjoub (2023), Du et al (2022), and Walker et al (2015) about the benefits of innovation on firm performance and competitiveness, which is positive in a highly competitive, complex, and uncertain environment, particularly in emerging economies where innovation is unusual (Bernal et al, 2021; Gölgeci et al, 2019).…”

“…This phenomenon justifies further research on the subject in the context of these economies where companies are characterized by a short-term vision, poor environmental culture, significant wage inequality, low propensity to invest in environmental, social, and innovation issues (Bernal et al, 2020) and the countries have permissive legislation with environmentally harmful activities, lack of labor protection, and few incentives to invest in technologies and innovation (Bernal et al, 2021; Larbi-Siaw et al, 2022).…”

“…In this context, companies in emerging economies have great opportunities for growth thanks to the rapid advancement of technology and the increased investment, research, and development in many of these countries (Alam et al, 2019; Sassanelli & Terzi, 2022). However, they must face challenges such as the effects of COVID-19, the turbulent environments, the availability and use of technology and generation of innovation, low productivity, a strong emphasis on the production of natural resources with little added value, and problems related to the well-being of workers and communities, climate change and environmental pollution, among others (Bernal et al, 2021; Gölgeci et al, 2019; Morgan et al, 2021).…”

Continuous vocational training in response to the challenge of industry 4.0: Required skills and business results

“…Sustainable business development, defined as the ability to generate added value in the short, medium, and long term for firm's stakeholders, whilst minimizing the negative impact on society, has four dimensions: social, environmental, operational and financial (Bernal-Torres et al, 2021). This sustainable development goal has been the subject of increasing attention from academics, industry representatives and policy makers.…”