Environmental and social performance

Managing Carbon Aspirations: The Influence of Corporate Climate Change Targets on Environmental Performance

“…Our research also shines new light on the use of organizational aspirations in the context of non-financial performance (Di Norcia 1996;Ioannou et al 2016;Maas and Rosendaal 2016;Russo and Harrison 2005). While extant research on aspirations suggests that they may be valuable tools for fostering financial performance improvements, our research adds to the discussions about their ambiguity in terms of intentions and effectiveness (Kolk and Perego 2014).…”

“…Our theorization of the relationship between firms' climate change targets and their environmental outcomes is grounded in prior research that recognizes that a wide range of intentions underpin firms' environmental management activities (Berrone and Gomez-Mejia 2009;Kolk and Perego 2014) and that the relationship between these activities and environmental outcomes is therefore complex (di Norcia 1996). Ambiguous evidence in relation to environmental management practices in general (Hussain et al 2016), and particularly target setting (Berrone and Gomez-Mejia 2009;Cordeiro and Sarkis 2008;Russo and Harrison 2005), has fueled debate regarding the limitations of prior research and the merits of various approaches to managing environmental impacts (Maas and Rosendaal 2016;Hahn et al 2016;Wright and Nyberg 2016).…”

“…Building upon the dichotomy between substantive and symbolic intentions for setting climate change targets, we argue that only when substantive intentions to improve environmental performance underpin target-setting behavior will they be effective. Substantive intentions may be altruistic or instrumental, or both (Hahn et al 2016), but they must be minded toward measurable performance improvements (di Norcia 1996). In these circumstances, carbon performance targets provide firms with an opportunity to develop unique organizational capabilities, which both address environmental impact and may be of value to the firm's broader financial performance and strategic aspirations (Bansal 2003;Sharma 2000).…”

“…The strategy is to grow the company while not increasing GHG emissions," and UK retailer Tesco has the "target to be a zero-carbon business, without purchasing offsets, by 2050." While research has recently begun to explore the role and effectiveness of companies setting a range of sustainability targets, particularly as part of executive remuneration schemes (Ioannou et al 2016;Kolk and Perego 2014;Maas 2016;Maas and Rosendaal 2016;Pinkse and Busch 2013;Pinkse and Kolk 2009), there remains a notable lack of empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of targets on non-financial performance outcomes, and the contingencies that intervene in these processes (Di Norcia 1996;Ioannou et al 2016;Russo and Harrison 2005).…”

Acceptability of operations as an indicator of corporate social performance

“…This model begins with an assessment of the business environment, which typically includes economic, social, cultural and organisational factors. Fritzsche (1991) added a technological element to the previous lists, and Norcia (1996) found the same component in his ethical study measuring environmental performance. Smeltzer & Jennings (1998) and Payne et al (1997) formulated codes of ethics for global business which can be understood as instructions or regulations for observance by managers and include ethical, cultural and managerial aspects.…”