How organizational cognitive frames affect organizational capabilities: The context of corporate sustainability

Abstract

We draw on the emerging literature on the micro-foundation of capability development to investigate the effects of the relative importance of corporate sustainability in a firm's organizational cognitive frame on the development of distinct organizational capabilities. Based on survey data from 124 Danish manufacturing firms and seven interviews, we find that the relative importance of corporate sustainability in a firm's organizational cognitive frame positively encourages the development of three organizational capabilities, namely, stakeholder integration, market sensing, and organizational learning. However, contrary to our expectation and reasoning, we find that the development of the strategic planning capability is negatively affected. Our findings provide novel empirical evidence and contribute to an improved understanding of the effect of a firm's organizational cognitive frame on the development of organizational capabilities.

The Sustainable Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Global Analysis and Future Trends

“…It should also manage the opportunities, risks, and consequences of an integrated sustainability strategy. Finally, it should also incorporate dynamics that had not previously been considered in decision-making [40] and create strategic planning scenarios to interpret consumer attitudes or competitive sustainability decisions [41,42]. Table 1 presents the main results of the literature review or state of the art of the object of study of the research the relationship between corporate social responsibility and sustainability.…”

Can environmentally oriented CEOs and environmentally friendly suppliers boost the growth of small firms?

“…In this way, the metacharacteristics of corporate sustainability (the financial, social, and environmental dimensions) constitute a cognitive decision‐support structure (Boal & Peery, ) that guides the CEO's strategic decisions regarding capabilities, such as GPC. Furthermore, top managers for whom corporate sustainability has a vital role in their cognitive frame pay attention to and give priority to environmental issues (Knight, Megicks, Agarwal, & Leenders, ; Laamanen & Wallin, ) and regard environmental issues as opportunities rather than threats (Bansal, ; Grewatsch & Kleindienst, ). Thus, CEOs' cognition provides legitimacy for the realization of environmental capabilities (Grewatsch & Kleindienst, ), by, for example, channeling resources for the implementation of GPC.…”

“…Thus, CEOs' cognition provides legitimacy for the realization of environmental capabilities (Grewatsch & Kleindienst, 2018), by, for example, channeling resources for the implementation of GPC. Thus, the CEO's interpretations are based on the firm's actual contextual and temporary situation in addition to his or her attitudes and preferences, formed by his or her socioeconomic roots, experiences, and value systems (Kaplan, 2008).…”

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