Literature Review and Theoretical Framework of the Evolution and Interconnectedness of Corporate Sustainability Constructs

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development (SD) was introduced in the “Our Common Future” report, launched in 1987, which influenced the emergence of many studies related to the role played by organizations as actors supporting SD. SD is a consolidated concept; however, since 1987, many political, social, and natural events have occurred on our planet, which have impacted companies’ behaviors. However, the diversity of research from different fields has provoked, among the academic community, a lack of clarity surrounding “sustainability” (S), “corporate sustainability” (CS) and “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) concepts. This lack of clarity can also be identified in companies, which have referred to “sustainability” only in the environmental field. Recently, increased discussions related to corporate sustainability metrics have shed light on the ESG criteria (environmental, social, and governance), increasing misperceptions associated with the concept. Ambiguous definitions and constructs may prevent managers from identifying sustainability goals for their companies. Therefore, literature reviews as a research method are more relevant than ever. Thus, in this work, we aim to answer the following question: How should we integrate different perspectives on corporate sustainability, in order to broaden the understanding of the concept? In this study, we conducted a focused bibliographic review and revisited the papers that most influenced the construction of the concepts. The information in this paper is helpful to improve the understanding of CS; to provide specific insights into the studies that have investigated this field; to help managers and entrepreneurs who are improving CS actions in their companies; and to support academia by putting together a large amount of information about this theme in one paper.

Business–society interface: An exploration of a paradigmatic heuristic model of corporate social responsibility in Colombia

“…More recently, the problems of power, culture, and political dimensions of CSR have been engaged (Scherer et al, 2014; Scherer & Palazzo, 2007), and academic attention has again turned to the relevant business case for CSR (Barnett, 2019; Ergene et al, 2020; Schaltegger et al, 2019). Sustainability issues in corporate strategy have also been assumed more relevance in the past decade, putting more pressure on large, multinational corporations regarding the crucial need to attend socio‐environmental complexity and the challenges of managing a multiplicity of stakeholders in a variety of contexts (Bansal, 2005; Costa et al, 2022; Dueñas‐Ocampo et al, 2021).…”

“…Various theoretical perspectives have been adopted in CSR research, including stakeholder theory, resource‐based theory, upper echelons theory, institutional theory, behavioral theory, and economic theories of information and incentives (Richter & Dow, 2017; Velte, 2022; Wang et al, 2016; Wang et al, 2020). Similarly, efforts have been made to advance theoretical mapping (e.g., Frynas & Yamahaki, 2016; Garriga & Melé, 2004), and conceptualization to disaggregate the ways in which CSR has evolved (Costa et al, 2022; Nave & Ferreira, 2019). These efforts highlight the barriers and advantages of different approaches to understanding contemporary CSR, its connections, and its conceptual complexity.…”

Clarifying the Concept of Corporate Sustainability and Providing Convergence for Its Definition

“…Frecè and Harder [12] identified the inappropriateness of transposing the definition from a socio-political context to a corporate context, highlighting how this resulted in the lack of a sound theoretical foundation, which made the concept of corporate sustainability arbitrary. In 2022, Costa et al conducted a literature review to integrate the different perspectives in order to broaden the understanding of the concept, on the premise that the diversity of research from the different fields has created confusion surrounding sustainability, corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility [19].…”

“…Adopting a similar view, Christen and Schmidt [20] proposed an approach that sought to integrate the various viewpoints into an inclusive definition and explanatory framework of corporate sustainability. Costa et al created a simplified framework that sought to integrate the different perspectives in order the broaden the understanding of Corporate Sustainability [19]. At the opposite end, based on a historical perspective, philosophical analysis and on the impact of changing context and values systems, according to Marrewijk, a one-solution fits all concept of corporate sustainability is not reasonable [67,68].…”

The Role of Social Sustainability in the Designation of a Sustainable Community: Based on Cumulative Development Patterns in Residential Complexes

“…Studies conducted by [2,24,25] demonstrated the difference between citizen sustainability and social sustainability. These concepts interpret how the research theoretical framework manifests itself.…”