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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title On the Nature of Corporate Sustainability
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Johannes Meuer
  • Julian Kölbel
  • Volker H Hoffmann
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Organization & Environment
Publisher Sage Publications
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 1086-0266
Volume 33
Number 3
Page Range 319 - 341
Date 2020
Abstract Text Scholarly and managerial interest in corporate sustainability has increased significantly in the past two decades. However, the field is increasingly criticized for failing to effectively contribute to sustainable development and for its limited impact on managerial practice. We argue that this criticism arises due to a fundamental ambiguity around the nature of corporate sustainability. To address the lack of concept clarity, we conduct a systematic literature review and identify 33 definitions of corporate sustainability. Adopting the Aristotelian perspective on definitions, one that promotes reducing concepts to their essential attributes, we discern four components of corporate sustainability. These components offer a conceptual space of inquiry that, while being parsimonious, offers nuanced understanding of the dimensions along which definitions of corporate sustainability differ. We discuss implications for research and practice and outline several recommendations for how advancements in construct clarity may lead to a better scholarly understanding of corporate sustainability.
Official URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1086026619850180
Digital Object Identifier 10.1177/1086026619850180
Other Identification Number merlin-id:18057
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