Carmen Padin

Sustainable business models : corporate reasons, economic effects, social boundaries, environmental actions and organizational challenges in sustainable business practices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe: corporate reasons for, and organizational challenges of sustainable business models; and the evolution of economic effects, social boundaries and environmental actions in sustainable business practices. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on insights gained from eight Norwegian companies in different industries. Purposeful sampling was employed to ensure that the companies had sustainable business models beyond the level of mere compliance, of sustainable business practices in the marketplace and society. A deductive approach to data collection ensured that the companies had sufficient understanding to relate their sustainable business practices to interviewers. The interviews were subsequently transcribed and analyzed systematically by the research team. Findings – The empirical findings indicate evolutionary changes as companies move on a continuum from superficial to embedded sustainable business models and the application of sustainable...

A sustainable tourism planning model: components and relationships

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to describe the concept of sustainable tourism planning, establishing the theoretical foundations, the components that make up the model, and the relationships that ensure the sustainability of a tourist destination.Design/methodology/approach – Tourism planning is based on the principles of sustainability and is defined by three dimensions: environmental, economic and cultural tourism development.Findings – The goal of comprehensive tourism planning is to achieve economic growth and efficiency, ensuring efficiency and social equity by solving the basic needs of the population and on the basis of stable and continuous environmental systems.Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this paper is the need to validate the dynamic elements raised and test the robustness of the model in an application.Practical implications – Finding the right balance between these three dimensions is necessary to ensure comprehensive long‐term sustainability, while finding amp...

Trust and commitment as mediators between economic and non-economic satisfaction in manufacturer-supplier relationships

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test a research model in which trust and commitment are mediators between economic and non-economic satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The sample for this study comprises a total of 600 small and medium-sized Spanish enterprises from various industrial sectors. A total of 259 usable questionnaires were returned, generating a response rate of 43.2 per cent. The research model is tested with structural equation modeling using AMOS-software. Findings – The empirical findings regarding the studied business relationships confirm the independence between economic and non-economic satisfaction, and the mediating role of trust and commitment. Furthermore, the findings confirm that there is no direct cause–effect relationship between economic and non-economic satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – Numerous inter-organizational studies have tested satisfaction as two separate constructs (economic and non-economic satisfaction). This study goes further by...

A multi‐layer matrix model of sustainable tourism: Process, measurement areas, gap and reconnection analyses

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to describe a multi‐layer matrix model of sustainable tourism.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual discussion and illustration is provided.Findings – It incorporates multiple layers of a proposed process of sustainable tourism and areas of measurement interconnected through a series of gap and reconnection analyses.Research limitations/implications – Opportunities for further research are offered.Practical implications – The paper highlights the importance of linking planning and implementation to evaluation and control, but it also stresses the importance of reconnecting back to ongoing planning and implementation, in order to make necessary revisions in the process of sustainable tourism.Originality/value – One contribution is that sustainable tourism is not defined as a concept or construct, but as a process, since there are no achievements or progress in sustainable practices without a sequence of inter‐connected and measureable doings in the context of m...

A Triple Bottom Line Dominant Logic for Business Sustainability: Framework and Empirical Findings

ABSTRACT Purpose: A limited number of studies have attempted to reveal the mechanism underlying integration amongst the economic, environmental, and social components of business sustainability (BS). BS refers to a company’s efforts to go beyond focusing only on profitability, also to manage its environmental, social, and broader economic impact on the marketplace and society as a whole. The research objective of this study is therefore to develop and test a framework of BS, based upon the triple bottom line (TBL) approach. Methodology/approach: Companies with more than 100 employees were identified to take part in the study. Respondents included executives in charge of BS initiatives, such as chief sustainability officers, sustainable business managers, and CEOs. Ultimately, 261 companies agreed to participate. Questionnaires (and an accompanying letter with survey details and contact information on the researchers) were sent to the targeted key informant in the company. A total of 110 usable questionnaires were returned, generating a final response rate of 42.1%. Findings: To assess the underlying pattern of dimensions and items of the BS framework, factor analyses were conducted. An initial factor analysis revealed 3 separate subframeworks of BS (economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the TBL-approach), all of which demonstrate satisfactory factor solutions. A second factor analysis iteration, containing all subframeworks of BS (i.e., 20 dimensions and 60 items) generated a total explained variance of 80%, although the factor loadings of 3 dimensions and their items merged with 3 other dimensions. The final factor solution generated a satisfactory 17-factor solution and explained 83% of the variance, indicating satisfactory convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity, as well as reliability of each dimension. Research implications: The study proposes a BS framework and concludes that the measurement metrics of the BS framework, which were developed and tested, are valid and reliable. Suggestions for applications, research limitations, and further research are provided. The BS framework may be used by companies to assess and monitor their sustainable business practices in the marketplace and society. The framework provides managerial structure and guidance in terms of the dimensions to be taken into consideration and also the items for measuring each of the dimensions of the BS framework in the market and society. The study is not without its limitations and further work is needed to verify the validity and reliability of the empirical findings of the BS framework across contexts and over time. As it stands, the investigation provides a foundation for further research, offering opportunities for updates, amendments, and refinements. Originality/value/contribution: A principal contribution of this study is the empirically developed and tested BS framework. It is based on the elements of the TBL approach, consisting of dimensions and measurement items. The BS framework and its hierarchical layers provide a structured contribution that assesses and monitors the managerial implementation of sustainable business practices and sustainable business models. Furthermore, the structural properties of the BS framework, in relation to contextual variables, provide additional research opportunities for the future.

A sustainable business model in services: an assessment and validation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe a sustainable business model in a service industry. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was performed during 2012-2013. It is based upon a major Scandinavian hotel chain known for having implemented documented, extensive and systematic sustainable business practices within the company and in its business network. Data were gathered from multiple sources to explore and describe their sustainable business model. Findings – This study provides a validation in a service industry of an assessed sustainable business model derived from a goods industry and from other industries as well. The empirical findings indicate that the model appears to be universally applicable across sources and stakeholders in the service sector beyond company- and industry-specific characteristics in services. Research limitations/implications – Further research that may validate or falsify current empirical findings in other business settings is presented. Suggesti...

Framing stakeholder considerations and business sustainability efforts: a construct, its dimensions and items

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to determine the extent to which companies’™ efforts of sustainable business practices consider stakeholders within their organisations, business networks, the marketplace and society, and to develop and test a stakeholder construct in the context of companies’™ business sustainability efforts within their business networks, the marketplace and society by identifying underlying dimensions and items. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method approach was used. First, qualitative research involving a case study approach was followed so as to describe how companies in different industries in Norway implement and manage sustainable business practices. This was followed by a quantitative research phase to empirically measure and test a stakeholder construct in the context of business sustainability efforts, which is reported here. Findings – The results report both an initial factor solution as well as a refined factor solution. The factor analyses confirmed f...

New aspects of research to assess and manage critical incidents in service encounters: Teleological actions, interactive interface and perceptual gaps

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to describe the teleological actions needed to assess and manage critical incidents that cause negative emotions in service encounters. Teleological actions are movements into the future that are believed to be move either towards a predictable/known or unpredictable/unknown state or condition. The authors distinguish between, define and apply three categories: transformative – ad hoc and present-based actions; formative – pre-determined and past-based actions; and rationalist – goal-directed and future-based actions. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study, based upon a two-phase approach applying convenience and judgemental sampling, was used. Focussing on one teleological theory, a process of abductive matching was applied throughout the study. Abductive matching refers to recurring themes, patterns and categories that are uncovered through the iterative processes of analysis. The teleological framework structured and guided the data collection and emp...

A triple bottom line construct and reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to test a Triple Bottom Line (TBL)-construct as well as to describe the TBL-reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks. This study explores how linking these seemingly disparate pillars of sustainability may be facilitated through a TBL construct. The notion of sustainable business practices has been evolving and is increasingly understood to encompass considerations of economic viability, as well as environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Design/methodology/approach – The research is quantitative in nature, exploring and analysing how companies in different Norwegian industries implement and manage sustainable business practices based on TBL. The survey results are reported here. Findings – The relevance of TBL to different aspects of sustainable business practices is outlined. The study generally supports the view that a heightened propensity for sustainable business practices ensures that organi...

Teleological Approaches from Complexity Sciences in Services: Framework, Illustration and Proposition

To describe and apply teleological approaches from complexity sciences in services. The performance of service encounters and the outcome of service quality are dependent upon complex and dynamic interactions between service providers and service receivers. A set of teleological approaches from complexity sciences is incorporated and applied in the context of service settings. A teleological application from complexity sciences in relation to the interactive nature of the performance of service encounters and the outcome of service quality is likely to trigger and encourage innovative research designs and alternative methodological approaches to new research problems in services. A suggestion of further research is to address where and how we can learn from other research disciplines that have explored the addressed aspects of teleological approaches from complexity sciences in a more advanced way, and how we can transfer and incorporate these aspects and knowledge into services. The research opportunities into service quality and service encounters by applying teleological approaches from complexity sciences are extensive. They might also stimulate innovative analytical techniques that could produce groundbreaking research findings, in extension, with important implications for practice. A continued emphasis on multi-disciplinary research may contribute to improve current research and practice of services.