Logo image
Back
The Influence of Sustainability Performance Management Practices on Organisational Sustainability Performance
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The Influence of Sustainability Performance Management Practices on Organisational Sustainability Performance

David Gadenne, L Mia, John Sands, L Winata and G Hooi
Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, Vol.8(2), pp.210-235
2012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/18325911211230380
pdf
PDF - Author's Submitted Version360.97 kBDownloadView
Submitted VersionPDF - Author Submitted Version Open Access
url
https://doi.org/10.1108/18325911211230380View
Published Version

Abstract

sustainability performance management practices organisational sustainability performance
Purpose - This study investigates the relationship between organisations' sustainability performance management practices and sustainability performance. Design/methodology/approach - Data for the study were collected from 314 medium to large organisations operating in Australia. A mailed printed questionnaire was used to collect the data. Personal interviews with 20 senior executives were conducted to pilot test and refine the questionnaire. Findings - Organisations apply eight sustainability performance management practices (SPMPs) to improve seven different sustainability performance indicators (SPIs). Each of the eight SPMPs is positively associated with at least one or more SPIs. We find that customer value, new product development and information capital performance indicators are each associated with a single SPMP, while the other four performance indicators (environmental, employee value, social responsibility, and financial performance) are each associated with multiple SPMPs. Overall, the results indicate that increasing the level of an organisation's focus on its individual SPMPs is positively associated with its better performance under one or more SPIs. Research limitations/implications - The study provides a statistically tested framework that can be used for further research investigating the relationships between different SPMPs and SPIs in different contexts and industries, thereby, contribute towards a better understanding of sustainability performance-related issues. We believe the results and the framework may be beneficial to company management in terms of better understanding and prioritising which SPMPs are relatively more important, and therefore should be initiated first. Our results indicate that not all of the eight SPMPs are equally important; some SPMPs are positively associated with more SPIs than others, thereby indicating the relative importance of specific SPMPs. Practical implications - The practices most significantly associated with sustainability performance included those related to social responsibility, new product introduction, process and employee effectiveness, and customer and employee satisfaction. These findings may assist organisations in prioritising their focus on particular sustainability Performance management practices for their sustainability performance. Originality/value - This study provides empirical evidence concerning which SPMPs are positively associated with particular SPIs. A framework of the identified SPMPs and SPIs is developed with a view towards promoting future research and practical applications to foster organisational sustainability performance.

Details

Metrics

1136 File views/ downloads
978 Record Views
75 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas
Business, Finance

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Source: InCites

Logo image