Abstract:

Although sustainability has become a strategic priority in the corporate world, firms struggle to demonstrate how sustainability commitments and programmes translate into outcomes and impact for society. We conduct a qualitative study to examine outcomes of sustainability integration at three multinational firms. The findings suggest a typology of performative, prefigurative, and transformative outcomes, supported by a transversal layer of generative outcomes that strengthen firms’ ability to create transformative impact. The findings show that outcomes can reach beyond the level of the organisation and extend across systems. However, their influence varies based on the type of outcome and the focal firm’s sustainability integration maturity. While performative outcomes operate largely within the firm and reflect its adaptation within the current system, prefigurative and especially transformative outcomes aim to challenge and reshape the system from within. This layered understanding is important for both researchers and practitioners in theorising how sustainability outcomes are scaled across systems and create societal impact.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Sustainable and Responsible Business

Keywords: responsible business;CSR;case study;interviews

Menu

Dr. Victoria Kemanian