Veranstaltungsprogramm der VHB Jahrestagung

The rise of the digital sustainability and the regenerative sustainability imperative is altering established markets. In these reignited markets – which are characterized by relatively clear structures but a high degree of uncertainty –, incumbents need to pursue new strategies that put both imperatives center stage. We posit incumbents can leverage digital technologies to enhance environmental sustainability and drive firm performance through twin strategies. Specifically, we propose that incumbents can adopt revamp, reduce, report, and revive as four alternative strategies. The choice of a strategy is influenced by the incumbents’ impact on natural resources and resource orchestration approach. We integrate these insights into a conceptual framework of twin strategies. We discuss how this framework supports executives in responding to the new sustainability imperatives and how it adds to scholarship at the intersection of corporate strategy and corporate sustainability.

In the face of the major global challenges (Rockström et al., 2009), sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have gained importance and have become central and defining contemporary topics for management, scholars, and the wider public (Wang et al., 2016). This paper delves into the nuanced relationship between CEO characteristics, specifically gender and age, and CSR outcomes in family and non-family firms. It integrates insights from Upper Echelons Theory (UET), emphasizing the impact of CEO personal attributes on strategic decision-making, with CEO discretion, which underscores the importance of CEO autonomy and authority in shaping CSR initiatives. To research this, we rely on a big data strategy which combines data from audited annual accounts, an artificial intelligence approach to identify organizational sustainability intensity, and an algorithm and supercomputer-based identification of family firms. We contribute to research by revealing novel insights and explanations for how companies in our economies are (not) responding to the contemporary climate challenges by examining important boundary conditions for sustainable behaviour in family and non-family firms.

This study investigates the determinants of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance variations among companies, focusing on the influential role of top management teams (TMTs) and industry environment. Based on upper echelons theory and resource perspectives, we hypothesize that the diversity within TMTs—specifically, gender, culture, and functional background—affects companies’ ESG performance. Notably, we introduce functional background as a diversity dimension, illuminating the positive link between low value-oriented (LVO) functional backgrounds and ESG performance, next to the positive effects of gender diversity and cultural diversity. Employing a contingency lens, the study explores the moderating influence of industry environmental factors on the diversity-ESG performance nexus. Our findings reveal that environments characterized by munificence strengthen the effects of gender and cultural diversity on ESG performance, while environmental dynamism negatively affects the association between functional background diversity and ESG performance. Acknowledging the escalating importance of ESG in corporate strategy, our research addresses existing deficiencies in the literature, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding of the diverse effects of TMT diversity in conjunction with industry environment, and providing a much more nuanced understanding of the latter based on its empirical findings.

Biodiversity loss is one of the planetary boundaries most in need for urgent action. Still, only very little is known on consumers willingness to pay for more biodiversity friendly products. Therefore, this article investigates how consumers’ willingness to pay depends on a products impact on biodiversity. To address this research question, we collected representative data of 524 German consumers using a survey based experiment. Building on prospect theory, we identify the shape of the reaction function of WTP for a given product with respect to its biodiversity performance. We show that consumers are willing to pay more for products with above average biodiversity performance. However, how much a product outperforms industry average does not influence consumers willingness to pay. From a sustainable development perspective, the observed patterns highlight a problematic contrast between the need for substantial improvements and limited market incentives for companies. Consequently, interventions by governments or corporate managers are necessary to set incentives, e.g. via introducing labeling schemes or raising consumer awareness.