IJMB Journal – Abstracts
International Journal of Management and Business
IJMB Volume XI, Issue 1
The Function and the Equation of Sustainability: From the Past to the Future
Mauricio Vladimir Umaña Ramírez1,Jack D. Torres Leandro2, Pablo Collazzo3
1Faculty of Business and Management, Catholic University of El Salvador, El Salvador;
2Universidad Estatal a Distancia. Costa Rica; 3Danube University Krems, Austria
E-mail: mauricio.umana@catolica.edu.sv, jtorresl@uned.ac.cr,
pablo.collazzo@donau-uni.ac.at
ABSTRACT
This study offers an empirical test and extension of Hart´s theory “Natural– Resource–Based– View (NRBV) of the Firm” and the contribution of the sustainability strategy in the triple bottom line consistent with economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The proposed model is based on the combination of the NRBV plus the time of adoption of Strategic CSR practices as independent variables and, the Octagon Model as a dependent variable permit testing the Octagon Model, which represents an index of sustainability in developing countries like the sustainable performance of the companies. The empirical study has been carried out on 106 enterprises in El Salvador, a Central American country where the literature review offers the Octagon Model and NRBV in the context of some Latin American countries. The conclusion of this paper could be carefully generalized, first of all, as “Education for Sustainable Development & Competitiveness” at universities in Central and South America and consequently, to the developing world. This article intends to offer three main academic contributions. Firstly, it provides considerable insight, from the empirical evidence for quantitative prototypes of the general model, of a firm‘s contribution to sustainability. This offers a new quantitative model for the evolution of sustainable development thinking in young engineers and future managers in large and multi–national companies, supporting the empirical research and application in universities’ curricula to narrow down the research gap, since most authors have focused only on qualitative approaches. Secondly, it offers a new advance in the evolution of sustainable development literature: The Function of Sustainability. Thirdly, it offers a seminal work based on empirical data and quantitative models with regression analysis, some 25 years after the publication of “A Natural– Resource–Based View of the Firm” (Hart, 1995). The argument in the original work has become stronger, having been confirmed by empirical data that explains how the dynamic capabilities of the firm working simultaneously can solve many concerns for developing countries in the interconnected relations with people–profit–planet. Ultimately, it is an advancement for engineering education and a radical departure from education with the concept of The Equation of Sustainability. Based on business this could be part of strategy for future of corporations and public policy for countries. Future research can be motivated to explore important practical implications by applying this regression model in the context of developed economies.
Keywords: sustainability, shared value, pollution prevention, product stewardship, clean technology, base of the pyramid.
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