APPLICATION OF BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT FOR CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

In the light of the current debate on climate change and its ever-growing impact on the corporate world this thesis deals with the integration of sustainability into corporations. Its focus lies on the integration of sustainability through business process management (BPM). A comprehensive literature review on both corporate sustainability and BPM has been carried out. Research still fails to establish a link between sustainability and the strategic and operational management. Even though the integration of sustainability into business process management is explicitly recommended, no framework has yet realized this goal. In the light of the identified research gap one main research question evolved: How can Corporate Sustainability be integrated into Business Process Management? In addition to the theoretical data collection, this thesis is based on the experience of actual practitioners. This was achieved by a total of 21 interviews with employees responsible for sustainability. Coding the data produced a set of success factors and difficulties for the integration of sustainability, as well as requirements for a possible method for the integration of sustainability. This has never been described in literature to this extent before. So far literature does not provide a comprehensive set, as it is done within this thesis. From these results, a novel framework was developed to support companies with the sustainability integration using BPM. This initial framework was validated in a second round of interviews. The validation resulted in a refined Sustainability Integration Framework 2.0 which represents the main contribution to knowledge of this thesis. The framework shows the connection between the corporate strategy and the sustainability integration process. It further shows the relevant input factors that need to be considered when developing a sustainability strategy. It also demonstrates the most important steps that need to be undertaken when integrating sustainability into BPM. The framework is a novel approach that helps managers to structure and understand the process of integrating sustainability. It provides a clear guideline and a holistic approach for the integration of sustainability into business process management that has been requested by researchers and practitioners

Sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in the Journal of World Business. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Sustainability research highlights new challenges and opportunities for businesses. This paper reviews the literature to understand the ability of sustainable green initiatives when practiced as a corporate culture to individually create new opportunities for operations, management and marketing. According to current research, business opportunities exclusively available to different functions of a firm can drive its performance. The role of marketing in the achievement of superior performance by virtue of sustainability practices is also explained by the existing literature. Branding literature, however, fails to explain the influence of a brand on sustainability-driven opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. The objective of this study is to explore if a brand can strengthen the ability of sustainability-based green initiatives of managers to drive opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. A conceptual framework grounded in the triple bottom line theory is presented based on the assumption that brand as a stimulating factor can accelerate the conversion of opportunities available to a business into superior performance. Academic and managerial perspectives have been used to draw upon the implications of the model. Both practitioners and academic researchers will benefit from future research on this topic

Lessons for responsible management of sustainable innovation form a systematic literature review

Analyzing the impact of a sustainability agenda in research and innovation on system transition is a critical research topic. This literature stream aims to examine how research and innovation can deal with wicked-problems at a dynamic system level to create more sustainable future systems. However, this study addresses two main issues in the current sustainability transition literature. First, the literature to date offers little insight into concrete implications for the management of innovation processes at the organizational level. Second, sustainability is often addressed as per se desirable. While the concept of Sustainable Innovation (SI) can valuably contribute in addressing the first issue by providing essential features to analyze business management procedures and their broader implications on socio-technical systems, it falls short in addressing the second issue. Essential aspects of sustainability, such as the responsibility for potential future trade-offs through innovation, are not strategically integrated into the current framework. This study argues that without strategic integration of responsibility, there is a risk of contributing to a partially-sustainable—”irresponsible”—socio-technical system change as a result of business innovation activities. Therefore, an extended innovation process model for sustainability to embed responsibility at the core of innovation activities is required. For this purpose, the framework of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is utilized. This paper reports on findings from a systematic literature review of a representative sample of empirical studies from the SI and RRI literature. Thereby, the goal was to extend the understanding of management opportunities within innovation processes for sustainability through the implementation of RRI principles, in order to create sustainable socio-technical systems

A systematic literature review for developing sustainability assessment tool: formulating the state of the art and future direction

Sustainability, with the concept of “triple bottom line”, has been growing as a “trending topic” recently. It is no longer a paradox; it is now about how to turn this challenge or opportunity into day-to-day management decisions to achieve advantage in both financial performance and corporate sustainability. In conjunction with it, there is a growing need for a better way to develop, assess and measure organizations sustainability performance. This paper discussed a three-stage systematic literature review that is being deployed as the research framework, to scope how sustainability assessments have been developed recently and to formulate the State of the Art for future research. It reviewed 63 selected articles out of 875 papers from Science Direct database. Based on our review, as the novelty proposed by this publication, there are two major approaches used in developing sustainability assessment i.e. criteria-based and model-based approaches. Both approaches have similar popularity in publication: 57% for criteria-based and 43% for model-based. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but the model-based approach was chosen for future development of the conceptual framework. Furthermore, the review indicated that several main concepts were being used for sustainability assessment and guided the future development into the concept of Business Process Management and Corporate Sustainability

An integrated management systems approach to corporate sustainability

Purpose &ndash; This paper seeks to describe an integrated management systems (IMS) approach for the integration of corporate sustainability into business processes.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; An extensive review of published literature was conducted. Building on existing research, the paper presents an original framework for structuring the integration of corporate sustainability with existing business infrastructure. The framework is supported by a detailed set of diagnostic questions to help guide the process. Both the framework and the diagnostic questions are based on the &ldquo;Plan-Do-Check-Act&rdquo; cycle of continuous improvement.Findings &ndash; The paper highlights the need for a systematic means to integrate sustainability into business processes. Building on that point, the paper illustrates how an IMS approach can be used to structure the entire process of managing, measuring, and assessing progress towards corporate sustainability.Practical implications &ndash; The paper should be of interest to both practitioners and researchers. The framework and diagnostic questions will help guide decision makers through the process of building sustainability into their core business infrastructure. Since the framework and diagnostic questions provide the flexibility to accommodate specific organizational contexts, it is anticipated that they will have wide applicability.Originality/value &ndash; The paper makes several contributions. The framework provides a systematic approach to corporate sustainability that has not been elaborated on in previous publications. The unique set of diagnostic questions provides a means to evaluate the extent to which corporate sustainability has been integrated into an organization.<br /

Framing and assessing the emergent field of business model innovation for the circular economy: A combined literature review and multiple case study approach

Widespread adoption of sustainable and circular business models is required to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable society, however, the literature supporting the process of Business Model Innovation for the Circular Economy - or Circular Business Model Innovation (CBMI) - is currently emerging. Several publications on this field have been published since 2014, nevertheless, there is still a lack of understanding on the process of CBMI, particularly for incumbent firms; and, as most of the literature is theoretical, further empirical insights are required. Furthermore, there is a need for an updated and comprehensive review of this fast-paced field, and a need to further integrate the CBMI field with the conventional Business Model Innovation (BMI) domain. The present research aims to first, map and frame the field of CBMI, building upon the structure of the conventional BMI field; second, to assess the current state of research of the field, proposing a future research agenda; and third, to explore the most relevant elements of the CBMI process in the practice. The article uses a combined literature and multiple case study approach. It begins by synthesizing a BMI framework, which is then combined with the findings of a systematic literature review (n=84) on the emergent CBMI field, to propose an original framework that structures the field. The review includes an assessment per article on the state-of-research. The framework is then illustrated through a multiple case study on ten incumbent firms that have implemented a substantial CBMI, revealing which topics are more relevant from a practice perspective and offering valuable empirical insights. We suggest that future research should prioritize those topics that are very important from the practice and still un- or under-researched in the CBMI field (i.e. organizational culture and structure as moderators of the CBMI change process, sustainability strategy as an antecedent of CBMI and top management role as key elements of the CBMI process) and to those identified as important though under-researched (i.e. organizational change management as a key element of the CBMI process; organizational inertia, ambidexterity and CBMI uncertainties as moderators of the CBMI process; and systemic change as an effect of the CBMI). The literature on Sustainable BMI is integrated to propose contributions to the identified gaps. This research contributes by framing and assessing the field of CBMI, proposing a future research agenda, providing a detailed literature state-of-research assessment and by further integrating CBMI with the conventional BMI field

Business Process Management: Saving the Planet?

Organisational and government concerns about environmental sustainability (ES) are on the increase. While a significant amount of research from a wide range of domains has addressed various ES challenges, intuitively, Business Process Management (BPM), with its focus on process improvement and process performance measurement, has much to offer the ES field. In this paper we aim to understand the BPM research contribution to ES, including specific Environmental Performance Indicators (EPI), and the BPM concepts that have been utilized in the ES context. To this end we conduct a systematic literature review to capture prior research focused on BPM and ES, coding the articles according to their contribution to EPIs and other ES concepts, while also contrasting their focus with main challenges identified in industry reports. Our study identifies which EPIs have been addressed in prior BPM research and highlights areas of future contribution

Striving for Sustainability : Investigations of Sustainable Business Model Innovation as Practice

This dissertation builds from an identified sluggishness in our collective global response to the massive environmental and social sustainability challenges we are currently facing, and from two further assertions. First, that business can be help improve the speed and decisiveness of our response to the challenges. Second, that increased knowledge regarding innovation activities for sustainability performed by established companies will help improve sustainability in business. Based on these points, the purpose of the dissertation is to contribute to richer knowledge regarding sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) activities. The dissertation delivers on its purpose by conceptualizing SBMI as a process, and further by adopting a practice-based theoretical lens that provides a rich and nuanced perspective on the activities that make up the SBMI process. By building on this practice lens, I develop a conceptual model that describes the SBMI process viewed as practice. The conceptual model is in turn used to inform a review of the literature on SBMI, which finds that the literature offers limited knowledge on SBMI activities. Furthermore, the conceptual model is used to interpret and organize the contributions of four appended papers. Based on this, the dissertation offers findings that: (1) illuminate further what characterizes SBMI processes when they are viewed as practice, and (2) show how the application of practice theory in the research of SBMI can enrich our understanding of SBMI as a phenomenon. The four appended papers provide knowledge on what characterizes SBMI processes when they are viewed as practice by offering new knowledge on SBMI practices, practitioners, and praxis. Paper I investigates quantitatively two aspects of SBMI practices: (1) the organization of different tasks into two types of bigger projects (“in-house SBMI” and “wider value-network SBMI”), and (2) the goal-directed, or teleological, nature of these practices. Paper II is concerned with management practices and explores conceptually how the nature and needs of SBMs by necessity will place new demands on extant management practices and potentially upheave them. Paper III provides a qualitative case study of management praxis—the situated, daily and improvised actions of practitioners—in an SBMI process. The paper finds that while top management in the studied organization had trouble juggling sustainability priorities, the sustainability performance of the organization was saved through improvised actions from middle managers that resulted in the SBMI process exhibiting a certain degree of emergence. Paper IV contributes with further knowledge on SBMI practitioners and their daily praxis through a case study of how three practitioners work to foster engagement among their colleagues. The paper finds that the work of the practitioners took the form of persuasion praxis patterns, which were influenced by the personal histories of the practitioners and their ongoing interactions with colleagues. The findings in paper IV challenge how we should view “the selling of sustainability issues” that engaged employees or leaders must perform in order to make SBMI happen, and demonstrate the power of practice-based empirical research on SBMI. Furthermore, the appended papers and the review of the SBMI literature taken together identify and corroborate two key themes that characterize SBMI processes viewed as practice: the complexity of the process and the centrality of SBMI to the overall project of investigating the inner workings of how to accomplish corporate sustainability and/or corporate social responsibility (CS/R) in organizations. Through the contributions it makes with the appended papers and the dissertation cover, this dissertation offers descriptive knowledge on SBMI activities that enriches the knowledge on the phenomenon, as well as suggestions for how practice theory can inform further research. This increased knowledge moves the SBMI literature closer toward becoming a research stream that offers researchers and practitioners a strong base of descriptively grounded and practically useful knowledge on how to work with CS/R initiatives to achieve increased sustainability within organizations—something which, in turn, could help move our global society toward a more sustainable path before environmental and social sustainability problems escalate to intractable proportions

Sustainability in the hospitality industry: some personal reflections on corporate challenges and research agendas

The purpose of this commissioned paper is to offer some personal reflections on sustainability within the hospitality industry. The paper opens by identifying sustainability as a teasing paradox for the hospitality industry and a short discussion of the characteristics of sustainability. It then explores the growing interest in corporate sustainability and offers a review of the range of academic research into sustainability within the hospitality industry literature. More generally, the authors suggest three fundamental sets of issues that currently face the industry, namely, defining sustainability within the industry, materiality and independent external assurance and sustainable consumption and the industry’s commitment to continuing economic growth. In addressing these three sets of issues, the authors make a number of suggestions. First that definitions of sustainability within the hospitality industry can be interpreted as being constructed around business imperatives rather than an ongoing commitment to sustainability. Second that materiality and external assurance are not treated comprehensively within the industry, which undermines the credibility of the sustainability reporting process. Third that the concept of sustainable consumption and any critique of the industry’s commitment to economic growth are conspicuous by their absence in the both the research literature on sustainability and in sustainability reporting within the industry. The paper suggests that the hospitality industry may need to examine how it defines sustainability, to extend its sustainability reporting to embrace materiality and external assurance and to address the issues of sustainable consumption and continuing economic growth if it is to demonstrate a worthwhile and enduring commitment to sustainability. The paper provides some accessible personal reflections on sustainability within the hospitality industry and, as such, it will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners interested in the hospitality industry and more widely within the business and management community

Implementation of sustainability in global industrial supply chain networks:a system innovation perspective

This paper presents an overview of the recent literature about the implementation of sustainability in global product (supply) chains and industrial networks and addresses a possible research agenda. The notion that improvement of the sustainability aspects related to production and consumption of products (and services) can only be achieved by integrating these aspects in the different phases of the life cycle has widely been recognized. Many different stakeholders stimulate companies more and more to manage sustainability throughout the whole supply chain of their products. This practice is in literature found as the “greening” of supply chain management (GSCM). A lot of research has been published on the question why “greening” takes place and which practices are found. How the process of “greening” takes place related to the different aspects and characteristics off the specific chains is less documented. Literature was found mainly from environmental perspective but in recent years more publications are found from a more social (corporate social responsibility) and business (logistics, operation management) perspective. As the economy develops from an international economy towards a global economy the question rises how this influences the implementation of sustainability in these global supply chains. The World Bank concluded that “the “existing” system of implementation of CSR in global supply chains may be reaching its limits and a new approach is needed. The current practices are based on a series of ad hoc and isolated decisions and therefore collaboration and a systematic approach are lacking. Implementation of sustainability needs understanding the systems used for managing supply chains and networks. Systems developed to deliver products in time, of the right quality and at the lowest price. Different supply chain management theories, methods and concepts are found in literature in relation to sustainability. The awareness that supply chains are in reality not chains but complex networks is increasing and therefore chains and networks theories are combined in so-called netchain theories. The implementation process can be seen as a process of system-innovation and research based on innovation theories might be very useful to make us better understand the complex processes related with the implementation of sustainability in supply chain networks. These developments were the reason to start a PhD research that will describe and analyze the process of implementation of sustainability in global industrial supply chain networks from an innovation perspective. Besides a literature review the research will contain an empirical case study that is focusing on the textile sector. This sector is selected because it is a very good example of a global industrial supply chain network, many sustainability aspects are relevant and a lot of implementation activities related to sustainability are put into action in this sector. A conceptual framework for the research of innovation in chains and networks will be used to analyze the processes from a system innovation perspective. The empirical research will analyze the processes in the textile chain and network from both the Asian and the European side including the interaction between them