Abstract: This study explores how firms’ environmental resources and institutional pressures affect the degree and direction of corporate diversification. We complement prior research in two ways. First, we provide evidence of the influence of environmental factors on corporate strategy decisions. We show how the presence of environmental resources and the level of environmental relatedness between the home and the target industry increase the likelihood that a firm will diversify into that target business. Second, we show how institutional pressures for legitimacy limit the extent to which firms can exploit their environmental capabilities into related industries. We find that the impact of environmental resources and industry relatedness on the likelihood of diversification is weaker when the target industry is perceived as strongly illegitimate.

Abstract: This paper focuses on the integration of environmental capital into the overall intellectual capital model approach. The Intellectus Model was taken as a reference framework from which it can be made adaptable to the environmental context. A multiple case study was carried out with Spanish firms characterised by their high level of environmental excellence. Findings show regarding human environmental capital, environmental training, information and awareness sessions help to acquire and disseminate new knowledge. As for structural environmental capital, the environmental technology portfolio is improved and new environmental departments are created. Regarding relational environmental capital, the firm-environment link is very relevant. In primary and secondary sectors, suppliers become involved to a larger extent in the environmental management process, whereas in service sector, it is the customer.

Abstract: While environmental sustainability issues are becoming more and more strategically important, a firm’s knowledge on environmental sustainability issues can be a critical resource. This knowledge, characterized by different dimensions (tacitness, specificity, breadth, and depth) and related to different aspects (market, technology, regulation), needs to be integrated in the firm’s decision making process to formulate appropriate green strategies. Adopting a knowledge-based view of the firm, this paper proposes that sustainability knowledge integration mechanisms (SKIMs) are the organizational capabilities that are central to internalize and integrate environmental sustainability issues in formulating the firm’s green product strategies. Moreover, it is proposed that the development of SKIMs accounts for both the different sustainability knowledge dimensions and for the extent of corporate motivation to address environmental sustainability challenges.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First we contribute to the ongoing debate on environmental and firm performance examining whether an environmentally friendly attitude can sustain momentum for cost saving and increased operating and financial performance. We analyze this relationship considering a direct environmental indicator, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as an independent variable over a sample of firm derived from the Global Fortune 500 index. Second, we introduce the concept of eco-effectiveness empirically exploring the link between sales and GHG on the same sample of companies. The findings have significant implications on the way we conceptualize corporate sustainability.