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This article investigates the reduction of water pollution at four Norwegian paper mills from the early 1970s until 1997. Especially during the 1990s water pollution from the mills has converged at a relatively low level. This is due to changes in the production processes, implementation of a common environmental strategy and investment in research and development. Over the years environmental improvements have become an integrated part of the technological trajectory in this industry. A common understanding of the problems and possible solutions between government and industry is one reason why we can talk about a greener technological trajectory. One reason for this common understanding is that the regulation of environmental problems in the paper industry has been based on the principles in Norwegian industrial policy. Integration of these principles into a site-specific environmental policy meant that questions concerning the regional economy were judged against local water pollution problems. This means that the regulation of the paper industry has to be seen in both a historical, geographical and institutional context. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several aspects of the growing market for energy-related collaboration between pulp and paper industries (PPIs) and energy service companies (ESCOs) in Sweden were investigated through in-depth interviews with PPI and ESCO managers. Aspects of concern are the different forms of co-operation established, the managers' views on the recent changes made regarding competence and business focus, the managers' views on the opportunities and risks with energy related co-operation and the implications for sustainable industrial energy management. The study shows that there is a mutual belief among PPI and ESCO managers that co-operation can provide opportunities for improved competitiveness through a more rational distribution of competences between companies. The main two barriers against the utilization of this potential are that ESCOs must prove that they can bring added values other than capital to pulp and paper mills, and the lack of competition between external energy service providers. Furthermore, we argue that adding aspects related to competence and inter-firm partnering can improve the existing theory surrounding barriers and opportunities for sustainable industrial energy management in manufacturing industries. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, eco-efficiency – ‘sustainable development at the company level’ or ‘value added per environmental impact’ – is operationalized at the production unit level. An eco-efficiency index is developed and tested with 31 Finnish and 37 Swedish pulp, paper and board mills in 1993–1996. In essence, gross value added without a change in inventories is divided by environmental impact aggregated with seven valuation methods. The definition of eco-efficiency as sustainable development at the company level appears to be problematic. [Eco]2-efficiency does not include the third, ethical dimension sustainable development, but only ecology and economy. Value added is a limited indicator of economic performance and very sensitive to changes in market prices, while environmental impact changes with valuation assumptions. The Swedish mills were generally more eco-efficient, while the Finnish mills were more eco-efficient in integrated woodfree paper, solid bleached sulphate board and liquid packaging board. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on environmental reporting within individual sectors and industries is limited. Generic studies have typically focused on the reporting practices of the world's largest corporates. Some industries and sectors are under-represented within these studies, limiting the potential for industry- or sector-specific analysis. Forest and paper is one industry frequently under-represented. This study examines environmental reporting amongst the top 100 forest and paper companies. The scale of environmental report publication is investigated, and the breadth and depth of reporting on the key industry issues of forest management and fibre procurement examined. The results show reporting is more prevalent amongst larger corporates but marked regional variations are evident. Most noticeably, Scandinavian companies are reporting more extensively, both in terms of the number of levels at which they report and the depth of information included on forest management and fibre procurement. Reasons for the marked regional variations in reporting are considered and markets for forest products and preferences within those markets for specific certification schemes identified as potential influencing factors. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological change has a relevant role to play in the transition towards a sustainable industry. However, slow diffusion of clean technologies can be observed in OECD countries. The analysis of the determinants and barriers to clean technology adoption should be a main goal of economists and social scientists. This paper shows that three sets of interrelated factors prevent but also stimulate the widespread adoption and diffusion of clean technology: these are factors external and internal to the firm, conditions of the potential adopters and characteristics of the environmental technology. These factors are included in the so-called ‘triangular model’, which is further applied to the analysis of clean technology adoption in the pulp and paper industry in Spain. The empirical study shows that clean technology adoption decisions are the result of an interaction between these factors, often involving contradictory signals for the potential adopter. The paper closes with some public policy recommendations for the effective and efficient promotion of clean technology diffusion. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the typical high‐polluting and high‐energy‐consuming industries in China, the paper industry's environmental behavior has become the focus of a range of stakeholders, policy makers, and the whole society because the industry's business activities are a main source of environmental pollution and contribute to massive energy consumption. This study used a qualitative approach to examine the relative importance of external and internal pressures (EP and IP) in driving the environmental behavior of paper enterprises in China. Based on grounded theory, this study aimed to examine the EP and IP on the environmental behavior of paper enterprises to create a comprehensive theoretical model based on grounded theory code analysis. It was found that government pressure, economic pressure, social pressure, and IP have direct and significant positive effects on the corporate environmental behavior (CEB) of paper enterprises in China. Furthermore, government, economic, and social pressures have indirect and significant positive effects on CEB through other pressures. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of these four pressures and provides policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyse in what way a conflict in the early 20th century (1904–1911) over a Swedish pulp mill's emissions into air and water impacted on the technology choices and strategies of the mill. The article also analyses what characterized the company's other responses to the complaints, in the form of counter-arguments, as well as engagement of experts. The access to information about the deliberations at the mill's board meetings is very rare in historical studies of company behaviour in relation to the environment, and provides us with a unique opportunity to comprehend in what way business strategies were developed during the course of the conflict. Technology choices are often characterized by the search for knowledge that enables a company to employ existing but not yet developed technical potentials, rather than choices between known technical solutions. We emphasize that this is particularly evident in a case where a company is forced to alter its technology in order to solve previously unknown environmental problems. In spite of a persistent search, the mill did not find any ready-made technological solutions to the environmental problems faced and was therefore forced to engage scientific expertise and even initiate basic scientific research. In 1911, the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court ordered the mill to undertake a number of pollution abatement investments. Interestingly – and partly in line with the so-called Porter hypothesis – the long-run economics of these investments turned out to be more favourable than anticipated prior to the verdict. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the framework provided by the Porter hypothesis, we study the impact of environmental regulations and enforcement policies on plant‐level green total factor productivity (TFP) growth and its components related to efficiency change and technical change. The detailed microdata we use are from Sweden and for the pulp and paper industry. This industry is the source of significant amounts of water and air pollution and is one of the most heavily environmentally regulated manufacturing industries. Sweden has a unique decentralized regulatory structure where the manufacturing plants have to comply with plant‐specific regulatory standards stipulated at the national level, as well as decentralized local supervision and enforcement. Our empirical results point to beneficial impacts of the environmental policies on plants' green TFP growth and sustainable production practices. We also find that political economy considerations are important, as the presence of the Green Party and aspects like plant size (with corresponding local and regional economic effects) matter in enforcement of the standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy (CE) has garnered increasing attention in political circles and practitioner literature thanks to its potential to overcome the harmful consequences of linear patterns of growth. Nonetheless, the adoption of sustainable practices entails a holistic approach requiring businesses to make significant changes to their production, technologies and stakeholder management. These challenges resulted in limited progress in terms of the practical implementation of CE. This paper addresses the need for more literature focused on the pragmatic aspects of applying this paradigm to incumbent firms. The author presents the journey that Lucart S.p.A., a major European tissue paper manufacturer, has undertaken between 2014 and 2020 to apply CE principles to its practices. Insights from the transformation process, reconstructed through interviews with the firm's management and environmental impact data, suggest that to succeed it takes innovating (plants, products and marketing strategies) and setting up supply chains that reconcile environmental and economic sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we study three Norwegian reports concerning the environmental problems connected to use of natural resources and production of waste. The reports are responding to political initiatives in White Paper 58 (1996–97) and White Paper 8 (1999–2000). The reports describe, analyse and give reasons for various resolution strategies with regard to excessive consumption of virgin natural resources, inefficient economic processes and irresponsible waste management. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, we present a theoretical framework that enables an integrated analysis of economic problems. We have termed the theoretical context for our analysis circulation economics. Second, we illustrate the complexity of the problems through a discussion of the three different reports concerning waste management. Third, in the context of circulation economics the different reports elucidate various aspects of the phenomenon area and the new perspective can be used to synthesize the partial findings. In addition to this, we suggest where further work has to be done in the future. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to avoid costly regulation and liability as a result of externalities, a number of trade associations have promoted industry self-regulation – the voluntary association of firms to control their collective behavior. However, previous studies have found that, without explicit sanctions for malfeasance, such self-regulatory programs are likely to attract more polluting firms. In this paper, we examine four environmental self-regulatory programs in the chemical, textile, and pulp and paper industries. Using a sample of over 4000 firms within these industries, we find evidence that in at least one program more polluting firms tended to join, while in another cleaner firms were more likely to join. We propose that differences in the structure of the programs drive the appearance of this form of adverse selection. In particular, we speculate that only when self-regulatory programs have explicit sanctions for malfeasance may they avoid adverse selection problems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The third and fourth papers shift the focus from the companies' internal dynamics to those concerning the relationships that companies must operate with external stakeholders to implement circular business models. Finally, the fifth and sixth papers further shift the focus on the business model concept towards the business ecosystems, which include all the other stakeholders in the organizational environment that concur to the circular business model operations. Circular business models explicitly link the business model to the product life-cycle (Hansen et al., 2009) and are a vehicle to slow and/or close (additionally also narrowing) resource cycles (Bocken et al., 2016). Through a multiple case study involving three large Swedish manufacturing companies, the paper develops a circular business model implementation framework composed of two parts. [Extracted from the article]

This paper seeks to understand the process by which biodiversity performance indicators can be developed. In doing so, this paper examines how biodiversity performance measurements are inherently imperfect and reflects on the implications of that imperfectness. Using document analysis and semi‐structured interviews, this research outlines the case of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and their work in developing biodiversity indicators. Based on the concept of imperfect measurements, this paper outlines the conditions under which imperfect biodiversity indicators can be productive measurements leading to fertile debate and constant improvements, rather than flawed measurements that actors 'make do' with. This paper concludes the biodiversity indicators construction process requires a collaboration between a broad set of diverse organisations, including NGOs and research centres. Lastly, this paper outlines the need for ongoing and rigorous review of adopted measurements to reduce the potentially harmful nature of imperfect biodiversity performance measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the systematic review and bibliometric analysis of current literature, this paper attempts to investigate whether the wealth generated through cryptocurrency trading can assist in attaining the United Nations' (UN) sustainable development goal (SDG) 7, affordable and clean energy and UN SDG 13 related to climate action. The critical analysis of literature indicates a growing interest in cryptocurrency, the UN's SDGs and the negative effect that crypto mining has on the use of enormous energy. However, there is a clear gap in the literature that focuses on the possibility of using the wealth generated through cryptocurrency trading in financing environmentally friendly projects and attaining the UN's SDG 7 and SDG 13. The findings and the future research direction of this study aim to firstly expand the academic literature related to SDG 7 and SDG 13 and secondly to examine the relationship between cryptocurrency and sustainability even during an uncertain period. This study provides evidence pertaining to the theoretical models that can be applied within discussion of the complex relationship between cryptocurrency, clean energy and climate action. Our findings will provide policymakers with information regarding actions that need to be taken in order to convert cryptocurrency generated wealth and consequently attaining sustainable socio‐economic goals in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy (CE) has been proposed as a concept to help address sustainability issues. CE was first proposed in 1928 as a way of understanding causal relationships in the economic sphere. Recently, CE has been focused, mainly, on environmental issues main typically represented by closing material loops through recovery. Literature on CE has been increasing during this time, where a number of bibliometric analyses have been carried out with, mainly, descriptive outputs. This paper uses a nested approach, with grounded theory's constant comparative analysis as the overarching one and bibliometric analyses within it. A total of 4,045 documents from CE during the period 1999–2019 were analysed against an initial framework composed of economic issues, recovery and CE levels. The results helped to improve the economic category, to change the level category into a scope one and to add two categories (collaboration and themes). The results were then integrated to propose the holistic and panoptic framework for analysing circular economy, which can help to understand the economic, environmental and scope interlinkages of CE literature, in order to better position CE theory and practice and to detect gaps that should be addressed. For CE to achieve its potential in helping societies become more sustainable, theory and practice must take a holistic approach that integrates the economic and environmental dimensions, the scope of CE, and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, business models for environmental sustainability have gained increasing attention in the management field and among practitioners and stakeholders. This study aims to analyse the state of the art on the topic by reviewing the growing but mainly phenomenon‐driven research. In particular, by identifying main research trends and relevant gaps in the literature and by providing future research avenues, this paper advances the debate on the need for alternative concepts of doing business that go beyond the creation of economic value for a company in a way that generates value for the society. Our article undertakes two stages of screening the available literature and selects 151 peer‐reviewed articles published between 2007 and early 2019 for the review. The paper provides the first comprehensive systematic review of business models in the field of environmental sustainability with a detailed descriptive and critical analysis and with a discussion of future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the origins and development of the concept of ‘market transformation’, from its beginnings as a part of energy policy in the USA, to its subsequent development in the UK. It discusses whether it could become a strategic option for British business in pursuit of sustainable growth. Drawing together themes from the academic literature on marketing, consumer behaviour, business, and energy policy, together with data from national programmes, and British government sources, the paper argues that such an approach would be based on a twin false premise – that selling energy efficiency to consumers is in accordance with modern marketing thinking, and that it has much to do with achieving sustainable development. It concludes that while achieving sustainable development will certainly encompass the transformation of markets for many products, ‘market transformation’ itself cannot be seen as a key driver for change. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) has committed to becoming a global leader in renewable energy. Reaching this target implies fostering innovation activity to maximize the competitiveness of the European renewable industry. By relying on a case study approach based on a small number of in‐depth interviews with selected stakeholders, this paper illustrates one of the main factors hindering technological development in the renewable energy sector in Europe. More specifically, the paper focuses on the so‐called "valley of death," which traps promising technologies in a "limbo." While ready to be deployed from a technical standpoint, these technologies are not cost competitive and, paradoxically, only their widespread commercialization would allow to drive their cost down. The paper also identifies a mix of policy solutions that can effectively support the competitiveness of the EU renewable energy industry. While more public funding to deploy promising renewable energy technologies is certainly needed, EU policymaker should also improve synergies between EU funding programs at all stages of the research and innovation process. In addition, introducing an EU risk insurance and guarantee fund would ultimately allow to reduce deployment costs and boost commercialization of new technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How the export strategy affects corporate environmental performance (CEP) is an integral part of trade and environmental issue. This paper investigates the impact of the go‐with‐the‐flow export strategy on CEP during the period 2000 to 2013 by the Chinese Industrial Firms Green Production Emissions Database and the China Customs Database. The study shows that the go‐with‐the‐flow export strategy increases firms' pollution emissions, that is, the more the firms follow the market, the higher their SO2 emission intensity. However, this environmental degradation effect is only found in small and domestic‐owned firms. Furthermore, this study finds that the go‐with‐the‐flow export strategy could lead to a conservative production strategy and low survival pressure, which makes firms shortsighted in terms of less investment in clean innovation and sustainable production. Based on these empirical results, the government should reduce firms' cost of clean innovation and ameliorate the problem of market information asymmetry. Such efforts would allow firms to devote more resources to sustainable production rather than information gathering. In addition, environmental regulations should go hand in hand with the promotion of green technology to avoid the expelling effect of regulation and for firms' sustainable production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon emissions trading scheme (CETS) is an important institutional innovation that internalizes external costs caused by corporate carbon emissions and promotes firms to engage in green development. Based on a 2009–2019 sample of Chinese enterprises of heavily polluting industries listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), this paper employs the difference‐in‐differences model to examine the effect of CETS on corporate green investment and discuss the moderating effects of external pressure and internal incentive. We find that the implementation of CETS significantly promotes corporate green investment, and this finding still holds after a series of robustness tests such as Propensity Score Matching‐Difference in Differences (PSM‐DID) method and alternative measure of green investment. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive effect of CETS is stronger in large‐scale enterprises, state‐owned firms, and companies located in regions with strict environmental regulation. In addition, less local government intervention and more internal executive compensation incentive significantly enhance the positive impact of CETS on corporate green investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My study is framed against the backdrop of increasingly stringent environmental demands on the pulp and paper industry to reduce water and air pollution, and the changing global market conditions. I first present an observation-based analysis conducted by visiting selected paper mills in Finland, the US, Germany and Sweden. Interesting differences and similarities emerge. Some of the observed differences lie in their focus on achieving incremental efficiency gains from better management of production processes, inventories, supply-chain, product distribution and timing of modernization investments such as information technology. In the second part of the paper I present evidence on firms' productivity paths and the heterogeneity in productivity among relatively similar firms, and selected evidence of firms' investments in specific areas and how these affected productivity. My findings have implications for organizational behavior and business strategies employed by firms to improve their performance and productivity under changing environmental standards and market conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At root, contributions to the SI account for how institutional "context" emerges through the ongoing processes and practices of sustainable entrepreneurs and the manifold interactions they have with other actors. The SI contributions identify the strategies - more or less intentional - which enhance the position or capabilities of individual SMEs and/or collectives and which are founded on practice. This Special Issue (SI) specifies an agenda for the next decade of research on sustainable entrepreneurship. Taken as a whole, the papers in the SI caution against simplistic characterisations of sustainable entrepreneurship and call for careful analysis of relations among sustainable entrepreneurs (hip), fields, sectors, society and ecology. [Extracted from the article]

This paper provides a firm‐level perspective on sustainability transitions by analysing how government can use transition policy mixes to entice industry incumbents to adapt their business model to integrate sustainable technologies. It examines firm‐level barriers to policy implementation, why these exist, and how government can use transition policy mixes to overcome them. The empirical analysis provides an in‐depth case study of the UK Zero Carbon Homes (ZCH) as a transition policy mix and considers the point of view of policymakers and incumbent housebuilders. The paper sheds light on the question of how transition policy mix designs can support incumbents' business model adaptation to bring about transformational change for sustainability. The results show that the interaction between various policy shortcomings and business model adaptation barriers led to a failure of government to move the housebuilding sector towards a stronger integration of sustainable technologies. The paper concludes by arguing that decarbonising housing in the UK was a system failure, rather than a market or policy failure, as the government failed to address the underlying reasons of incumbents' resistance to changing their business model. The findings suggest that taking incumbents' business models into consideration while designing policies for sustainability transitions is necessary to entice established firms to actively take part in the process of transitions and adapt to new sustainable norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy (CE) has emerged as a focal point in discussions surrounding sustainable development, industrial production, and resource efficiency. While it has garnered attention as a ground‐breaking paradigm with the potential to harmonize economic, societal, and environmental dynamics, divergent perspectives and critical inquiries have surfaced. This paper delves into the interdisciplinary literature on CE, exploring the interpretative flexibility inherent in its conceptualization. Acknowledging the diverse range of strategies associated with the CE, the study contends with the potential risks of its misappropriation, emphasizing the importance of understanding its systemic socio‐ecological implications. With an umbrella review approach, rarely applied in social sciences, the study navigates through 167 review articles, unveiling thematic trends and identifying gaps within the existing literature. By scrutinizing the techno‐managerial dominance within CE discussions, the paper calls attention to the overshadowing of numerous critical issues. It highlights the importance of systematic attention to CE's social aspects, essential to provide insights into how policies, strategies, and actions affect the society, as well as the emerging discussion on the alternative social transformative paradigm. The paper concludes with a three‐stage study design: a meticulous review of 167 articles, a thematic analysis revealing trends, and a reflective exploration of potential research avenues. This review serves as a comprehensive guide for scholars and practitioners for a holistic understanding of CE and encouraging contributions to address identified gaps and fostering the evolution of CE literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on international technology transfer and partnership agreements provides a comprehensive understanding of country‐level impacts of intellectual property (IP) rights on sustainability transitions. However, firm‐level studies on how firms use and share their IP to support sustainability practices remains limited. The paper disentangles the relationship between firm‐level IP models and sustainability practices drawing from a cross‐case analysis of 28 firms offering sustainable innovations across four sectors. Analysis of firms' year‐wise data collected from 854 documents (typically 1996–2021) and 58 in‐depth interviews exploring linkage between IP models and sustainability practices of firms engaged in sustainable innovation provide six key findings: (a) emphasis on safeguarding registered and unregistered IP assets among firms with sustainable innovations; (b) widespread adoption of selectively open inbound IP models coupled with diverse IP sharing mechanisms; (c) a preference for collaborative (joint) IP ownership among internally driven firms, contrasting with a tendency for exclusive in‐licensing among those reacting to external pressures; (d) a divergence in outbound IP models, with internally motivated firms favouring selectively open approaches and externally driven firms favouring closed IP models; (e) the adoption of fully open outbound IP models democratize sustainable innovation diffusion; and (f) leveraging broadly open outbound IP models alongside closed or selectively open models balances widespread use with access control and achieves significant social sustainability. A framework is hence developed to guide technology‐sharing policies and procedures. Therefore, the paper creates a platform for prescribing sustainable IP incentives for encouraging firms to share IP for wider diffusion of sustainable innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and environmental challenges are forcing organizations to develop sustainable business models (SBMs). Literature on SBMs has identified the importance of stakeholders and collaboration. Collaboration and positions of stakeholders within the value‐chain opens the discussion about organizational boundaries and their role in enhancing or hindering sustainable business model innovation. Through a literature review, this study analyzes 53 papers at the intersection of SBMs and boundaries to clarify how SBMs change organizational boundaries, and how these boundaries affect the sustainability values of organizations. We aim to identify key stakeholders, who hold negotiation power at organizational boundaries. The paper identifies important managerial questions that may assist organizations in the process of unpacking sustainable value and broaden their scope of key stakeholders. Finally, we formulate future research areas to advance research at the intersection of SBMs and organizational boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a business‐focused critique centring on the superordinate goal of circular economy (CE) strategy and advances an ideograph that can help economic planners and corporate leaders conceptualize CE strategies that meet the bifurcate goals of strengthening economic resilience while also attenuating resource footprints. The paper, based on critical discourse analysis (CDA) and supported by an extensive literature review, highlights the pervasive manner in which the CE is mischaracterized as a materials circulation (MC) strategy and demonstrates how an oft‐referenced ideograph—the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) Butterfly—graphically entrenches this characterization. The first contribution that this study makes centres on providing clarity on how CE principles can be integrated with corporate strategy to elevate competitive advantage through resource economic optimization (REO). The second contribution is the development of a reconceptualized ideograph—The Integrated Circular Economy (ICE) model—that better conveys how this strategic perspective on CE and be conflicted with economic networks to deliver better economic and environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of global concerns such as environmental degradation and gender inequality, international and national agencies and academicians have recognised the curative potential of green entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurship. Furthering these concepts, this paper draws from extant literature on green entrepreneurship (GE) and women entrepreneurship and supplements it with ecofeminism (a feminine trait) literature to present a more beneficial proposition of 'women green entrepreneurship' (WGE) that implies participation of women in GE. Additionally, the paper identifies challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in general, and women green entrepreneurs in particular, at various levels, leading the authors to propose a study that envisages use of bricolage to investigate unique behaviour and strategies of existing WGEs who have thrived despite the challenges. Catering to UN SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) in general, and specifically oriented towards SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) together, the article proposes and provides credence to WGE as a distinguished domain for future research, while making suggestions for international and national policies, also providing practical toolkits to aspiring WGEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, complementary perspectives from innovation management capabilities (IMC), the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) and the social resource‐based view (SRBV) are revisited in order to lay the theoretical foundation for developing evaluation framework for sustainability‐oriented innovation (SOI). Six dimensions of SOI are identified, as innovation focus, sustainability focus, integration intra‐organisation, integration inter‐organisation, ambidexterity, and emphasis on physical life cycle — which then lead to developing the key parameters for the evaluation framework. The proposed framework is validated through analysis of 25 cases from the manufacturing sector in Indonesia. Data were primarily collected through semi‐structured interviews and analysed using a polar diagram. This approach offered a comprehensive understanding of the qualitative data by assessing all six SOI dimensions simultaneously, presenting an effective visualisation of the firms' approach to SOI. The findings suggest that the majority of firms tend to adopt an operational optimisation approach when developing their SOI, while only a few opt for organisational transformational, and none choose the system building approach. This research paper makes a significant contribution to literature by introducing transition phases among SOI approaches, which were previously not explored in literature. The framework developed in this study would provide valuable support to practitioners in implementation and enhancement of their SOI practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to evaluate the extent to which verification statements appearing in published corporate environmental reports promote organizational transparency and the empowerment of external parties. To this end, a detailed content analysis was performed on such statements appearing in reports short-listed for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Environmental Reporting Awards for the first seven years of the scheme since its inception in 1991/92. Key issues focused upon included those of verifier independence, degree of rigour applied to verification work, whether the performance dimension is meaningfully addressed in verification statements and the extent to which such statements may be considered to ‘add value’ for external constituencies. Our analysis of the basic characteristics of these ‘leading edge’ statements raises fundamental questions concerning the independence of verification. There is much evidence of auditee control over the process, with an overriding emphasis on the environmental management systems at the expense of commentary on performance-based ‘first order’ audit. The disturbing conclusion revealed is that current verification practice exhibits a ‘managerial turn’ rather than representing corporate commitment to external transparency and accountability. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology is regarded as providing a promising means of moving production and consumption towards the circular economy. However, it is still unclear which functions of digital technologies are most useful to improving circularity, and how these functions could be used to enhance different circular economy strategies. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap by conducting a systematic literature review. After examining 174 papers, creating 782 original codes and 259 second‐round codes, the study identifies 13 critical functions of digital technologies which are most relevant to circular economy strategies. The paper then proposes a framework which reveals seven mechanisms of how these digital functions can enhance different circular economy strategies. The framework also reveals which combinations of the digital functions and circular economy strategies have already been studied extensively as well as where there may be gaps. This indicates which digital functions are more mature in terms of possible implementation for circular economy as well as what missing links there are in the empirical and theoretical research. The study advances the synergies between digital technologies and the circular economy paradigm through the lens of digital functions. The proposed framework and mechanisms build a theoretical foundation for future research, and we highlight five research areas for further studies. This study also provides a structured way for managers to explore the appropriate digital functions for their CE strategies, so as to identify required digital technologies and new value creation through digital functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A shift of focus is discernible in the literature on industrial agglomeration and regional economic development in the post-Fordist/globalization context. In addition to economic factors, the new focus emphasizes the importance of social and cultural factors for the growth of new industrial agglomerations. However, despite the importance attached to the (natural) environment in writings on organizations, regions and economies over the last few years, the literature on industrial agglomeration continues to remain devoid of any substantial references to the environment. Attaining sustainability at the local/regional (see note) level requires, among other factors, collective effort by industrial organizations toward common goals including resource conservation, production efficiency, economic viability and social responsibility. This paper explores the possibilities for bridging the current gaps between regional planning policy and the requirements of ecosystem integrity and sustainable industrial development in the practical contexts provided by ‘eco-industrial parks’ (EIPs) and the Waterloo Industrial Network for Sustainability (WINS). Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper ‘innovation’ is discussed as a strategy to change consumer behaviour to reduce the environmental impact of consumption. Innovation aims to improve the ‘production process’ of certain end results or ‘units of service’ for the consumer, which is defined as the ‘consumption technology’. This concept includes the entire organization of how these units of service are produced. ‘Eco-efficient services’ are introduced as an innovation strategy, based on theoretical considerations through which more eco-efficient consumption technologies and less environmentally damaging consumption behaviour could be realized. This strategy is explored through an empirical consumer behaviour study on commercial car sharing services in the Netherlands. Based on an inventory of the environmental effects of this approach, as exemplified by the car sharing schemes, it can tentatively be concluded that the eco-efficient services concept offers an interesting framework for reconsidering the current consumption practice and for generating innovative activities in industry. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterprises need to innovate business strategies to deal with the negative effects of low‐carbon development, among which digital transformation is an important breakthrough technology. This paper discusses the impact of low‐carbon development on enterprises' digital transformation. Theoretical analysis shows that environmental regulations driven by low‐carbon development have the compensatory effect of stimulating enterprise digital transformation to mitigate misallocation of capital and labor, especially for enterprises with higher productivity. In addition, both the construction of network infrastructure and the development of digital finance can strengthen the incentives for enterprises' digital transformation. The empirical tests based on Chinese A‐share listed enterprises show that the degree of enterprises' digital transformation increases by 0.0122 standard deviation for every one standard deviation reduction in regional carbon emission intensity. These results deepen the understanding of the relationship between green development and microenterprise digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green supply chain of agricultural products (GSCAP) is a key link for rural revitalization and sustainable development in China. However, it faces various risks from internal and external environments that threaten its performance and stability. This paper proposes a novel framework and system for identifying and evaluating the main risks in the GSCAP from the perspective of agricultural enterprises. The framework combines social network analysis (SNA) and an improved technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) method. SNA is used to analyze the correlations and influences among different types of risks, while the improved TOPSIS method is used to rank the risks of different GSCAPs and identify the key risks in each supply chain. The framework and system are verified by a case study of CDYBIT, a leading platform of food safety big data service in China. The results show that the supermarket supply chain has the highest risk, followed by the group catering supply chain, and the five‐star hotel supply chain has the lowest risk. The main risk factors for each supply chain are also discussed, and some suggestions for risk management are provided. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive and systematic risk assessment framework and system for the GSCAP, which can help agricultural enterprises improve their risk awareness and response capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of drivers in the development of eco‐innovation from a system dynamics perspective. While previous literature has made important contributions in identifying factors that influence the development of eco‐innovations, there remains limited understanding of how these drivers act and interact in promoting its development. Therefore, there is a need to develop a framework of relationships and drivers that encourage and support eco‐innovation in companies. This paper develops an integrated framework encompassing key internal, market and governmental factors and their complex interactions using principles of system dynamics and machine learning to address this gap. The research questions how these drivers interact in a dynamic and non‐linear manner to influence the development of eco‐innovation in companies and how can these interactions be effectively modelled and understood, considering the complexities of sustainable business practices and the limitations of traditional linear approaches. We empirically test these questions by using the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel database. The findings demonstrate that eco‐innovation is not solely driven by isolated factors; instead, it emerges from the complex interplay between internal capabilities, governmental policies and market dynamics. By emphasising the synergistic effects of these drivers, the research offers a nuanced understanding of their systemic interactions. Furthermore, our analysis highlights the varying efficiency levels of different drivers, underscoring the pivotal role of environmental corporate policies and the strategic allocation of financial resources. In contrast, cooperation, market forces and regulations exhibit lower efficiency in driving eco‐innovation processes. These insights not only advance theoretical knowledge but also provide valuable guidance for businesses and policymakers, offering a more holistic approach to fostering sustainable innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many European countries with plentiful forest resources, novel forest‐based businesses play a key role in the transition from our current fossil‐based economy towards a circular bioeconomy. For example, kraft lignin, a by‐product from the pulping industry, is produced in large amounts globally. To date, however, it is still only offered on the market by a small number of pulping companies. The successful innovation diffusion of related new technologies and businesses requires establishing a collective effort among multiple societal actors to motivate the sharing of value creation processes. In this paper, potential innovation diffusion pathways are modeled and simulated by means of an agent‐based approach (Biorefinery Products Innovation Diffusion model, BioPID). The paper investigates the conditions needed to encourage the diffusion of kraft lignin innovations as a (partial) replacement for fossil‐based feedstock in selected applications. The results reveal the basic mechanisms behind potential innovation diffusion pathways. The major barriers were found to be the high level of uncertainty surrounding the additional costs arising in lignin processing, the small number of lignin providers, and the presence of relatively homogeneous pricing strategies based on opportunity and basic preparation costs. The analysis of two product categories revealed different patterns in terms of innovation diffusion and potential greenhouse gas emissions. A novelty of BioPID is that it allows for iterative technology evaluation and technology foresight analysis of biorefinery projects (e.g., by combining techno‐economic, socio‐technical, and environmental aspects). This produces knowledge for diverse stakeholders involved in the lignin innovation ecosystem, thus enabling better communication on shared values and furthering innovation diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the burgeoning interests in the environmental strategy, there is a limited understanding of how human resource slack drives sustainable innovation and environmental performance. This paper contributes to filling this gap by examining the effect of human resource slack on sustainable innovation and its impact on environmental performance. Besides, this paper investigates the contingent effects of intangible resource advantage on this relationship. The hypotheses are tested using data from 301 small and medium‐sized enterprises in Ghana. The results suggest that human resource slack positively relates to sustainable innovation and this relationship is moderated by intangible resource advantage. Also, we find that sustainable innovation mediates the relationship between human resource slack and environmental performance. The insights from our paper provide a nuanced understanding of the relationships among human resource lack, sustainable innovation, and environmental performance. Implications for theory and practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public sector purchasing processes are gaining increasing prominence as a demand‐side innovation tool for addressing national sustainability challenges. Accordingly, there has been growing research attention to this topic. Prior studies suggest three key rationales that underlie the use of public sector procurement to drive innovation: (i) the buyer–user rationale (for creating new needs); (ii) the market/system failure rationale (for improving suppliers' capacity to innovate); and (iii) the public services rationale (for improving public services). However, operational activities at the upstream supply chain affecting the sustainable innovation capacities of supplier firms appear to be under‐researched in the public procurement for innovation (PPI) scholarship, despite knowledge about innovation capacity being critical to successfully implementing PPI. This paper adopts a systematic literature review approach to synthesise existing fragmented literature on sustainability‐oriented PPI, focusing on supplier perspectives. Findings from a synthesis of 41 relevant articles suggest, among others conditions, that a procurement framework that maintains a good balance of competition and innovation, builds buyer–supplier relationship and urges strong supply networks, maintains a stable political commitment, offers security for niche markets with effective innovation risk management culture would enhance suppliers' sustainability capacity and propensity to innovate. This paper contributes to the PPI literature and the literature on determinants of sustainable innovation systems from supplier firms' sustainability lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how the concept of sustainable value is used in the business model literature to understand and structure the concepts used in analyzing the value creation process in business models to date. We found that in discussing sustainable business models, sustainable value, a term encompassing the environmental, social, and economic benefits of a given model, has been used in place of the conventional term, value. However, the conceptual implications of this substitution have not been sufficiently addressed. A systematic literature review reveals both positive and negative perspectives of value as well as the misuse of several multilevel value concepts. We categorize these concepts according to their meaning, differences, similarities, and implications. As a result, we propose a holistic framework that structures them, integrates both positive and negative perspectives of value, and proposes an activity‐based analysis for sustainable value in business models. The contributions of this paper are twofold: theoretically, it structures value concepts in order to better understand the sustainable value process in business models, and practically, it offers a tool for sustainable development by providing a framework to analyze sustainable value in a variety of business models as a basis for improvement in sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through appropriate operations and policies, such as green processes and product development process (PDP), companies can respond to environmental sustainability. To remain competitive, one such approach, Design for X (DFX), involves considering different environment and sustainable strategies through different factors Xs. With regard to the availability of different DFX techniques that consider environmental issues, the decision as to which approach needs to be adopted remains absent. This paper aims at presenting an overview from 1980 to 2020 of the developed research, applications, and DFX techniques for assessing green issues. Selected DFX techniques are linked with strategies used in organizations. Following a literature analysis, a collaborative knowledge‐based framework that addresses the design concepts needed to assess environmental, safety, and health concerns in the development of green products is proposed. Furthermore, as a pillar for considering the Semantic Web and an evolving approach linked with natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI), an ontology‐based knowledge management model for green assessment is developed for the representation, acquisition, organization, and capitalization of knowledge in a computer interpretable manner. The findings are useful for both managers and practitioners as they provide a coherent domain ontology that can help them manage knowledge, improve teamwork, and make decisions in a collaborative green PDP. Besides, an understanding of the essential design considerations that are required to implement environmental, safety, and health issues, as well as competencies used in the PDP is presented. Key barriers, managerial and strategic implications, and mitigation actions are also identified in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, arguments are being made concerning the benefits of a marriage between ecology and economy in life cycle management. This article provides insights into the business conditions under which market opportunities and eco-efficiency improvements in the product chain can indeed go hand in hand. The study focuses on the differences in responsiveness of six different sub-business units within the chemical company of Akzo Nobel to eco-efficiency improvements in the product chain and how these differences can be explained. The comparative analysis shows the importance of the following three criteria: (i) the level of environmental pressure; (ii) the room for manoeuvre and (iii) the degree to which the environment can be used to obtain a competitive advantage. These criteria may also be valid for other companies. However, research needs to investigate whether additional factors (e.g. the culture of the company, its technological capabilities and market strength) also influence corporate environmental response. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data from 37 countries from 1990 to 2019 and applying a quantile regression approach with panel fixed effects, we investigate the impact of national Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance on green innovation and how this impact varies across different green innovation capacity distributions. The research conclusions are as follows. (1) National ESG performance improvement significantly promotes green innovation. (2) The improvement of environmental performance and governance performance significantly promotes green innovation, but in countries with weak green innovation capabilities, the improvement of social performance reduces the output of green innovation. (3) The role of national ESG performance in promoting green innovation is stronger in countries with weak green innovation capabilities. (4) In non‐high‐income countries, the stronger the green innovation capability is, the more obvious is the promotion of ESG performance to green innovation. The findings of this paper provide empirical evidence and a policy basis for governments to focus on improving ESG performance and to commit to promoting green innovation activities more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to institutional pressures faced by companies in their business environment, this paper investigates how sustainability certification adoption affects global suppliers' competences. Using multiple case studies, managers of 20 export‐oriented firms were interviewed, and secondary data were collected and analysed through inductive content analysis. Findings show normative and mimetic pressures as central for sustainability implementation by coffee suppliers. Additionally, we found that as a result of suppliers' sustainability improvement in their own operations, during the certification adoption, new competences emerged going beyond the triple bottom line dimensions, including improvements in aspects of institutional dimension of sustainability. In contrast to previous research in supply chain sustainability that emphasises coercive pressures, this paper demonstrates the role of normative and mimetic institutional pressures in developing new supplier competences. In doing so, we draw on the role of certification adoption in influencing global suppliers and hence sustainability throughout the supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though resilience and sustainability are the two overarching strategic goals of contemporary supply chain management, very few studies have investigated the relationship between resilience and sustainability practices. To increase our theoretical understanding of this important relationship, this paper examines the extent to which supply chain managers perceive tensions and complementarities between both sets of practices. Using a paradox theory lens, the paper conducted in‐depth interviews with 31 supply chain managers in Western Europe and the Middle East that reveal a complex and multifaceted relationship. Namely, our findings indicate that some supply chain managers perceive the relationship as conflictive, others as synergistic, whereas a third group sees them as fundamentally orthogonal to each other. Furthermore, our findings uncover specific perceived complementarities and tension areas. Taken together, in responding to calls for research on the topic, our findings contribute to the advancement of theory regarding supply chain resilience and supply chain sustainability practices and address the need to shed more light on the tensions faced by supply chain managers when implementing distinct sets of supply chain practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]