Cristina Sancha - Böcker

Contemporary companies are expected to behave ethically and responsibly toward their stakeholders and to provide social and environmental good. Key stakeholder groups, including employees, consumers, investors, and public authorities, increasingly demand that companies deliver products and services in responsible yet economically sound manners and act in accordance with moral obligations and financial requirements. Such mounting societal expectations and institutional pressures relate to complex concerns, including environmental and climate impact, working conditions, and human rights, both locally and oversees. In this context, as companies now appear to commit to comprehensively tackle ethical, social, environmental, and economic challenges, concerns increasingly are raised as to whether most companies in the end can indeed contribute to societal and environmental good and transform how they operate to create value responsibly, considering the success and impact of so called corporate social responsibility or sustainability policies.In recent decades, while some companies have advanced on their social and environmental responsibility journey, other companies have engaged in ethical, social, and environmental initiatives in manipulative and insincere way, or merely as a rhetorical tool to maintain legitimacy. Together with governments and business partners, these companies are largely failing to deliver for society and the environment. Subsequently, more than ever before, understanding what it means to do business responsibly and how business actors can engage constructively in ways that support the development of resilient business practices, forms, and organizations that contribute to generate positive impact for society and the environment and generate the type of economic value needed to address the key challenges of this century is central.On this background, this edited volume sheds light on different crucial themes and approaches spanning historical, conceptual, operational, critical, practical, and prospective considerations that have animated the field of business and society in the last decades, and that are instrumental or have the potential to drive constructive research discussions and business efforts.The central aim of the book is to set the research agenda for the next five to seven years, to redefine existing areas within the context of international research, and to highlight emerging research areas in need of further investigation, representing a prestige reference work providing an overview of the subject area of responsible business, primarily for academics, researchers, postgraduate students, as well as reflective practitioners.

Sustainability is a top priority for organizations and a key strategy in corporate agendas, but the effective deployment of any strategy demands that the strategy is consistent, functional, and aligned. This Handbook advocates sustainability strategies that encompass environmental, social, and economic dimensions at department-level.Split into sections covering business strategies in marketing, innovation and entrepreneurship, operations management and information systems, finance and accounting, and human resources, this Handbook provides a comprehensive view of the development and deployment of sustainability-driven business strategies across an entire organization. The last section uses case studies to provide a better understanding of the features and tools needed to develop and implement a sustainability-driven business strategy in practice.Distinguishing the important role of each functional area, this Handbook will be a key reference for those researching on sustainability-related topics across business and management. Beyond the academic contributions, this Handbook also provides practical guidelines for managers interested in implementing sustainability-driven business strategies in their workplace.