Improving sustainability performance and adapting to circular economy principles in operational business strategies are becoming increasingly prioritized. In this pursuit, the concept of industrial symbiosis (IS) has become increasingly relevant. IS represents a collaborative approach where the interplay of material, residual waste, energy, and infrastructure exchanges aims to yield not only economic and environmental advantages for the participating companies but also substantial societal benefits by using resources more efficiently. Biogas production is such an example, it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions since it can produce heat and electricity, replace renewable fuel for vehicles, or be used as input material for industrial use. The digestate from biogas production can also be used as an effective agricultural fertilizer to replace chemical fertilizers which are produced using fossil energy.

Digital tools and platforms in IS can be used to different extent depending on businesses levels of digital maturity (the extent to which businesses adapt to ongoing digital change and integrate digitalization). Digital tools and platforms hold a central role for developing various advantages in biogas-based IS, but since the digital maturity for IS focusing on biogas production is uncertain, the current efficiency obtained by tools and platforms is unknown. Therefore, through semi-structured interviews and study visits, this study assesses stakeholder collaboration and use of digital tools at five IS sites with biogas production in Sweden. It explores (i) current digital maturity and collaboration characteristics amongst established biogas-based IS, and (ii) needs amongst stakeholders for development of digital tools and platforms to promote digital maturity, monitoring, collaboration, and knowledge exchange in current and future IS structures.

Preliminary results of the on-going study show that the use of digital tools varies depending on the character and size of resource flows that are included in the collaboration, and due to the internal digital maturity of the involved companies. In general, the use of digital tools for stakeholder interaction is on low or medium level, in which manual handling is required and little is automated. This complies with the sites being relatively small, and the number of stakeholders involved are relatively few. Moreover, the preliminary results show that the interest of future development of digital tools is found to be related to business development and expanded market opportunities through diversified raw material use, increased production, and new distribution channels. In addition, a demand of digital platforms for exchange of experience and competence supply has been identified.

The discussion of “whether it pays to be green” is ongoing. This review does not intend to solve the debate, rather it soothes it by contributing to the concept of “when it pays to be green.” By focusing on the shortcomings of existing literature reviews on the topic of corporate sustainability and financial performance (CSFP) in this hybrid review, issues were identified that had been overlooked earlier. In general, CSFP holds a positive relationship but in a time lag. Nonconclusive results about the relationship within CSFP are due to self-selection bias, endogeneity issues, and the use of multiple datasets and industry categories. Surprisingly, we also discovered that the impact of sustainability on financial performance is elusive in capitalist countries considered to be economically rational. Institutional and legitimacy requirements are a good starting point for shaping corporate behaviors in the short term; however, they might not be equally appropriate in the long term in cases when corporations shift operations to pollution havens. A multifaceted, synergistic interaction between governmental institutions, corporations, and other stakeholders is required—without imposing authority—to ensure durable sustainable development. © 2023 The Authors. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sustainability Reporting (SR) has become an essential task for accounting scholars where over the last 30 years, substantial developments in the academic literature on SR have been seen. However, the research on SR in the Construction and Real Estate (CRE) sector is in a nascent stage. To develop insights into current academic work and future research dimensions of SR, this study conducts a conceptual literature review for the CRE sector. The search and selection phase were performed in April 2024 yielding 49 articles from Scopus and Web of Science. The focus is on identifying dominant and unexplored perspectives; identifying key concepts, and connections between them, as well as the theoretical lenses applied. The contributions of this study are sixfold, as follows. First, it reveals that the literature on SR in the CRE sector is interdisciplinary and publishing in both accounting and non-accounting journals. Second, prior literature on SR of CRE, includes four dominant perspectives; disclosure diversity, practical barriers, rationales, and drivers of SR. Third, only a few links between these perspectives are outlined. However, it is argued to explore the interrelated links in all four perspectives. Fourth, the studies utilize few theoretical lenses, usually combining two or more theories, whilst most studies do not use any theoretical lens. Fifth, the institutional perspective is neglected in the literature. The studies address what, why, and how questions while there is a need for further investigation of when, where, and who. Finally, the outcomes of this literature review contribute to existing knowledge on accounting for sustainability. This study illuminates the views of how accountability drives sustainability accounting and how formal and informal institutions, may have a mutually reinforcing effect. The results of this review shed light on the critical concepts and perspectives relevant to SR in the CRE sector, hence contributing fresh insights into current studies and providing valuable guidance for future research and practice. © 2024 The Author(s)

We propose that technological, service-dominant and design logics must interplay for an IT artefact to succeed. Based on data from a project aiming at a B2B platform for manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, we explore these three logics in an agile software design context. By using an inductive approach, we theorise about what is needed for the alignment of the three logics. We contribute with a novel theoretical lens, the Framework for Adaptive Space. We offer insights into the importance of continuously reflecting on all three logics during the agile software design process to ensure mutual understanding among the agile team and the B2B platform end-users involved. Copyright © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Inderscience Publishers Ltd.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the factors that influence the relationship between sustainability and financial performance (FP) of the European listed companies.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzed data from 795 companies in 21 European countries by applying linear mixed-effects multilevel regressions, a two steps system generalized method of moments and quantile regression models to uncover the links between sustainability and FP.

Findings: The past four decades have witnessed abundant research to determine the relationship between corporate sustainability and FP. Thus, conducting further research in 2023 could be seen as “reinventing the wheel.” Yet, earlier research considered firms as isolated entities with sustainability and FP being dependent only on that firm’s actions. By contrast, with the help of network governance theory, this study shows that a firm’s sustainability and FP depend on an interplay among interorganizational actors, such as institutional qualities, macroeconomic factors and an embrace of sustainability. Here, large firms play an essential role. Three significant findings are drawn. First, sustainability performance has a significant impact on FP in the European context. Second, the institutional quality (IQ) of the rule of law and control of corruption plays a crucial role in enhancing sustainability and FP, and finally the interaction of IQ and economic growth helps to increase companies’ market value (Tobin’s Q). The consistent and empirically robust findings offer key lessons to policymakers and practitioners on the interplay among multiple actors in corporate sustainability and FP.

Practical implications: A synergetic multifaced relationship between governmental institutions and corporations is inevitable for ensuring sustainable development. The degree of intimacy in the relationship, of course, will be determined by the macroeconomic environment.

Originality/value: In this research, this study theoretically and empirically identified that corporate sustainability and FP are not solely dependent on corporate operation. Rather, it is transformed, modified and shaped through an interaction of multiple actors’ trajectories in the macro business environment. © 2023, ABM Fazle Rahi, Jeaneth Johansson and Catherine Lions.

Stress-related illness is a common and increasing cause for sick leave in Sweden. Spending time in nature reduces stress and promotes health and well-being. Accordingly, nature-based interventions (NBI) for people with stress-related illness have been developed and implemented in southern Scandinavia; however, such interventions are uncommon in the Circumpolar North. Previous studies have examined the effects and experiences of participating in NBI, but research about different stakeholders’ perspectives on NBI is lacking. The aim of this study was to explore different key stakeholders’ perceptions of the value of NBI in promoting health in people with stress-related illness. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 persons with stress-related illness experience, 14 healthcare professionals, and 11 entrepreneurs offering NBI. Qualitative content analysis resulted in four categories: Providing opportunity for recovery, Offering new perspectives and opportunity for reflection, Empowering balance and control in life, and Enabling one to overcome barriers. Although the study was conducted in a region where NBI is not widely implemented, the different stakeholders expressed similar perceptions of the value of NBI, indicating that NBI may be a valuable complement to health care which reaches people with stress-related illness needs and promotes their health. © 2024 Lulea university of technology. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Sustainability Reporting (SR) has become an essential task for accounting scholars where over the last 30 years, substantial developments in the academic literature on SR have been seen However, the research on SR in the Construction and Real Estate (CRE) sector is in a nascent stage. To develop insights into current academic work and future research dimensions of SR, this study conducts a conceptual literature review for the CRE sector. The search and selection phase were performed in April 2024 yielding 49 articles from Scopus and Web of Science. The focus is on identifying dominant and unexplored perspectives; identifying key concepts, and connections between them, as well as the theoretical lenses applied. The contributions of this study are sixfold, as follows. First, it reveals that the literature on SR in the CRE sector is interdisciplinary and publishing in both accounting and non-accounting journals. Second, prior literature on SR of CRE, includes four dominant perspectives; disclosure diversity, practical barriers, rationales, and drivers of SR. Third, only a few links between these perspectives are outlined. However, it is argued to explore the interrelated links in all four perspectives. Fourth, the studies utilize few theoretical lenses, usually combining two or more theories, whilst most studies do not use any theoretical lens. Fifth, the institutional perspective is neglected in the literature. The studies address what, why, and how questions while there is a need for further investigation of when, where, and who. Finally, the outcomes of this literature review contribute to existing knowledge on accounting for sustainability. This study illuminates the views of how accountability drives sustainability accounting and how formal and informal institutions, may have a mutually reinforcing effect. The results of this review shed light on the critical concepts and perspectives relevant to SR in the CRE sector, hence contributing fresh insights into current studies and providing valuable guidance for future research and practice. © 2024 The Authors.

Sustainable servitisation for organisations, as an indispensable part of their sustainable development, has increasingly come to the attention of both academics and practitioners. Whilst the servitisation literature is diverse and growing, our understanding of what sustainable servitisation is and a holistic view of how it is developed and implemented is limited. To address these gaps, we provide a systematic literature review enabled by an active machine-learning tool using 66 journal articles on sustainable servitisation. We have redefined the term sustainable servitisation based on an in-depth literature analysis. From the purview of sustainable servitisation as a mechanism for organisational change, we also synthesised what is known about sustainable servitisation into a holistic framework. Notably, rather than focusing on how sustainable servitisation can be better designed, as most existing studies have done, we argue that a dynamic and processual view of sustainable servitisation is required to advance theoretical and practical knowledge. © 2024

Adopting digital technologies in different organizations has become a trend over the last decade, yet our understanding regarding impact of digital technologies on strategising needs to be more cohersive. This paper reviews existing research on how digital transformation intersects with strategic management to adress this gap. Specifically, the aim is to explore how the digital context changes strategising. Based on a systematic review of empirical evidence from 163 journal papers, we showcased the manifestation of strategising in the digital age in terms of strategic practitioners, practices and praxis. By consolidating these findings, a typology of strategic actions in the digital age is developed and discussed, highlighting the interplay among changes in strategy-as-practice parameters. This framework clarifies in strategic scenarios of digital transformation and identifies various strategic directions and actions. Overall, we argue that although digital transformation has created additional strategic options, it has yet to change the underlying assumptions of strategising in firms. © 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Management Reviews published by British Academy of Management and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.