Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions
Abstract
Abstract We develop a methodology to identify patterns between sustainability motivations, actions and engagement. We apply this methodology to analyse a 3 1/2‐year intervention that yielded 151 sustainability actions undertaken by 46 outbound tour operators. We find three aspects that can be explained by the tour operators' motivations to act sustainably, namely, a connection between: (i) the actions taken in the context of the organisation's business model, (ii) the intensity of the approach, measured by the resources invested in it and the operator's commitment level and (iii) the evolution of the response. These patterns demonstrate how ethical motivations are common and a precondition to acting sustainably, but, in themselves, these motivations are not sufficient to integrate sustainability practices into the core business or to maintain commitment over time. It is the combination of a high ethical commitment with clear strategic intent, materialised in commercial and operational motivations, that increases the connectedness, and intensity, of sustainability actions amongst ethically committed firms.
- Authors:
-
- Departamento de Economía Financiera y Contabilidad e Idioma Moderno, Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Madrid Spain
- Departamento de Economía de la Empresa (ADO), Economía Aplicada II y Fundamentos de Análisis Económico, Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Madrid Spain
- School of Hospitality and Tourism Management University of Surrey Guildford UK, Department of Business and Economics UiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
- Publication Date:
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1826828
- Resource Type:
- Publisher's Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Business Strategy and the Environment
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Business Strategy and the Environment Journal Volume: 31 Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0964-4733
- Publisher:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
Citation Formats
Bonilla‐Priego, Maria Jesus, Nájera‐Sánchez, Juan‐José, and Font, Xavier. Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions. United Kingdom: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1002/bse.2912.
Bonilla‐Priego, Maria Jesus, Nájera‐Sánchez, Juan‐José, & Font, Xavier. Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2912
Bonilla‐Priego, Maria Jesus, Nájera‐Sánchez, Juan‐José, and Font, Xavier. Mon .
"Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2912.
@article{osti_1826828,
title = {Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions},
author = {Bonilla‐Priego, Maria Jesus and Nájera‐Sánchez, Juan‐José and Font, Xavier},
abstractNote = {Abstract We develop a methodology to identify patterns between sustainability motivations, actions and engagement. We apply this methodology to analyse a 3 1/2‐year intervention that yielded 151 sustainability actions undertaken by 46 outbound tour operators. We find three aspects that can be explained by the tour operators' motivations to act sustainably, namely, a connection between: (i) the actions taken in the context of the organisation's business model, (ii) the intensity of the approach, measured by the resources invested in it and the operator's commitment level and (iii) the evolution of the response. These patterns demonstrate how ethical motivations are common and a precondition to acting sustainably, but, in themselves, these motivations are not sufficient to integrate sustainability practices into the core business or to maintain commitment over time. It is the combination of a high ethical commitment with clear strategic intent, materialised in commercial and operational motivations, that increases the connectedness, and intensity, of sustainability actions amongst ethically committed firms.},
doi = {10.1002/bse.2912},
journal = {Business Strategy and the Environment},
number = 3,
volume = 31,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {2021},
month = {10}
}
https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2912
Works referenced in this record:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Travel Supply Chain: A Literature Review
journal, December 2020
- Ibarnia, Eneko; Garay, Lluís; Guevara, Antonio
- Sustainability, Vol. 12, Issue 23
Does sustainability enhance tourism destination competitiveness? Evidence from Italian Destinations of Excellence
journal, January 2016
- Cucculelli, Marco; Goffi, Gianluca
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 111
Investigating the Impact of Firm Size on Small Business Social Responsibility: A Critical Review
journal, August 2006
- Lepoutre, Jan; Heene, Aimé
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, Issue 3
SMEs and CSR: An Approach to CSR in their Own Words
journal, September 2006
- Murillo, David; Lozano, Josep M.
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, Issue 3
Small firm environmental ethics: how deep do they go?
journal, January 2000
- Tilley, Fiona
- Business Ethics: A European Review, Vol. 9, Issue 1
Managing to be environmentally responsible: incentives and disincentives reported by small businesses
journal, January 2019
- Cassells, Sue; Lewis, Kate
- Small Enterprise Research, Vol. 26, Issue 1
What We Know and Don’t Know About Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review and Research Agenda
journal, March 2012
- Aguinis, Herman; Glavas, Ante
- Journal of Management, Vol. 38, Issue 4
Environmental supply chain management in tourism: The case of large tour operators
journal, November 2009
- Adriana, Budeanu
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 17, Issue 16
How Can SMEs in a Cluster Respond to Global Demands for Corporate Responsibility?
journal, January 2011
- von Weltzien Høivik, Heidi; Shankar, Deepthi
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 101, Issue 2
Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability
journal, January 2012
- Schaltegger, Stefan; Freund, Florian Lüdeke; Hansen, Erik G.
- International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, Vol. 6, Issue 2
Formal vs. Informal CSR Strategies: Evidence from Italian Micro, Small, Medium-sized, and Large Firms
journal, April 2008
- Russo, Angeloantonio; Tencati, Antonio
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 85, Issue S2
Proactive environmental and social strategies in a small‐ to medium‐sized company: A case study of a Japanese SME
journal, July 2020
- Eweje, Gabriel
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 29, Issue 7
Linking owner-managers' personal sustainability behaviors and corporate practices in SMEs: The moderating roles of perceived advantages and environmental hostility
journal, December 2017
- Chassé, Sonia; Courrent, Jean-Marie
- Business Ethics: A European Review, Vol. 27, Issue 2
Corporate social responsibility among SMEs in Italy
journal, March 2013
- Coppa, Marcello; Sriramesh, Krishnamurthy
- Public Relations Review, Vol. 39, Issue 1
Corporate Social Responsibility and institutional theory: new perspectives on private governance
journal, December 2011
- Brammer, S.; Jackson, G.; Matten, D.
- Socio-Economic Review, Vol. 10, Issue 1
Do firms get what they want from ISO 14001 adoption?: an Australian perspective
journal, September 2012
- Prajogo, Daniel; Tang, Ailie K. Y.; Lai, Kee-hung
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 33
Corporate Motives for Social Initiative: Legitimacy, Sustainability, or the Bottom Line?
journal, June 2008
- Brønn, Peggy Simcic; Vidaver-Cohen, Deborah
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 87, Issue S1
Rethinking sustainability in the tour-operating industry: Worldwide survey of current attitudes and behaviors
journal, May 2018
- Goffi, Gianluca; Masiero, Lorenzo; Pencarelli, Tonino
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 183
Factors Promoting Environmental Responsibility in European SMEs: The Effect on Performance
journal, September 2016
- Sáez-Martínez, Francisco; Díaz-García, Cristina; González-Moreno, Ángela
- Sustainability, Vol. 8, Issue 9
Organizing Corporate Social Responsibility in Small and Large Firms: Size Matters
journal, July 2013
- Baumann-Pauly, Dorothée; Wickert, Christopher; Spence, Laura J.
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 115, Issue 4
Corporate social responsibility and its effect on innovation and firm performance: An empirical research in SMEs
journal, January 2017
- Martinez-Conesa, Isabel; Soto-Acosta, Pedro; Palacios-Manzano, Mercedes
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 142
CSR in SMEs: strategies, practices, motivations and obstacles
journal, August 2011
- Santos, Maria
- Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 7, Issue 3
Islam and socially responsible business conduct: an empirical study of Dutch entrepreneurs
journal, October 2006
- Graafland, Johan; Mazereeuw, Corrie; Yahia, Aziza
- Business Ethics: A European Review, Vol. 15, Issue 4
Why do patterns of environmental response differ? A stakeholders' pressure approach
journal, November 2008
- Murillo-Luna, Josefina L.; Garcés-Ayerbe, Concepción; Rivera-Torres, Pilar
- Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 29, Issue 11
Environmental Motivations: The Pathway to Complete Environmental Management
journal, August 2013
- Lannelongue, Gustavo; Gonzalez-Benito, Oscar; Gonzalez-Benito, Javier
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 124, Issue 1
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Sustainability: Managers' Values and Engagement with Environmental and Climate Change Issues: SMEs and Sustainability - Managers' Values and Engagement
journal, May 2012
- Williams, Sarah; Schaefer, Anja
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 22, Issue 3
The influence of feedback and awareness of consequences on the development of corporate sustainability action over time
journal, October 2019
- Hörisch, Jacob; Wulfsberg, Isabell; Schaltegger, Stefan
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 29, Issue 2
The Road to Sustainability: Exploring the Process of Corporate Environmental Strategy Over Time: Corporate Environmental Strategy Evolution
journal, July 2013
- Papagiannakis, Giorgos; Voudouris, Irini; Lioukas, Spyros
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 23, Issue 4
Sustainability motivations and practices in small tourism enterprises in European protected areas
journal, November 2016
- Font, Xavier; Garay, Lluís; Jones, Steve
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 137
The influence of cooperative relations of small businesses on environmental protection intensity
journal, June 2016
- Benito-Hernández, Sonia; Platero-Jaime, Manuel; Esteban-Sánchez, Pablo
- Business Ethics: A European Review, Vol. 25, Issue 4
Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility
journal, September 2006
- Jenkins, Heledd
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, Issue 3
SMEs and CSR Theory: Evidence and Implications from an Italian Perspective
journal, August 2006
- Perrini, Francesco
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, Issue 3
Sustainable supply chain management in tourism
journal, January 2008
- Font, Xavier; Tapper, Richard; Schwartz, Karen
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 17, Issue 4
A ‘business opportunity’ model of corporate social responsibility for small- and medium-sized enterprises
journal, January 2009
- Jenkins, Heledd
- Business Ethics: A European Review, Vol. 18, Issue 1
Value co-creation in sustainable tourism: A service-dominant logic approach
journal, February 2021
- Font, Xavier; English, Rosa; Gkritzali, Alkmini
- Tourism Management, Vol. 82
Small Business Social Responsibility: A Critical Multilevel Review, Synthesis and Research Agenda: Small Business Social Responsibility
journal, December 2017
- Soundararajan, Vivek; Jamali, Dima; Spence, Laura J.
- International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 20, Issue 4
Commitment to Sustainability in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: The Influence of Strategic Orientations and Management Values: Commitment to Sustainability in SMEs
journal, August 2015
- Jansson, Johan; Nilsson, Jonas; Modig, Frida
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 26, Issue 1
Stata Tip 110: How to Get the Optimal K-Means Cluster Solution
journal, June 2012
- Makles, Anna
- The Stata Journal: Promoting communications on statistics and Stata, Vol. 12, Issue 2
An Empirical Study of Environmental Awareness and Practices in SMEs
journal, February 2008
- Gadenne, David L.; Kennedy, Jessica; McKeiver, Catherine
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 84, Issue 1
Why Companies Go Green: A Model of Ecological Responsiveness
journal, August 2000
- Bansal, Pratima; Roth, Kendall
- Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 43, Issue 4
Is CSR the panacea for SMEs? A study of socially responsible SMEs during economic crisis
journal, April 2021
- Magrizos, Solon; Apospori, Eleni; Carrigan, Marylyn
- European Management Journal, Vol. 39, Issue 2
Managerial discretion and corporate commitment to the natural environment
journal, September 2004
- Aragón-Correa, Juan Alberto; Matı́as-Reche, Fernando; Senise-Barrio, Marı́a Eugenia
- Journal of Business Research, Vol. 57, Issue 9
SMEs and environmental responsibility: do actions reflect attitudes?
journal, May 2011
- Cassells, Sue; Lewis, Kate
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Vol. 18, Issue 3
Strategic intent in the management of the green environment within SMEs
journal, April 2005
- Worthington, Ian; Patton, Dean
- Long Range Planning, Vol. 38, Issue 2
What drives environmental practices of SMEs?
journal, April 2015
- Hoogendoorn, Brigitte; Guerra, Daniela; van der Zwan, Peter
- Small Business Economics, Vol. 44, Issue 4
Approaches to corporate sustainability among German companies
journal, January 2006
- Hahn, Tobias; Scheermesser, Mandy
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Vol. 13, Issue 3
Walking the talk? Environmental responsibility from the perspective of small-business owners
journal, May 2011
- Battisti, Martina; Perry, Martin
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Vol. 18, Issue 3
Can MNCs promote more inclusive tourism? Apollo tour operator's sustainability work
journal, May 2018
- Zapata Campos, María José; Hall, C. Michael; Backlund, Sandra
- Tourism Geographies, Vol. 20, Issue 4
Peculiar Strengths and Relational Attributes of SMEs in the Context of CSR
journal, September 2008
- Jamali, Dima; Zanhour, Mona; Keshishian, Tamar
- Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 87, Issue 3
Management, Altruism, and Customer Focus as Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in Tourism Intermediation
journal, June 2017
- Garay, Lluís; Gomis, Joan Miquel; González, Francesc
- Tourism Analysis, Vol. 22, Issue 2
Environmental motivations: a classification scheme and its impact on environmental strategies and practices
journal, November 2009
- Paulraj, Antony
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 18, Issue 7
Why organizations join voluntary sustainable tourism associations: Implications for membership and sustainability monitoring systems
journal, December 2019
- Peters, Scott; Font, Xavier; Bonilla‐Priego, Maria Jesus
- International Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 22, Issue 3
A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes
journal, February 2014
- Bocken, N. M. P.; Short, S. W.; Rana, P.
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 65
Strategic and Moral Motivation for Corporate Social Responsibility
journal, June 2006
- Graafland, Johan; van de Ven, Bert
- Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Vol. 2006, Issue 22
Corporate Environmental Sustainability in Danish SMEs: A Longitudinal Study of Motivators, Initiatives, and Strategic Effects: Environmental Sustainability in Danish SMEs: A Longitudinal Study
journal, May 2014
- Reyes-Rodríguez, Juan Felipe; Ulhøi, John P.; Madsen, Henning
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Vol. 23, Issue 4
Environmental management practices for sustainable business models in small and medium sized hotel enterprises
journal, September 2018
- Buffa, Federica; Franch, Mariangela; Rizio, Dina
- Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 194
Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective
journal, January 2003
- Buysse, Kristel; Verbeke, Alain
- Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 24, Issue 5
A study of the motivations for the environmental transformation of companies
journal, July 2005
- González-Benito, Javier; González-Benito, Óscar
- Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 34, Issue 5
Sustainability and Environmental Behaviour in Family Firms: A Longitudinal Analysis of Environment‐Related Activities, Innovation and Performance
journal, October 2017
- Doluca, Hüseyin; Wagner, Marcus; Block, Jörn
- Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 27, Issue 1