Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T23:39:12.513Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Business as Usual

A Review of Environmental Strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2024

Gregorio Martín-de Castro
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense, Madrid
Javier Amores-Salvadó
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense, Madrid
Sanjay Sharma
Affiliation:
University of Vermont
Get access

Summary

Chapter 3 carries out a critical review of environmental strategies, from reactive postures, such as pollution control, to the most proactive and advanced ones, such as pollution prevention and product stewardship. In doing so, the literature review shows the main theoretical streams used to frame different environmental strategic positionings, such as the institutional theory, the natural resource-based view, a new stakeholder theory or the microfoundations of strategy. To carry out a critical review of existing typologies of environmental strategies, they are deconstructed into their main features and dimensions following two research traditions: strategy (defenders, prospectors, analysers and reactors) and innovation (exploitation, exploration and ambidexterity). We conclude that these conventional approaches can be catalogued as ‘business-as-usual’ environmental strategies and finally present a disruptive alternative called the regenerative strategy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Regenerative Strategies
Exploring New Sustainable Business Models to Face the Climate Emergency
, pp. 43 - 77
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antolín-López, D. C., and Montiel, I. (2016). Deconstructing corporate sustainability: A comparison of different stakeholder metrics. Journal of Cleaner Production, 136: 517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aragón-Correa, J. A. (1998). Strategic proactivity and firm approach to the natural environment. Academy of Management Journal, 41(5): 556567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bansal, P., and Roth, K. (2000). Why companies go green: A model of ecological responsiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 43(4): 717736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bierly, P. E., III, Damanpour, F., and Santoro, M. D. (2009). The application of external knowledge: Organizational conditions for exploration and exploitation. Journal of Management Studies, 46(3): 481509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buysse, K., and Verbeke, A. (2003). Proactive environmental strategies: A stakeholder management perspective. Strategic Management Journal, 24(5): 453470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carrol, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate social performance. Academy of Management Review, 4(4): 497505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cirillo, B., Brusoni, S., and Valentini, G. (2014). The rejuvenation of inventors through corporate spinouts. Organization Science, 25(6): 17641784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conelly, B. L., Shi, W., Hoskisson, R. E., and Koka, B. R. (2018). Shareholder influence of joint venture exploration. Journal of Management, 45(8): 31783203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delmas, M. A., and Toffel, M. W. (2008). Organizational responses to environmental demands: Opening the black box. Strategic Management Journal, 29(10): 10271055.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demirel, P., and Kesidou, E. (2019). Sustainability-oriented capabilities for eco-innovation: Meeting the regulatory, technology, and market demands. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(5): 847857.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeSarbo, W. S., Di Benedetto, C. A., Song, M., and Sinha, I. (2005). Revisiting the Miles and Snow strategic framework: Uncovering interrelationships between strategic types, capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 26(1): 4774.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, J. D., and Green, C. L. (2000). Marketing strategy, constituent influence, and resource allocation: An application of the Miles and Snow typology to closely held firms in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Journal of Business Research, 50(2): 225231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrell, J. (2016). Network structure and influence of the climate change counter-mover. Nature Climate Change, 6: 370374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiss, P. (2011). Building better causal theories: A fuzzy set approach to typologies in organization research. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2): 393420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glavic, P., and Lukman, R. (2007). Review of sustainability terms and their definitions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15(18): 18751885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hahn, T., and Tampe, M. (2021). Strategies for regenerative business. Strategic Organization, 19(3): 456477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hambrick, D. C. (1981). Strategic awareness within top management teams. Strategic Management Journal, 2(3): 263279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hambrick, D. C. (1982). Environmental scanning and organizational strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 3(2): 159174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hambrick, D. C. (1983). Some tests of the effectiveness and functional attributes of Miles and Snow’s strategic types. Academy of Management Journal, 26(1): 526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hart, S. (1995). A natural resource-based view of the firm. Academy of Management Review, 20(4): 9861014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, S. (1997). Beyond greening: Strategies for a sustainable world. Harvard Business Review, 75: 6676.Google Scholar
He, Z.-L., and Wong, P.-K. (2004). Exploration vs. exploitation: An empirical test of the ambidexterity hypothesis. Organization Science, 15(4): 481494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henriques, I., and Sadorsky, P. (1999). The relationships between environmental commitment and managerial perceptions of stakeholder importance. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1): 8799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hepburn, C., Adlen, E., Beddington, J. et al. (2019). The technological and economic prospects for CO2 utilization and removal. Nature, 575: 8797.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoang, H. A., and Rothaermel, F. T. (2010). Leveraging internal and external experience: Exploration, exploitation, and R&D project performance. Strategic Management Journal, 31(7): 734758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, C. B., and Auster, E. R. (1990). Proactive environmental management: Avoiding the toxic trap. Sloan Management Review, 31(2): 718.Google Scholar
Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the Secretary-General. (2019). Global Sustainable Development Report 2019: The Future Is Now – Science for Achieving Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Jansen, J. J., Van den Bosch, F. A., and Volberda, H. W. (2006). Exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation, and performance: Effects of organizational antecedents and environmental moderators. Management Science, 52(11): 16611674.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, D. F., and Seaman, S. L. (1994). High and low levels of organizational adaptation: An empirical analysis of strategy, structure, and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 15(6): 459475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Judge, W. Q., and Douglas, T. J. (1998). Performance implications of incorporating natural environmental issues into the strategic planning process: An empirical test. Journal of Management Studies, 35(2): 241262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, S. (1998). Deconstruct social issues for business. Business and Society, 37(1), 109110.Google Scholar
Kotassová, I. (2019, 30 January). Volkswagen nearly killed diesel cars. Now it says they’re back. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/30/business/diesel-volkswagen-sales/index.html.Google Scholar
Lenton, T. M., Rockström, J., Gaffney, O. et al. (2019). Climate tipping points. Too risky to bet against. Nature, 575: 592595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levinthal, D., and March, J. G. (1993). The myopia of learning. Strategic Management Journal, 14(52): 95112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liang, X., Musteen, M., and Deepak, K. D. (2009). Strategic orientation and the choice of foreign entry mode: An empirical examination. Management International Review, 49(3): 269290.Google Scholar
Lin, L. H., and Ho, Y. L. (2016). Institutional pressures and environmental performance in the global automotive industry: The mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Long Range Planning, 49(6): 764775.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mac Dowell, N., Fennel, P., Shah, N., and Maitland, G. (2017). The role of CO2 capture and utilization in mitigating climate change. Nature Climate Change, 7(4): 243249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malen, J., and Marcus, A. A. (2019). Environmental externalities and weak appropriability: Influences on firm pollution reduction technology development. Business and Society, 58(8): 15991633.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maniora, J. (2018). Mismanagement of sustainability: What business strategy makes the difference? Empirical evidence from the USA. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(4): 931947.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1): 7187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDaniel, S. W., and Kolari, J. W. (1987). Marketing strategy implications of the Miles and Snow strategic typology. Journal of Marketing, 51(4): 1930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGrath, R. G. (2001). Exploratory learning, innovative capacity, and managerial oversight. Academy of Management Journal, 44(1): 118131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, R. E., and Snow, C. C. (1978). Organizational Strategy, Structure and Process. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google ScholarPubMed
Mom, T. J., Chang, Y., Cholakova, M., and Jansen, J. (2019). A multilevel integrated framework of firm HR practices, individual ambidexterity, and organizational ambidexterity. Journal of Management, 4(7): 30093034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murillo-Luna, J. L., Garcés-Ayerbe, C., and Rivera-Torres, P. (2008). Why do patterns of environmental response differ? A stakeholder pressure approach. Strategic Management Journal, 29(11): 12251240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nyberg, D., and Wright, C. (2022). Climate-proofing management research. Academy of Management Perspectives, 36(2): 713728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orsatti, G., Quatraro, F., and Pezzoni, M. (2020). The antecedents of green technologies: The role of team-level recombinant capabilities. Research Policy, 49(3): 103919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piao, M. (2014). A long life after exploitation and exploration. European Journal of Innovation Management, 17(2): 209228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, M., and van der Linde, C. (1995). Green and competitive: Ending the stalemate. Harvard Business Review, 73(5): 120134.Google Scholar
Potrich, L., Nogueira Cortimiglia, M., and Fleith de Medeiros, J. (2019). A systematic literature review on firm level proactive environmental management. Journal of Environmental Management, 243(2): 273286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rajaratnam, D., and Chonko, L. B. (1995). The effect of business strategy type on marketing organization design, product-market growth strategy, relative marketing effort, and organization performance. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 3(3): 6075.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rivera, J., and Clement, V. (2018). Business adaptation to climate change: American ski resorts and warmer temperatures. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28: 12851301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roome, N. (1992). Developing environmental management systems. Business, Strategy and the Environment, 1(1): 1124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russo, A., and Vurro, C. (2010). Cross‐boundary ambidexterity: Balancing exploration and exploitation in the fuel cell industry. European Management Review, 7(1): 3045.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, S., and Vredenburgh, H. (1998). Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 19(8): 729753.3.0.CO;2-4>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shortell, S. M., and Zajac, E. J. (1990). Perceptual and archival measures of Miles and Snow’s strategic types: A comprehensive assessment of reliability and validity. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4): 817832.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skocek, J., Zajac, M., and Haha, M. (2020). Carbon capture and utilization by mineralization of cement pastes derived from recycled concrete. Scientific Reports, 10: 5614.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, K. G., Guthrie, J. P., and Chen, M. J. (1986). Miles and Snow’s typology of strategy, organizational size and organizational performance. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1: 4549.Google Scholar
Smith, K. G., Guthrie, J. P., and Chen, M. J. (1989). Strategy, size and performance. Organization Studies, 10(1): 6381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snow, C. C., and Hrebiniak, L. G. (1980). Strategy, distinctive competence, and organizational performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25(2): 317336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stettner, U., and Lavie, D. (2014). Ambidexterity under scrutiny: Exploration and exploitation via internal organization, alliances, and acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 35(13): 19031929.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supran, G., Rahmstorf, S., and Oreskes, N. (2023). Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections. Science, 379(6628): eabk0063.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tashman, P., and Rivera, J. (2016). Ecological uncertainty, adaptation, and mitigation in the U.S. ski resort industry: Managing resource dependence and institutional pressures. Strategic Management Journal, 37: 15071525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, A. S., and Ramaswamy, K. (1996). Matching managers to strategy: Further tests of the Miles and Snow typology. British Journal of Management, 7(3): 247261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voss, G. B., Sirdeshmukh, D., and Voss, Z. G. (2008). The effects of slack resources and environmental threat on product exploration and exploitation. Academy of Management Journal, 51(1): 147164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wakefield, E. (1994). History of the Electric Automobile. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers.Google Scholar
Wartick, S. L., and Cochran, P. L. (1985). The evolution of the corporate social performance model. Academy of Management Review, 10(4): 758769.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zi-Lin, H., and Wong, P. K. (2004). Exploration vs. exploitation: An empirical test of the ambidexterity hypothesis. Organization Science, 15(4): 481494.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×