IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aes/jetimm/v1y2026i1p47-55.html

ESG in Logistics: Comparative Insights from Military and Civilian Sectors for Strategic Decision-Making

Author

Listed:
  • Corina IANCU

    (University of Craiova)

  • Elena JIANU

    (National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest)

  • Eliza-Maria ANTONIU

    (National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest)

Abstract

This paper examines how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are integrated into strategic management decisions across two distinct logistics contexts-civilian and military- and what practices are transferable between them. Using a qualitative, comparative design, the study combines documentary analysis, two illustrative case vignettes (one private-sector logistics company; one military logistics structure), and semi-structured interviews with logistics practitioners. We clarify the unit of analysis (sector), while drawing on organizational examples to ground sector-level patterns. Findings indicate that civilian logistics tends to operationalize ESG through transparency, supplier screening, and digital optimization (e.g. fuel efficiency, route planning, etc.), whereas military logistics shows selective adoption shaped by mission constraints, risk posture, and security requirements. Nevertheless, convergences emerge around resource efficiency, resilience, and stakeholder accountability. We discuss implications for strategic decision-making (e.g. governance of ESG trade-offs, data and traceability requirements) and outline a pragmatic, context-sensitive checklist for ESG integration in logistics rather than a universal framework. The paper contributes by bridging largely separate literatures on ESG and logistics with the underexplored civil-military comparison, articulating concrete avenues for cross-sector learning while acknowledging limitations related to sample, size, data availability, and generalizability.

Suggested Citation

  • Corina IANCU & Elena JIANU & Eliza-Maria ANTONIU, 2026. "ESG in Logistics: Comparative Insights from Military and Civilian Sectors for Strategic Decision-Making," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 47-55, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:aes:jetimm:v:1:y:2026:i:1:p:47-55
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.etimm.ase.ro/RePEc/aes/jetimm/2026/JETIMM_V01_2026_161.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mauro Sciarelli & Mario Tani & Giovanni Landi & Lorenzo Turriziani, 2020. "CSR perception and financial performance: Evidences from Italian and UK asset management companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 841-851, March.
    2. Lavinia Conca & Francesco Manta & Domenico Morrone & Pierluigi Toma, 2021. "The impact of direct environmental, social, and governance reporting: Empirical evidence in European‐listed companies in the agri‐food sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1080-1093, February.
    3. Jagriti Srivastava & Aravind Sampath & Balagopal Gopalakrishnan, 2021. "Is CSR the key to unlocking debt financing during COVID-19? A multicountry perspective," Working papers 481, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    4. Longsheng Wu & Chong Xu & Lingli Qi & Johnny Lam & Guanqiuyue Chen, 2025. "Can CFOs’ overseas experience contribute to corporate digital transformation: evidence from China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Feyyaz Zeren & Mesut Dogan & Serkan Eryilmaz, 2026. "Determinants of ESG‐Related Sustainability Uncertainty: Asymmetric Fourier Evidence From G7 Countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 1479-1492, January.
    6. Veeravel, V & Murugesan, Vijaya Prabhagar & Narayanamurthy, Vijayakumar, 2024. "Does ESG disclosure really influence the firm performance? Evidence from India," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 193-202.
    7. Zabihollah Rezaee & Ling Tuo, 2019. "Are the Quantity and Quality of Sustainability Disclosures Associated with the Innate and Discretionary Earnings Quality?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 763-786, March.
    8. Ambili Jayachandran & Ajithakumari Vijayappan Nair Biju & Aghila Sasidharan, 2026. "Corporate ESG Integration: A Qualitative Analysis of Managerial Perceptions and Industry Variations Among Emerging Economy Firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(2), pages 2759-2782, March.
    9. Sajid Ullah & Farman Ullah Khan & Laura-Mariana Cismaș & Muhammad Usman & Andra Miculescu, 2022. "Do Tournament Incentives Matter for CEOs to Be Environmentally Responsible? Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-20, January.
    10. Gary F. Peters & Andrea M. Romi & Juan Manuel Sanchez, 2019. "The Influence of Corporate Sustainability Officers on Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1065-1087, November.
    11. Rajesh Kumar Bhaskaran & Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Sujit K. Sukumaran & Saraswathy Divakaran Sumod, 2020. "Environmental, social and governance initiatives and wealth creation for firms: An empirical examination," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(5), pages 710-729, July.
    12. Mengdie Hai & Ziwei Fang & Zhaohua Li, 2022. "Does Business Group’s Conscious of Social Responsibility Enhance its Investment Efficiency? Evidence from ESG Disclosure of China’s Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    13. Inaba, Kei-Ichiro, 2021. "Corporate cash and governance: A global look into publicly-traded companies' aggregate cash ratios," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    14. Oscar Kujur, 2026. "Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development practices: impact on the economic performance of Indian companies," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-26, January.
    15. Arshi, Afifa & Ali, Amjad & Audi, Marc, 2025. "Evaluating the Impact of Sustainability Reporting on Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of ESG Performance and the Moderating Role of Firm Size," MPRA Paper 127480, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Spulbar Lucian Florin & Mitrache Lavinia Adelina, 2023. "The Strategic Role Of Corporate Finance In Sustainable Business Practices. A Conceptual Framework," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 6, pages 330-334, December.
    17. Abdelghafar M. Elhady & Samaa Shohieb, 2025. "AI-driven sustainable finance: computational tools, ESG metrics, and global implementation," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-30, December.
    18. Xu, Chong & Tao, Miaomiao & Qi, Lingli & Roubaud, David, 2025. "Can green CEOs trigger the green premium effect?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    19. Rahul Verma & Rajesh Mohnot, 2023. "Relative Impact of the U.S. Energy Market Sentiments on Stocks and ESG Index Returns: Evidence from GCC Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(2), pages 290-300, March.
    20. Sui, Xiaoning & Hu, Huanhuan & Wang, Haijun & Hu, Tianyang, 2024. "The impact of servitization transformation on the ESG performance of manufacturing firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • E00 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - General
    • M11 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Production Management
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aes:jetimm:v:1:y:2026:i:1:p:47-55. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Lucian Onisor (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aseeero.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.