IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i24p10322-d459891.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Does Corporate Sustainability Increase Financial Performance for Small- and Medium-Sized Fashion Companies: Roles of Organizational Values and Business Model Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Su Jin Yang

    (Department of Consumer Science & Living Culture Industry, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul 01133, Korea)

  • Seyoon Jang

    (Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine how corporate sustainability can raise the level of corporate financial performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fashion industry by considering the roles of organizational values and business model innovation in forming corporate sustainability. It is meaningful to explore the role of corporate sustainability in SMEs as well as fashion companies considering the recent growth of SMEs in the fashion industry. Practitioners ( N = 218) working for SMEs located in South Korea participated in an online survey. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in three organizational values of SMEs: flexibility value, rational value, and hierarchical value. While flexibility has contributed to forming business model innovation and sustainability, having a rational value has impacted business model innovation and financial performance. A hierarchical value affected only corporate sustainability. However, business model innovation did not show any significant impact on corporate sustainability or financial performance. Finally, corporate sustainability positively influenced financial performance only for SMEs that had experience practicing at least three sustainable activities. These results have implications for how SMEs manage sustainability to enhance financial performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Su Jin Yang & Seyoon Jang, 2020. "How Does Corporate Sustainability Increase Financial Performance for Small- and Medium-Sized Fashion Companies: Roles of Organizational Values and Business Model Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:24:p:10322-:d:459891
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/24/10322/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/24/10322/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bertrand Moingeon & Muhammad Yunus & Laurence Lehmann-Ortega, 2010. "Building Social Business Models: Lessons from the Grameen Experience," Post-Print hal-00528385, HAL.
    2. Sojin Jung & Byoungho Jin, 2016. "Sustainable Development of Slow Fashion Businesses: Customer Value Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Singh, Sanjay Kumar & Giudice, Manlio Del & Chierici, Roberto & Graziano, Domenico, 2020. "Green innovation and environmental performance: The role of green transformational leadership and green human resource management," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. David Doorey, 2011. "The Transparent Supply Chain: from Resistance to Implementation at Nike and Levi-Strauss," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(4), pages 587-603, November.
    5. Edward Nelling & Elizabeth Webb, 2009. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: the “virtuous circle” revisited," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 197-209, February.
    6. Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz & Kerli Kant Hvass, 2018. "Exploring the Relationship Between Business Model Innovation, Corporate Sustainability, and Organisational Values within the Fashion Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 267-284, May.
    7. Henri, Jean-Francois, 2006. "Organizational culture and performance measurement systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 77-103, January.
    8. M. López & Arminda Garcia & Lazaro Rodriguez, 2007. "Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 285-300, October.
    9. Henry Chesbrough & Richard S. Rosenbloom, 2002. "The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from Xerox Corporation's technology spin-off companies," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(3), pages 529-555, June.
    10. Jay J. Ebben & Alec C. Johnson, 2005. "Efficiency, flexibility, or both? Evidence linking strategy to performance in small firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(13), pages 1249-1259, December.
    11. Todeschini, Bruna Villa & Cortimiglia, Marcelo Nogueira & Callegaro-de-Menezes, Daniela & Ghezzi, Antonio, 2017. "Innovative and sustainable business models in the fashion industry: Entrepreneurial drivers, opportunities, and challenges," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 759-770.
    12. Bulent Menguc & Seigyoung Auh & Lucie Ozanne, 2010. "The Interactive Effect of Internal and External Factors on a Proactive Environmental Strategy and its Influence on a Firm's Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 279-298, June.
    13. Laura Michelini & Daniela Fiorentino, 2012. "New business models for creating shared value," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(4), pages 561-577, September.
    14. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Griffiths, Andrew, 2010. "Corporate sustainability and organizational culture," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 357-366, October.
    15. Jijun Gao & Pratima Bansal, 2013. "Instrumental and Integrative Logics in Business Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 241-255, January.
    16. Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo & Sofian, Saudah & Saeidi, Parvaneh & Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa & Saaeidi, Seyyed Alireza, 2015. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 341-350.
    17. Frank Birkin & Thomas Polesie & Linda Lewis, 2009. "A new business model for sustainable development: an exploratory study using the theory of constraints in Nordic organizations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 277-290, July.
    18. Zhi Chen & Shenglan Huang & Chong Liu & Min Min & Liying Zhou, 2018. "Fit between Organizational Culture and Innovation Strategy: Implications for Innovation Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, September.
    19. Anita Jose & Shang-Mei Lee, 2007. "Environmental Reporting of Global Corporations: A Content Analysis based on Website Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 307-321, June.
    20. Stacy H.N. Lee & Jung Ha‐Brookshire & Pui‐Sze Chow, 2018. "The moral responsibility of corporate sustainability as perceived by fashion retail employees: a USA‐China cross‐cultural comparison study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1462-1475, December.
    21. Lee, Khai S & Lim, Guan H & Tan, Soo J, 1999. "Dealing with Resource Disadvantage: Generic Strategies for SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 299-311, June.
    22. Massimo Battaglia & Francesco Testa & Lara Bianchi & Fabio Iraldo & Marco Frey, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitiveness within SMEs of the Fashion Industry: Evidence from Italy and France," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-22, February.
    23. Ali Alshehhi & Haitham Nobanee & Nilesh Khare, 2018. "The Impact of Sustainability Practices on Corporate Financial Performance: Literature Trends and Future Research Potential," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-25, February.
    24. Thomas Dyllick & Kai Hockerts, 2002. "Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 130-141, March.
    25. Cooper, Arnold C. & Gimeno-Gascon, F. Javier & Woo, Carolyn Y., 1994. "Initial human and financial capital as predictors of new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 371-395, September.
    26. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó & Sandra Waddock, 2010. "Corporate responsibility and financial performance: the role of intangible resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 463-490, May.
    27. Amy J. Hillman & Gerald D. Keim, 2001. "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 125-139, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohammed A. Hajar & Ammar Ahmed Alkahtani & Daing Nasir Ibrahim & Mohd Ridzuan Darun & Mohammed A. Al-Sharafi & Sieh Kiong Tiong, 2021. "The Approach of Value Innovation towards Superior Performance, Competitive Advantage, and Sustainable Growth: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-33, September.
    2. Diana Escandon-Barbosa & Jairo Salas-Paramo & Josep Rialp-Criado, 2021. "Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions as a Moderator of the Relationship between Ambidextrous Learning and Corporate Sustainability in Born Global Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Wei Yu & Huiqin Huang & Keying Zhu, 2023. "Enhancing Construction Enterprise Financial Performance through Digital Inclusive Finance: An Insight into Supply Chain Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Yao-Jen Fan & Shuo-Fang Liu & Ding-Bang Luh & Pei-Shan Teng, 2021. "Corporate Sustainability: Impact Factors on Organizational Innovation in the Industrial Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-24, February.

    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. Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz & Kerli Kant Hvass, 2018. "Exploring the Relationship Between Business Model Innovation, Corporate Sustainability, and Organisational Values within the Fashion Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 267-284, May.
    2. Maria Rosa De Giacomo & Raimund Bleischwitz, 2020. "Business models for environmental sustainability: Contemporary shortcomings and some perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3352-3369, December.
    3. Camelia Oprean-Stan & Sebastian Stan & Vasile Brătian, 2020. "Corporate Sustainability and Intangible Resources Binomial: New Proposal on Intangible Resources Recognition and Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Thorey S Thorisdottir & Lara Johannsdottir, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Influencing Sustainability within the Fashion Industry. A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-64, November.
    5. Nadia Preghenella & Cinzia Battistella, 2021. "Exploring business models for sustainability: A bibliographic investigation of the literature and future research directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2505-2522, July.
    6. Sandra Escamilla-Solano & Antonio Fernández-Portillo & Jessica Paule-Vianez & Paola Plaza-Casado, 2019. "Effect of the Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility on Business Profitability. A Dimensional Analysis in the Spanish Stock Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, November.
    7. Renáta Myšková & Petr Hájek, 2018. "Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Text of Annual Reports—The Case of the IT Services Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18, November.
    8. Cristian Carini & Nicola Comincioli & Laura Poddi & Sergio Vergalli, 2017. "Measure the Performance with the Market Value Added: Evidence from CSR Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, November.
    9. Stacy H.N. Lee & Jung Ha‐Brookshire & Pui‐Sze Chow, 2018. "The moral responsibility of corporate sustainability as perceived by fashion retail employees: a USA‐China cross‐cultural comparison study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1462-1475, December.
    10. AGÂRBICEANU Simona Marcela & PĂUN Tatiana, 2021. "The Need For A Paradigm Shift In Finance: Sustainable Corporate Finance," Management of Sustainable Development, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 13(1), pages 33-38, June.
    11. Zhang, Yan & Han, Yu-Lan, 2019. "Paradoxical leader behavior in long-term corporate development: Antecedents and consequences," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 42-54.
    12. Thi Thu Hien Phan & Hiep Xuan Tran & Trung Thanh Le & Ninh Nguyen & Simon Pervan & Manh Dung Tran, 2020. "The Relationship between Sustainable Development Practices and Financial Performance: A Case Study of Textile Firms in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-20, July.
    13. Milind Kumar Jha & K. Rangarajan, 2020. "Analysis of corporate sustainability performance and corporate financial performance causal linkage in the Indian context," Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-30, December.
    14. Saridakis, Charalampos & Angelidou, Sofia & Woodside, Arch G., 2023. "How historical and social aspirations reshape the relationship between corporate financial performance and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    15. Carlos Lassala & Andreea Apetrei & Juan Sapena, 2017. "Sustainability Matter and Financial Performance of Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Abhishek Behl & P. S. Raghu Kumari & Harnesh Makhija & Dipasha Sharma, 2022. "Exploring the relationship of ESG score and firm value using cross-lagged panel analyses: case of the Indian energy sector," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 313(1), pages 231-256, June.
    17. Úbeda-García, Mercedes & Claver-Cortés, Enrique & Marco-Lajara, Bartolomé & Zaragoza-Sáez, Patrocinio, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and firm performance in the hotel industry. The mediating role of green human resource management and environmental outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 57-69.
    18. Lin, Woon Leong & Law, Siong Hook & Ho, Jo Ann & Sambasivan, Murali, 2019. "The causality direction of the corporate social responsibility – Corporate financial performance Nexus: Application of Panel Vector Autoregression approach," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 401-418.
    19. Alexandra ZBUCHEA & Florina PÎNZARU, 2017. "Tailoring CSR Strategy to Company Size?," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 5(3), pages 415-437, September.
    20. Mario Vaupel & David Bendig & Denise Fischer-Kreer & Malte Brettel, 2023. "The Role of Share Repurchases for Firms’ Social and Environmental Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 401-428, March.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:24:p:10322-:d:459891. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.