IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i12p9514-d1170344.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social and Environmental Sustainability, Workers’ Well-Being, and Affective Organizational Commitment in Palm Oil Industries

Author

Listed:
  • Sahar E-Vahdati

    (Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia)

  • Nor Azila Mohd Noor

    (School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah 06010, Malaysia)

  • Pei Yew Mah

    (Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
    Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perak 31900, Malaysia)

  • Francis Chuah

    (School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah 06010, Malaysia)

  • Filzah Md Isa

    (Faculty of Business and Law, Taylor’s University, Selangor 47500, Malaysia)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between social and environmental sustainability and workers’ well-being as well as the mediation role of affective organizational commitment for those relationships through social exchange and stakeholder theories. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 112 workers employed in palm oil plantations in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling was then applied to examine the hypotheses. Findings show that social and environmental sustainability positively relates to workers’ well-being. We also found that affective commitment positively mediates social and environmental sustainability relationships with workers’ well-being. Our research findings have practical implications for various stakeholders, such as investors, policymakers, and managers in the palm oil industry. Our results highlight the importance of addressing the well-being of workers and the sustainability factors in palm oil plantations. This study suggests a widened perspective on sustainability factors and well-being which allows professionals to evaluate and enhance sustainability across their operations in a more comprehensive manner.

Suggested Citation

  • Sahar E-Vahdati & Nor Azila Mohd Noor & Pei Yew Mah & Francis Chuah & Filzah Md Isa, 2023. "Social and Environmental Sustainability, Workers’ Well-Being, and Affective Organizational Commitment in Palm Oil Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9514-:d:1170344
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9514/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9514/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sahar E-Vahdati & Wan Nordin Wan-Hussin & Mohd Shazwan Mohd Ariffin, 2023. "The Value Relevance of ESG Practices in Japan and Malaysia: Moderating Roles of CSR Award, and Former CEO as a Board Chair," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Ozgur Isil & Michael T. Hernke, 2017. "The Triple Bottom Line: A Critical Review from a Transdisciplinary Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1235-1251, December.
    3. Nurul Fathiah Aziz & Norshamliza Chamhuri & Peter J. Batt, 2021. "Barriers and Benefits Arising from the Adoption of Sustainable Certification for Smallholder Oil Palm Producers in Malaysia: A Systematic Review of Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-11, September.
    4. Xuelin Bu & Jacob Cherian & Heesup Han & Ubaldo Comite & Felipe Hernández-Perlines & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2022. "Proposing Employee Level CSR as an Enabler for Economic Performance: The Role of Work Engagement and Quality of Work-Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Katrin Tamm & Raul Eamets & Pille Mõtsmees, 2010. "Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility And Job Satisfaction: The Case Of Baltic Countries," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 76, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    6. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Griffiths, Andrew, 2010. "Corporate sustainability and organizational culture," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 357-366, October.
    7. Annachiara Longoni & Raffaella Cagliano, 2018. "Sustainable Innovativeness and the Triple Bottom Line: The Role of Organizational Time Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1097-1120, September.
    8. Jesse Dillard & Madeleine E. Pullman & Elizabeth Stubblefield Loucks & Martin L. Martens & Charles H. Cho, 2010. "Engaging small‐ and medium‐sized businesses in sustainability," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 178-200, October.
    9. Mutti, Diana & Yakovleva, Natalia & Vazquez-Brust, Diego & Di Marco, Martín H., 2012. "Corporate social responsibility in the mining industry: Perspectives from stakeholder groups in Argentina," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 212-222.
    10. 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.
    11. Elizabeth Stubblefield Loucks & Martin L. Martens & Charles H. Cho, 2010. "Engaging small‐ and medium‐sized businesses in sustainability," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 178-200, October.
    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. Ioana Gutu & Daniela Tatiana Agheorghiesei & Alexandru Tugui, 2023. "Assessment of a Workforce Sustainability Tool through Leadership and Digitalization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-30, January.
    2. Hsueh, Che-Fu, 2014. "Improving corporate social responsibility in a supply chain through a new revenue sharing contract," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 214-222.
    3. Veronica Devenin & Constanza Bianchi, 2018. "Soccer fields? What for? Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives in the mining industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 866-879, September.
    4. Viju Raghupathi & Jie Ren & Wullianallur Raghupathi, 2020. "Identifying Corporate Sustainability Issues by Analyzing Shareholder Resolutions: A Machine-Learning Text Analytics Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-24, June.
    5. Nadine Székely & Jan vom Brocke, 2017. "What can we learn from corporate sustainability reporting? Deriving propositions for research and practice from over 9,500 corporate sustainability reports published between 1999 and 2015 using topic ," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-27, April.
    6. Anike Sult & Janice Wobst & Rainer Lueg, 2024. "The role of training in implementing corporate sustainability: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 1-30, January.
    7. Abdullah Yıldızbaşı & Cihat Öztürk & Deniz Efendioğlu & Serol Bulkan, 2021. "Assessing the social sustainable supply chain indicators using an integrated fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making methods: a case study of Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 4285-4320, March.
    8. Igor Matveiciuc, 2021. "Aspects Of Sustainable Development Of Organizations In The Republic Of Moldova," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1, pages 291-298, February.
    9. Desirée Knoppen & Louise Knight, 2022. "Pursuing sustainability advantage: The dynamic capabilities of born sustainable firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1789-1813, May.
    10. Louis Maximilian Ronalter & Merce Bernardo & Javier Manuel Romaní, 2023. "Quality and environmental management systems as business tools to enhance ESG performance: a cross-regional empirical study," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 9067-9109, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Haitham Nobanee & Maryam Alhajjar & Ghada Abushairah & Safaa Al Harbi, 2021. "Reputational Risk and Sustainability: A Bibliometric Analysis of Relevant Literature," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-21, July.
    13. Tyrone T. Lin & Shu-Yen Hsu & Chiao-Chen Chang, 2019. "Evaluation of Decision-Making for the Optimal Value of Sustainable Enterprise Development under Global 100 Index Thinking," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-21, February.
    14. Winston Jerónimo Silvestre & Ana Fonseca, 2020. "Integrative Sustainable Intelligence: A holistic model to integrate corporate sustainability strategies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1578-1590, July.
    15. 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.
    16. Jay Joseph & Marc Orlitzky & Bruce Gurd & Helen Borland & Adam Lindgreen, 2019. "Can business‐oriented managers be effective leaders for corporate sustainability? A study of integrative and instrumental logics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 339-352, February.
    17. Augusto Bianchini & Patricia Guarnieri & Jessica Rossi, 2022. "A Framework to Assess Social Indicators in a Circular Economy Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Thaís Vieira Nunhes & Merce Bernardo & Otávio José de Oliveira, 2020. "Rethinking the Way of Doing Business: A Reframe of Management Structures for Developing Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-32, February.

    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:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9514-:d:1170344. 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.