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Examination of sustainability goals: A comparative study of U.S. and Indian firms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2019

Timothy B. Palmer Open the ORCID record for Timothy B. Palmer [Opens in a new window] ,
Suniti Phadke ,
Malini V. Nair  and
David J. Flanagan
Timothy B. Palmer*
Affiliation:
Center for Sustainable Business Practices, Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Suniti Phadke
Affiliation:
Institute of Management, Christ University, Bangalore, India
Malini V. Nair
Affiliation:
Institute of Management, Christ University, Bangalore, India
David J. Flanagan
Affiliation:
Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: timothy.palmer@wmich.edu
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Abstract

Considerable attention has focused on tactics firms use when building their sustainability platforms. Less is known, however, about how sustainability goal setting varies globally, especially in developing economies. Accordingly, we examined sustainability goals of 21 of the 50 largest Indian firms and compared them with similar data from a published study that examined 22 of the 50 largest U.S. firms. In total, 679 sustainability goals were analyzed using a triple bottom line framework. We found U.S. firms set more sustainability goals than Indian firms. Firms from both samples set similar numbers of people goals but U.S. firms set more diversity goals. Indian firms were more inclined to set economic and community development goals. We also detected differences across the samples in planet goals associated with emissions and water. Especially significant, Indian firms were much more likely than U.S. firms to specify profit goals. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Keywords

Indiasustainabilitystrategic planning and decision processescorporate social responsibility
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , July 2022 , pp. 827 - 848
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2019

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