Systematic Review - Network for Business Sustainability

We developed our model of contexts of SOI by drawing
on previous definitions and academic models of SOI
(see Appendix 3 and Appendix 4 for a full description
of these definitions and models). Many competing
conceptualizations exist, and there is little consensus.
In this chapter, we identify the elements of past models
that we incorporated into our model. We then present
our model: specific dimensions and contexts of SOI.
DRAWING FROM PAST MODELS
In defining SOI, some studies draw inspiration from Our
Common Future, the report by the World Commission
on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987),
commonly referred to as the Brundtland Report (see
Appendix 3). This report emphasizes the environmental,
social and economic aspects of sustainable
development, such as resource limits (energy, materials,
waste and land), equitable access to constrained
resources, inter-generational and intra-generational
equity, and a progressive transformation of economy
and society (Stubbs & Cocklin, 2008).
However, although drawing on the Brundtland Report,
most studies define SOI much more narrowly, adopting
an eco-innovation perspective internal to the firm (e.g.
Fussler & James, 1996). Only at the turn of the century
does the perspective broaden to include the social
dimension and integrate the world outside the firm.
For example, George et al.’s (2012) conceptualization
of inclusive innovation explicitly meshes the economic
objectives of firms with opportunities to enhance the i
social and economic wellbeing of disadvantaged
members of society. Another conceptualization
includes “products, processes, marketing methods and
organizational methods, but also … innovation in social
and institutional structures” (Machiba, 2010, 360).
Some researchers’ definitions view SOI as reducing the
harmful impact of operations; other definitions see it
as oriented toward making a positive net contribution.
Later definitions and those that more holistically
conceptualize sustainability incorporate the idea of
a positive contribution (e.g. Bos-Brouwers, 2010a;
Klewitz & Hansen, 2011; George, McGahan & Prabhu,
2012).
Clearly, SOI has many aspects. SOI incorporates
multiple considerations (environmental, social and
economic), has wide influences (on products,
processes, value chains, business models, institutions
and the wider community) and introduces new
relationships and bodies of knowledge. This review
defines SOI broadly. For a sustainability-motivated firm,
one that either wants to begin to adopt sustainability
practices or is already on that path and seeking to
improve, any review of SOI must embrace this range of
aspects.
STAGES OF SOI
Many earlier models of SOI (Appendix 4) adopt the
metaphor of “sustainability journey” and suggest that
firms pass through a set of stages as sustainability
considerations become more integrated into their core
thinking and processes. The models are inconsistent,
however, with respect to the point of departure, the
number of stages, stage duration, how to move from
Innovating for Sustainability 15