Sustainable development requires coopetition, that is, the cooperation of organizations that compete at the same time. Research on coopetition for sustainability is sparse. From a sustainability ...perspective, coopetition contributes to sustainability when it makes a positive contribution on the societal level. Existing research on coopetition however focuses on organizational outcomes. In this paper, we link organizational and societal outcomes of coopetition. We show that for the simple case of two coopting firms and an economic and an environmental dimension, there are 51 different combinations that make a positive contribution to sustainability. All but one of these combinations consist of a mix of positive and negative outcomes. We identify four types of trade‐offs that can occur in coopetition for sustainability and that point to different pathways of achieving sustainability.
Despite the fact that many organizations must manage frequently multiple paradoxes in their operations, extant paradox studies have under-researched the phenomenon of a knotted paradox that emerges ...when actors navigate in conditions of contradicting demands, which stem from several paradoxes simultaneously. In this study, we explore the knotted paradox of coopetition for sustainability, a process in which competitors cooperate to address sustainability challenges, and examine the interplay between its intensity, balance, and outcome. The findings of a quantitative study conducted among organizational actors in the housing sector demonstrate that coopetition intensity has a significant yet complex impact on sustainability outcomes. In the relationship characterized by an inverted U-shaped curve, an increase in coopetition intensity and balance leads to an increase in sustainability outcomes, but only until a specific limit, after which sustainability outcomes decrease with further intensification of coopetition. The findings indicate that coopetition balance and sustainability balance do not have a significant relationship. The study provides insights for managers on how coopetition in different conditions can contribute to corporate sustainability. The study demonstrates that coopetition and sustainability can be knotted successfully, although the intensity of competing demands and the balance between them need to be cautiously managed.
•Coopetition for sustainability - competitors cooperate to advance sustainability.•Paradoxical tensions of coopetition and sustainability form the knotted paradox.•The study provides a quantitative assessment of the knotted paradox.•The study investigates unbalanced and balanced coopetitive interactions.•Coopetition and sustainability can be knotted successfully.
By using resources more circularly, individual resources users hope to contribute to a more eco-efficient and sustainable resource use. Whether resources are used sustainably is decided at the ...macro-level, raising the question if, as well as how, the efficient and circular use of resources at the micro-level adds up to their efficient and circular use on the macro-level. Currently, the link between the circular use of resources at micro- and macro-levels is under-theorized. The symbiotic relationship between individual resource users enables a reduction in the resource use at the macro-level. In this conceptual paper, we argue that an analogous link exists in finance where desirable investment return is linked to undesirable investment risk, and that via the generation of efficient portfolios, individual risks are at least partially diversified away. As our main contribution, we theorize the circular economy, both in its perfect and imperfect forms, using modern portfolio theory. Our theory identifies the drivers of circular resource use and shows under which conditions individual resource use contributes to the circular use of resources.
•We develop a portfolio theory of the circular economy.•Research focuses on perfect circularity. Most resource use is imperfectly circular.•Under imperfect circularity maximizing circularity and eco-efficiency are distinct.•A portfolio lens identifies three drivers of circular economy.•A portfolio lens informs the governance of natural resources.
Economic and financial instruments are a very important group of tools for supporting local entrepreneurship. The broadest group among them are local taxes. Real estate taxes are considered by local ...governments, on the one hand, as a tool for promoting the effective development of real estate, and on the other, as a reliable source of income to the local budget.
The functioning of every tax system can be analyzed by applying different criteria. The most typically evaluated criteria are: economic efficiency, equity, transparency, collectability and revenue production. These criteria are often in conflict with one another, one of the reasons for this fact being, according to the research conducted by the authors of this paper, the base of taxation. It is generally believed that the value of real property is a much more reliable tax basis than its size.
It was our intention to verify this opinion. Having reviewed the available literature and thoroughly analyzed the Polish and Belarussian real estate tax systems, we concluded that the first of the two systems has no definite advantages over the other. For example, the
tax better stimulates intensive use of land, but, on the other hand, may negatively affect its sustainable development. The main reason for this fact is the specificity of real estate as the object of taxation. The object of taxation exists regardless of its economic state and performance, thus taxes have to be paid whether or not there is any income or profit. Given the nature and possible functions of real estate and the priorities of local authorities, the concept of just taxation is also socially relative.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate perceptual differences between employees characterized by various levels of internal brand commitment and sustainability importance. The identified ...clusters of employees are compared considering the main determinants of internal brand commitment and their evaluations of a company’s sustainability performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted among employees of industrial companies operating in Belarus. Two hundred thirty-eight responses were analyzed by using the K-means cluster analysis. The analysis of variance was applied for evaluating differences between the three identified clusters.
Findings
Based on internal brand commitment and sustainability importance, the paper identifies three alternative clusters of employees: uncommitted sustainability laggards, committed sustainability followers and committed sustainability leaders. The results show that the three clusters differ in regard to the main determinants of internal brand commitment, which are brand orientation, internal brand knowledge and internal brand involvement. The findings demonstrate significant perceptual differences between the three clusters regarding their evaluations of a company’s sustainability performance. The assessment of sustainability performance focuses on sustainability objectives, sustainability policies and sustainability decision-making and disclosure.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted in the context of a transition economy. Future studies are recommended to develop a cross-cultural comparison of relationships between employees’ perceptions about sustainability performance, different determinants and the outcomes of internal brand commitment.
Originality/value
The paper makes a theoretical contribution to research on internal branding and sustainability by examining the potential interrelationships between internal branding strategies and sustainability performance.
Cross‐sectoral collaboration is argued to be vital for business model innovation for sustainability and the tension‐filled choices it involves but brings its own complexities. We therefore ...investigate how institutional logics and power affect the interests and dependencies of City planners and real‐estate developers involved in developing a business model for sustainable mobility. Through analyzing how partners deal with tension‐filled choices regarding business model elements, we develop a model to explain how compromises are made in partnerships characterized by conflicting interests coupled to strong interdependencies. We finish by cautioning that conflicting interests and power characteristics may delimit the potential for such cross‐sectoral collaborations to contribute to sustainable development in sectors where public actors are used to rely on their authority.
By using resources more efficiently, resource users help to overcome the inherent resource scarcity on “spaceship earth.” One strategy in this context is to close resource loops and to use resources ...circularly. With fewer resources wasted, a more circular use of resources should also increase the efficiency of resource use and create more value. However, when resource users aim for a greater degree of efficiency, inadvertently they might contribute to resources being used less rather than more circularly and, consequently, less instead of more efficiently. We show how to assess the value that is created by the efficient use of resources for the case of linear and circular resource use. This allows us to identify three distinct types of positive externalities related to the circular use of resources: (1) systemic static externalities; (2) idiosyncratic dynamic externalities; and (3) systemic dynamic externalities. We describe how the value created by these externalities can be assessed and argue that they need to be considered when evaluating environmental resource use.
Despite considerable interest into circular economy, it remains undertheorized and underdeveloped. In response, this article advances circular economy by drawing on two theories to explain how firms ...can increase the circularity of resource use and why they are incentivized to do so. We refer to Modern Portfolio Theory to link the resource use of individual companies to the resource use of a group of firms. In doing so, we show how—and under which conditions—resource use decreases when circulated at the group level. We then refer to principles from evolutionary biology to explain why it is beneficial to structure resource flows at the group level, even when the resource‐reducing effect might not materialize for individual firms. In combining both perspectives we challenge entrenched ways of “doing” circular economy: We offer an integrated theoretical approach that helps inform managers' decision‐making on circular resource use in practice.
The Baltic region comprises countries of great diversity. They have in common that they all face the challenge to combine a sound economic development with the stewardship for their environmental, ...social and economic resources. Using the Sustainable Value approach we first analyze their overall sustainability performance. We then further develop the value drivers of Sustainable Value to enhance the explanatory power of our analysis. We find that there are significant differences between countries. We show both conceptually and using our examples that there is no unambiguous link between economic growth, environmental and social stewardship and the efficient use of resources.
•Sustainability performance of 9 countries of the Baltic region is analyzed.•Results identify Germany and Sweden as leaders and Belarus and Estonia as laggards.•Performance improvements are further classified in weak and strong improvements.•The return, resource and benchmark effects on performance are analyzed.•Results point to the potential of specialization for higher sustainability performance.
•The cost of acquiring real estate is not equal to the price paid to the seller.•The circle of experts in the real estate market infrastructure is very wide.•A relative difficulty in determining the ...property value results in the presence of a large number of intermediaries in the market.•It is important to consider the costs in property market with regard to their general levels and specific features of development of the country.
The purpose of this study is to investigate features of transaction costs (fees and taxes) regarding real estate deals and to analyze transaction costs in the real estate market in emerging and established economies in order to research the link between the extent of market development and transaction costs. The authors’ methodological approach to estimation of transaction costs consists of qualitative and quantitative stages and is based on descriptive, normative and statistical information, which allows estimation and comparison of transaction costs as well as their structure and sources of occurrence by types. The two cases were chosen for practical implementation of the method: a transition economy of Belarus and a relatively established market economy of Poland. In order to measure transaction costs, the authors use the example of a residential property in order to provide a comparable basis for further analysis. Application of the method to the most prevalent pattern of real estate deals shows sufficient comparability of transaction costs (ca. 2.5%) and a slight difference (ca. 4%) caused by the absence of transaction tax in Belarus.
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