The mysterious equity behind charitable giving : a case study examining corporate sustainability initiatives and perceptions among multi-stakeholder groups

Abstract

The study explored corporate sustainability efforts, as well as the varying perspectives and factors that impact sustainable output from corporations. By implementing Ha-Brookshire's (2017) Moral Responsibility Theory of Corporate Sustainability, the theory provided a methodical framework with which to examine corporate activity from all sectors and industries in a live setting. According to Ha-Brookshire's framework, corporations are considered truly sustainable when sustainability is viewed as a perfect duty, clear goals are existent, and a well-defined structure guide activity. This research further incorporates Freeman's (1984) stakeholder theory as a means for isolating varying perspectives within each case. The analytical interpretation from a case study approach, which used the triangulation methods of semi-structured interviews, researcher triangulation, and photo elicitation of six nonprofit workers revealed five revelations: (a) internal drivers within stakeholder members impact views on sustainability, (b) economic growth as a key goal, (c) explicit structure of culture-value communication leads to carrot-stick effect, (d) clear supply chain enhances sustainability, and (e) holistic sustainability is achieved through diverse activities. Implications derived from results in this study offer several opportunities relevant to industry players and academics. For industry players, strategies of execution both internally and externally should be evaluated to produce most desirable results, while opportunities exist for academics to expand business research literature through further iterations of similar studies.