Beyond eco‐efficiency: understanding CS through the IC practice lens
| Date | 11 January 2013 |
| Published date | 11 January 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14691931311289048 |
| Pages | 102-126 |
| Author | Kendra L. Wasiluk |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,HR & organizational behaviour,Information & knowledge management |
Beyond eco-efficiency:
understanding CS through
the IC practice lens
Kendra L. Wasiluk
Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to draw a conceptual bridge between the intellectual capital (IC)
and corporate sustainability (CS) literature to investigate how firms mobilise their IC in order to
implement sustainable development into their business practices.
Design/methodology/approach – A case study of the Australian property and construction sector
was undertaken and the results are discussed.
Findings – The finding offered inthis p aper is that in order to progress beyondthe efficiency phase of
CS, firms need to shift from justifying the business case for sustainability, to understanding how to
mobilise their IC to progress towards a more ecological sustainable and socially equitable enterprise.
Ongoing evolution, with regard to the approach adopted for the management of IC, is also helping to
drive organisational change towards more sustainable business models. Each category of IC plays a
role with regard to operationalising CS into practice and supporting organisational change. The
identified roles include motivating, supporting, implementing and performance.
Research limitations/implications – In relation to the interview data collected it is generally
limited to the views of the senior management and as such may not reflect the views of the employees
of the organisation.
Originality/value – This paper adds to the conversation of the third stage of IC research, based on
the proposition that the performative approach to IC can help move business beyondthe eco-efficiency
stage of corporate sustainability and in doing so improves the relevance and usefulness of the IC
concept for business organisations.
Keywords Intellectual capital, Sustainable development, Corporate sustainability,
Property and construction sector, Critical management studies, Ostensive, Performative, Australia
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to utilise the growing body of literature advocating for a
more critical stance to the study of intellectual capital (IC) as a way forward for the field
rather than current dominant approaches which are heavily influenced by traditional
accounting-based theory (Guthrie et al., 2012). The paper also explo res the relationship
between IC and the business case for sustainability (BCS), in that both paradigms
appear to be heavily influenced by the economic rationale of creating value, rather than
creating value from a wider social and environmental perspective.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 14 No. 1, 2013
pp. 102-126
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/14691931311289048
The author would like to express their sincere gratitude to Dr John C. Dumay not only for his
constructive and valuable editorial work on this manuscript, but also for the ongoing support
and guidance he has offered them as an early career researcher. The author would also like to
thank the two anonymous reviewers for their observations and valuable comments. This paper
and the thesis from which it emanates could not have been possible with the continued support
and guidance of the author’s PhD supervisors Dr William Young (Leeds) and Dr Louise Ellis
(Leeds). The support of the case study organisations included in this study is also acknowledged.
102
JIC
14,1
To address these issues this paper explores how IC is utilised by four Australian
property and construction firms. The industry was chosen because the BCS has
become a key theme in the built environment literature and the firms studied are
representative of the firms typically participating in this industry. To conduct the
research a case study approach utilising the analysis of semi-structured interviews and
company reports is presented.
The paper is novel because it is one of the few papers to address concerns about the
utilisation of IC for developing corporate sustainability (CS). Using Dunphy et al.’s
(2007) phase model of CS development the findings highlight how firms can utilise
their IC to move from an economic justification based on organisational eco-efficiency
towards becoming a sustaining corporation.
IC and the BCS
There is a general agreement that a transition from the industrial era to the knowledge
era has occurred (Powell and Snellman, 2004) which relies on IC, knowledge and
innovation rather than physical capital and manual labour to create wealth
(MERITUM, 2002; Hamilton et al., 2005). This is not happeningin isolation as sustainable
development(SD) has also become a mantra of contemporary organisations (Dyllickand
Hockerts, 2002; Drexhage and Murphy, 2010). Barkemeyer et al. (2011, p. 2) identify
how the role business plays in SD has “undergone a particularly noticeable shift” in
recent years from an emphasis on a partnership role to its current focus on internalising
environmental and social concerns within the organisation’s boundaries. (Zink and
Steimle, 2007). Isaksson and Steimle (2009, p. 180) argue that there are “no ‘right’ or
‘wrong’ definitions of this normative concept” and that CS is a firm’s commitment to
behavein a socially and environmentally responsiblemanner while strivingfor economic
goals. Authors often use terms such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate
responsibility and CS interchangeably to represent the intern alisation of SD. I use the
term CS in this paper, for clarity.
CS is associated with three pillars of SD, social, environmental and financial, and is
the balancing of an organisation’s economic viability, environmental performance and
social responsibility as represented in Figure 1. The European Commission (2001, p. 8)
also highlights that firms integrate these concerns into their operations “on a voluntary
basis”. The CS literature also highlights that firms need to manage their financial and
nonfinancial resources, including their IC, in order to response to the challenges of
Corporate
sustainability
Economic
contribution
Social
responsibility Environmental
performance
Note: Adapted from Azapagic (2003, p. 304)
Figure 1.
Corporate sustainability
and three pillars
of sustainable
development
103
Beyond
eco-efficiency
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