Impact of Corporate Sustainability on the Performance of International Business

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Introduction

Background of Study

Corporate sustainability is a relatively new term that defines the ability of an organization to produce goods and services in a manner that supports the long-term objectives of the firm and the community that supports it (Zollo 2018). The concept’s focus is on the creation of long-term stakeholder value, which can be achieved by focusing on several key areas of analysis, including the support for ethical conduct, environmental awareness and cultural sensitivity, just to mention a few (Whittingham et al. 2022). This statement shows that the concept of sustainability encompasses people’s monetary and non-monetary concerns. This study recognizes changes that have occurred in the corporate environment as a precursor to the adoption of sustainable management practices. It seeks to establish whether sustainability has affected the performance of international businesses. Key sections of this document highlight the current state of the literature on the research topic and the gap that exists in scholarly research to justify the current probe.

Research Gap

The process of evaluating corporate performance has undergone several iterations. Traditionally, the performance of international businesses was analyzed in the context of how much money they can generate for their shareholders (Xie 2021). Organizations that registered the highest level of profitability were deemed successful, while those that generated limited profit for their shareholders were unsuccessful (Xie 2021). This statement demonstrates that financial performance has been the main criterion for evaluating corporate performance. However, with the adoption of technology and the introduction of sustainability as a corporate management doctrine, the emphasis on profitability has dissipated. Instead, it has paved the way for the realization of a broad-based review of the impact of sustainability on performance.

Research Aim and Questions

The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of sustainability on corporate performance. Key research questions that will be answered in the probe are as follows:

Research Questions

1. How does the adoption of sustainable management practices affect the business reputation of international firms?
2. In what ways does sustainability affect consumer satisfaction?
3. To what extent does sustainability influence the cost of doing business?

Importance of Study

The current investigation is useful in expanding the current body of the literature on organizational performance in the 21^st century. It captures changing aspirations and expectations of the public on corporate performance because it discusses the impact of the research process on corporate performance, which is a key driver of business sustainability (Mak 2022). This increased level of self-awareness cannot be ignored because it defines the new yardstick for measuring the corporate performance of contemporary businesses.

The present investigation will play a critical role in explaining the role and impact of sustainability on corporate performance. It will not only explore the financial implications of doing so but also appreciate the social, cultural, and environmental implications of the practice (Prasad 2021). Therefore, the findings of the current investigation may be useful in helping managers to strike a balance among different needs, requirements and expectations of everyday life (Yu 2022) Sustainability provides them with a tool for balancing the monetary and non-monetary interests of the organization, thereby creating the opportunity for an organization to grow. Failing to recognize this need for balance could affect various aspects of performance and could possibly cause dissatisfaction. Consequently, the findings of this study are instrumental in safeguarding non-monetary and monetary developments in corporate management.

Overview of Study

This study comprises of five main chapters, including the introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, and conclusion sections. The introduction chapter sets the stage for the study by providing a background of the research topic, stating the direction of the study, and outlining the importance of the investigation. The second chapter, which is the literature review section, contains an assessment of the current state of scholarly literature on the research topic. This part of the probe examines what researchers have said about the study topic. It equally examines the trend of scholarly works relating to the fields of sustainability and corporate performance.

The third chapter of this investigation is the methodology section and it highlights techniques the researcher followed in developing the findings. The philosophical basis, techniques, approaches, and designs used in the investigations are discussed in this part of the probe with references made to justify their relevance to the research questions. The fourth chapter of the study is the findings and analysis section. It highlights the findings developed after implementing the above-mentioned strategies. In this section of the study, comparisons will be made to contextualize the current investigation within the existing body of academic literature on sustainability and corporate performance. At the end of the chapter, the findings of the study will be analyzed to find out whether they are consistent with existing scholarly literature on corporate performance and sustainability, or not. The last chapter of this study is the conclusion and recommendation section. It summarizes key findings that emerged from the investigation and recommends possible areas of improvement in yet to come studies. The direction of future research is thereby reflected in this chapter.

Literature Review

This chapter contains a discussion of the state of the existing body of the literature on the research topic. It explores several areas of sustainable management, including the background of its adoption and acceptance, the main tenets of sustainability, and international market dynamics that make it necessary to find out if sustainability affects performance. Additionally, this chapter highlights the gap in the literature that the current research seeks to fill. However, before delving into these details, it is important to understand the background of factors that have facilitated the adoption of sustainable management practices in the corporate sector. This analysis is instrumental in understanding the foundation for embracing sustainable management principles in corporate governance.

Background of Adopting Sustainable Management Practices

As highlighted in this study, sustainability is a broad management philosophy in business. It is focused on drawing a link between the corporate management practices of a firm and its stakeholders (Mak 2022). In this analysis, it is important to draw the distinction between stakeholders and shareholders because traditional management practices were focused on meeting the needs of the latter and not the former (Wang 2020). Stated differently, multinational companies were often preoccupied with meeting the objective of profit maximization at the expense of all other concerns (Davidow 2021). Profit maximization benefitted shareholders because they received a return on their investments. At the same time, other people’s needs were relegated to the periphery of major concerns because managers believed that the sole purpose of having an organization is to make a profit (Mak 2022). Therefore, in the traditional corporate sector, shareholders were the only ones benefitting from the adoption of corporate management practices as other stakeholder groups got little or no attention.

The above state of affairs created tension among stakeholders and observers because most of them were concerned about the lack of limits that people could go to maximize their interests and those of other shareholders while overlooking the rights of other people (Chopra 2021). Relative to this assertion, the activities of some multinational companies in developing nations have drawn attention to this fact. They have provided evidence of resource exploitation for the benefit of shareholders who are located in overseas offices (Newman 2022). A case involving the use of child labour in West Africa by Nestle and other multinational companies producing cocoa and chocolate drew attention to this fact (Business and Human Rights Resource Center 2017). It highlighted instances where the company abused its power of influence to make profits on the back of exploited children (Business and Human Rights Resource Center. 2017). Similar concerns have been raised about the activities of oil companies based in Nigeria and other oil-rich developing nations. The most common argument peddled here has been that these corporations venture into these markets to spur economic activities (Mehta 2020). However, practical evidence has shown that these companies have abandoned this cause and pursued a more dangerous path of profit-maximization (Hafeez et al. 2022). This plan has heightened fears that MNCs may become too powerful and exploitative.

The case of Shell and British Petroleum in Nigeria highlights the concern that people have towards the unethical operations of multinational companies (Amnesty International. 2022; Li 2021). This is because these companies ventured into the country’s lucrative energy market, exploited its oil, and left a trail of environmental damage that affected fishing communities and villages that lived along the Niger delta where most of the country’s oil deposits are located (Amnesty International. 2022.). The Shell and BP example shows the power that western multinational companies have towards communities they interact with.

Based on the influence of multinational firms in the world, proposals have been made to change their corporate management practices and make them more sustainable. The goal has been to create a natural balance between their profit-making objectives and the welfare of the communities that host them (García-Canal 2018). This statement outlines the essence of sustainable management because it encourages companies to embrace sustainable practices that are friendly to people and the environment (Soderstrom, Sara and Klaus 2020). Striking this balance has been difficult because of the intertwined chain of interests that often underpin the activities of multinational companies operating overseas (Assefa 2021). These challenges have created an environment for accepting sustainability as a core business philosophy. The concept strives to help companies find a balance between their profit-making objectives and their social development goals. Based on its relevance, it is important to understand key tenets of sustainable management practices to draw a link with corporate activities that affect performance.

Key Tenets of Sustainability

Despite the importance of sustainability in corporate management and human life, the concept is still regarded as a “buzzword” in some sections of academic literature. However, sustainability is an important concept in corporate management because it is rooted in the collective quest for humanity to live in harmony with the environment (Varma 2022). Common sense also suggests that sustainability creates a positive contribution to both human and animal life (UK Office for National Statistics 2021). This is why it is increasingly adopted by most companies around the world (Alzougool 2018). Its adoption has created a trend where people pay attention to the impact of their activities on the environment and on other people. Figure 2.1 below highlights the main tenets of sustainability as a corporate management concept.

As highlighted in Figure 2.1 above, sustainability is a multifaceted concept that involves various aspects of corporate performance, including sales and marketing, analysis of the legal environment, operations, management, and corporate communication (ARC Energy, 2022). These core tenets of sustainability play a critical role in making sure that corporations comply with sustainable management goals for improved performance.

Despite the link between sustainability and corporate performance outlined above, business leaders are often in conflict with environmentalists regarding the adoption of sustainable management principles in their respective fields. This clash has seldom yielded compromises or provided the way forward for many companies (Xian 2021). Scholars indicate that most of the debates have ended up in both parties agreeing to disagree, thereby creating a stalemate in most aspects of sustainable and corporate management adoption (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). However, there is evidence indicating that these stalemates have helped observers to appreciate the diversity of views between corporate leaders and proponents of sustainability (Varma 2022). This trend has equally encouraged people to appreciate and embrace the differences in objectives between the two parties.

Relative to the above debate, corporate leaders are increasingly encouraged to embrace new forms of accountability because the metrics used to evaluate performance are changing. This realization has seen many organizations try to implement a systems wide approach to improve corporate governance by elevating environmental interests in the same category as financial or profitability concerns (Alzougool 2018). In this regard, sustainable management institutions are embracing their positions as arbitrators in the corporate management and environmental conservation debate. Their acceptability is informed by their ability to create a positive image of sustainability in the public space (Xian 2021). Their success is equally pegged on this plan because sustainability is a socially-derived construct and firms are socially-based organizations.

Projecting a positive image of sustainability as a strategy to improve corporate performance has been embraced as the new emerging philosophy in business. However, some analysts have expressed their concern that the overreliance on the imagery of sustainability could overshadow the need for organizations to demonstrate actual progress from adopting the concept (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). Some scholars refer to this phenomenon as “green washing” and it is commonly reported in firms where managers are more concerned with projecting an image of sustainability, as opposed to meeting key objectives of the practice (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). In this assessment, green practices are synonymous with corporate sustainability. By focusing on the big picture, it is possible for companies to generate better sales and realize an increased level of efficiency from the practice.

Collectively, the main tenets of sustainable management highlighted above underscore key areas where people have reviewed corporate management performance. For example, adopting sustainable management principles in corporate management is likely to affect the revenue and financial position of a firm because of its effects on sales and revenue (Xian 2021). Similarly, corporate communication is an inherent part of sustainable management practice and can be used to measure a firm’s performance. The same analogy is applicable to the need for companies to comply with existing rules and operations management practices to remain relevant.

International Business Dynamics

The nature, structure, and scope of a business have implications on the kind of effects that forces, which are external to the business, would have on its performance. In this analysis, it is important to investigate the international business dynamics of Multinational Companies (MNCs) because the focus of the current investigation is on understanding the impact of sustainability of corporate performance. As highlighted in this section of the study, multinational organizations are unique from other types of organizations because of their sheer scope and influence around the world (Ertel 2021). In fact, it is argued that some companies have become so big and powerful that they could act as governments unto themselves (Soderstrom, Sara and Klaus 2020). Others have widespread global outreach programs that encompass both governments and local communities (Ertel 2021). Therefore, understanding the performance of these companies, vis-à-vis their adoption of sustainable management practices, is critical in understanding the scope of influence that organizations have on the world today.

The above-mentioned insights show that international businesses differ from domestic ones because of their unique interests, influences, and scope of operations. These corporations are also held to a higher standard of performance compared to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (Eze 2021). Some of them are publicly listed and owe a duty to their shareholders to operate ethically and still deliver economic benefits. Given the unique responsibilities that MNCs have towards their stakeholders, their performance can only be assessed by analyzing issues that are pertinent to their sustenance (Ertel 2021). These concerns are relevant to understanding customer experiences and minimizing the environmental cost of business operation. At the same time, the failure to embrace sustainable management practices could attract disrepute to a business. Its quality of services is equally likely to decline for the same reason.

Business areas Affected by Sustainable Management Practices

The adoption of sustainable management practices in international business can affect operations at various levels of governance. However, it is important to distinguish the main aspects of operational planning that will be affected by this process. This section of the analysis identifies customer welfare, environmental costs, business reputation, and quality of service expectations, as the main areas likely to be affected by the adoption of sustainable management principles.

Customer Welfare

As highlighted in this study, the adoption of sustainable management principles in international businesses is likely to have a significant impact on different aspects of their operations. Given that the main stakeholders of MNCs are customers, it is important to understand what the existing literature says about its effects on their welfare. Relative to this need, scholars argue that the adoption of sustainable management principles comes at a cost to MNCs because they are foregoing the pursuit of profit-making objectives for a better goal of being compliant with the rules of sustainability (du Plessis 2022; Doherty 2019). Most service-oriented businesses have suffered under the obligation of having to comply with specific rules and policies that could create conflict in a country.

This action has inconvenienced some of people because they have to reorganize their activities to support sustainable management principles (Ali Abbasi 2022). For example, giant retail chains of supermarkets that used to offer free carry bags today have been forced to request their customers to buy eco-friendly bags, which creates an additional channel of expenditure for them. Thus, in such cases, there may be high cases of noncompliance to sustainability rules (Ertel 2021). This limitation seems to affect customers more than the MNCs because the latter has adequate resources to accommodate most of the disruptions caused by adopting sustainable management (Kampf 2018). However, this example does not mean that MNCs do not experience the effects of compliance to sustainable management law because some of them have moved to reorganize their business operations to accommodate changes brought about by complying to these laws.

Environmental Cost

The adoption of sustainable management principles in the corporate management sector has proved to be a positive addition to the discipline. However, critics argue that this practice comes with huge environmental implications on businesses (Harel 2021). Depending on which way one looks at it, the environmental implications of compliance can be viewed as positive or negative (Ding 2017). The positive side is associated with increased awareness of factors that affect lived environments and communities. Comparatively, the negative side of its adoption is associated with the desire to change fundamental aspects of business process engineering to meet the needs of its proponents.

The effects of adopting sustainable management actions may vary across industries. They equally have the potential to influence profitability or even the viability of certain businesses (Hanlon 2022). For example, the global push to move away from fossil-fuel reliance has threatened industries that primarily rely on oil as a source of energy (Gatersleben 2019). For example, the manufacturing sector heavily depends on oil to power its operations and if this commodity is withdrawn because of environmental reasons, the industry could die altogether.

Companies that operate in the energy industry and are primarily engaged in oil production have been criticized for ignoring the environmental effects of their commercial activities. Consequently, an entire industry has been rebuked and its global reputation undermined because of its association with oil production (Raza et al. 2021). The same argument has been used to explain the success of some companies, which appear to support the environmental cause of sustainability (Shoib 2022). For example, Tesla, which is one of the world’s most valuable electric vehicle automakers, has been praised for championing the way for the adoption of electric vehicles (Electreck 2022). Its mere association with the sustainable management industry already sets it at a favourable position with the public.

Regardless of the industry that businesses are associated with, it is difficult for any of them to escape the impact that sustainability has on their operations. For some observers, the adoption of sustainable management principles improves business performance, while others struggle with accepting it (Hafeez 2022). Thus, it could be argued that the adoption of sustainable management principles in the corporate management sector attracts both positive and negative attention.

Business Reputation

The reputation of a business is important in maintaining its public image and acceptability in the market. Despite the importance of image to a company’s status, managers often have to manage different forces that could cause disrepute to a business (Ahmad Shabir, Rosmini and Quoquab 2019). Companies that operate across international lines often experience the brunt of negative imagery because people evaluate them using a higher standard of measurement (Soderstrom, Sara and Weber 2020). Therefore, business reputation is an important tenet of sustainable business development.

Today, the willingness of businesses to adopt or reject sustainable management principles plays a significant role in shaping public perceptions about them. The general rule adopted here is that companies which embrace sustainability are likely to benefit from a positive business reputation, while those that shun such practices are rejected (Pérez 2021). These sentiments come from the general perception that companies, which embrace sustainability, are progressive and care about the people they serve or interact with (Kotler 2020). The opposite argument is true for companies that have not embraced sustainability because they could be perceived as not caring for the environment or the communities that host them.

The positive reputation associated with businesses that have adopted sustainable management practices can have a cascading effect on corporate performance. This outcome is plausible because people often look to do business with those that they share similar values (Sehgal 2021). Therefore, corporations that have a strong social or environmental appeal attract the highest number of investment funds because people, associate them with their principles and values (PWC 2022). These corporations are likely to become more innovative and creative, thereby promoting growth and development in the communities they serve.

Regardless of the benefits of sustainable management to businesses, critics still maintain that the concept is a buzzword and that those who adopt it are insincere (Al-Kwifi 2020). They add that most people have chosen to pursue the sustainable management path to gain acceptance and not necessarily because they believe in the concept (Zollo 2018). Furthermore, they cite the lack of evidence showing a direct correlation between the adoption of sustainable management principles and improved corporate performance as a reason for rejecting it (Lee 2019). To support their claim, they argue that corporate management is a complicated concept and cannot be standardized across industries or sectors (Whittingham et al. 2022). Therefore, they advocate for an individualistic understanding of its conception. This statement means that even though one company could succeed by adopting sustainable management, others may fail to do so or reject it altogether for being different.

Quality of Service Expectation

Product or service quality is a key predictor of customer satisfaction because it creates an implied relationship of value expectation between buyers and sellers. However, the adoption of sustainable management principles has influenced the corporate value matrix by integrating environmental consciousness in product or service development processes (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). This plan means that some aspects of quality are likely to be influenced by sustainability, either positively or negatively. For example, many countries are increasingly committing to responsible natural resource management practices as a way of promoting harmony between man and the environment (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). The unintended effects of this practice has been an increase in the expectation of quality for various products. For example, the quality of timber produced in South America increased because countries have committed themselves to embrace sustainability through the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). Markets have equally revealed that consumers are more willing to buy products that comply with this standard compared to those that fail to meet it.

As evidenced in this paper, sustainability is a broad concept that does not necessarily prioritize quality considerations over other concerns. Notably, if there is an opportunity to pursue quality development at the expense of sustainability, the latter would prevail (Ching, Gerab and Toste 2017). Given that quality is an important determinant of corporate success for international businesses, the common philosophy of engagement adopted in this context is that quality will suffer at the expense of the pursuit for sustainable management goals (Shin 2021). This statement suggests that sustainable management is a “double-edged sword” that can promote one aspect of corporate performance and undermine another.

Summary

The current body of evidence on sustainable management practices has highlighted the origin of the concept and the paths taken by different organizations to adopt it. Their analyses have helped to better understand the benefits and drawbacks of the concept. However, these findings are generalized and fail to highlight nuanced reactions to its effects, especially across customers of specific economic sectors. Then present study focuses on the retail sector as it seeks to find out if sustainability affects performance in this sector.

Methodology

This section of the review explains strategies that the researcher adopted in carrying out the present investigation. The format of the review is based on the research onion framework, as explained by Seuring (2022). It suggests that five tenets of review should be used when exploring techniques that will be useful in answering the research questions. The levels of analysis include research philosophy, approach to theory development, design, method, time analysis, and techniques/procedures, which include data collection and analysis methods.

Research Philosophy

Four types of philosophies are adopted in research studies. They include positivism, interpretivism, post-modernism, and pragmatism (Lê and Schmid, 2022). Based on an overview of the merits and demerits of each technique, the pragmatism approach is selected for the current probe. This decision was informed by the researcher’s desire to understand aspects of corporate performance likely to be affected by the adoption of sustainable management practices. In other words, the pragmatism research approach helped to identify what works best to improve business performance (Lê and Schmid, 2022). This framework of analysis made it possible to find innovative ways of addressing the unique challenges of adopting sustainable management in the corporate sector.

Approach to Theory Development

The approach to theory development highlighted in this investigation refers to the methodology chosen by the researcher to develop the findings. There are two main approaches to theory development – deductive and inductive techniques (Seuring 2022). The deductive method is designed to test specific theories, while inductive approaches generate these theories (Bailey et al. 2019). Based on this difference, the current probe aligns with the inductive approach to theory development. Its positioning in the study is informed by the desire to develop strategies that would complement the aim of the study (Seuring 2022). Therefore, similar to the way the inductive method generates theories, it will equally be used to generate market information regarding the effects of sustainability on corporate performance.

Research Method

Two main types of research methodology are used in academic studies – qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative approach is applicable in study contexts that involve subjective variables (Wagner, Kawulich and Garner, 2019). Comparatively, researchers have adopted the quantitative method to measure numerical variables. These two methodological approaches could be combined, or used independently, to meet the objectives of a study (Seuring 2022). Given that the topic of the investigation is on understanding the effects of sustainability on corporate performance, a combination of both qualitative and quantitative techniques was adopted to guide the study. The justification for using a combination of both techniques is rooted in the exploratory nature of the study. For example, corporate success is a broad concept that includes financial and non-financial metrics of performance. Financial metrics are like profitability and non-monetary implications are similar to the loss of customer confidence. The mixed method approach made it possible to address these different aspects of performance.

Research Strategy

Researchers can employ several strategies to meet the objectives of their investigations. The most commonly used strategies include surveys, case studies, archival research, ethnography, and action research (Wagner, Kawulich and Garner 2019). The decision to select the most appropriate tool should be informed by the importance of maintaining consistency of approach across various levels of methodological analysis (Seuring 2022). To this end, the survey technique was employed as the main research strategy. It helped the researcher to get a representative sample of the views of the target audience regarding the research topic. This information was useful in tweaking the research strategy to have maximum impact on the audience.

Time Series Analysis

The time framework for analyzing a study’s findings outlines the modalities adopted by a researcher when defining the sequence of data collection. The two major formats for time series analysis include the longitudinal and cross-sectional time formats (Seuring 2022). The longitudinal time series part allows researchers to collect data at once. Comparatively, the cross-sectional technique requires researchers to gather data at different intervals (da Silva Frost and Ledgerwood 2020). The researcher selected the longitudinal time series approach to complete the current probe because it was important to capture the views of the target audience at once. This strategy enabled the researcher to create a snapshot assessment of the views of Aldi customers, which were then used to create a pool of resources for answering the research questions. The cross-sectional approach was inapplicable to the investigation because consumer behavior changes across time zones (De Mooij 2019). Therefore, it was difficult to obtain a snapshot assessment of their views on the proposed business at different points in time.

Data Collection and Analysis

As alluded in this chapter, the researcher will obtain primary data using questionnaire surveys. Surveys were administered online to customers of Aldi who shared their reviews on the company’s services online. The researcher accessed the respondents using the purposeful sampling method. It works when researchers intend to identify participants with unique characteristics (Köhler, Smith and Bhakoo 2019). In the current probe, the researcher contacted the respondents by messaging them via their social media pages.

The informants were required to fill a survey questionnaire that took about 30 minutes to complete. The data collection instrument was categorized into two sections. The first one was designed to capture the respondents’ demographic data. The aim of doing so was to get an in-depth understanding of the personal characteristics of the informants. The goal was to find out if these variables affected their views on the research topic. The questionnaire was sent out to members of the Aldi online community because of their experience and knowledge of the company’s products and services.

The first part of the questionnaire captured the respondents’ demographic characteristics, including their ages, education qualifications, hours spent online, and gender. These variables were included in the analysis because scholars argue that people’s age and marital status affects business decisions and market opinions (Abreu-Afonso et al. 2022). Thus, it was critical to include the above-mentioned demographic characteristics in the review to investigate whether they impacted the respondents’ views on the research topic.

Information about the businesses sampled were also included in the survey because business profiles and experiences similarly have an impact on the success of an enterprise (Li 2022). Three variables relating to international business performance were sampled in the study. They included business reputation, customer welfare, environmental cost and quality of services. It is assumed that businesses, which pay attention to these metrics of performance, would provide more reliable data about the effects of sustainability on corporate performance

The above-mentioned variables were captured in the second part of the questionnaire, which was the factor analysis section. These key areas of probe are consistent with the research questions of the study, which address the same areas of analysis. Each of the independent areas of probe mentioned in the questionnaire were assigned four statements to make a list of 20 questions that were posed to the informants. It is assumed that the list of questions was comprehensive enough to cover the scope of research topic. Alternatively, the researcher obtained supplementary information from existing data sources, including books and journals that were published within the last five years. The goal was to use secondary data to contextualize primary information obtained from the informants. Both sets of primary and secondary data sources provided adequate details about the effects of sustainable management practices on corporate performance.

For the data analysis part, the researcher used the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to analyze the respondents’ views. The descriptive and inferential analysis techniques, which are associated with the SPSS software, were primarily used in the data analysis part (Ditrich 2017). The research questions were answered after the respondents signed an informed consent form that affirmed their participation in the study (Lee 2020). As highlighted above, all the pieces of information gathered helped to identify key areas of international corporate performance influenced by sustainable management practices. Overall, the difficulty in scheduling a standardized time for conducting the surveys emerged as a challenge to the data collection process. This issue occurred because of the wide geographical dispersion of the respondents and their different daily schedules. Therefore, there was a need to transfer the data collection process online to accommodate these variations.

Overall, the data collection process for the current study was undertaken in two phases. The first one involved the collection of primary data from Aldi customers and the second part involved the collection of secondary information from published sources. Both types of data were included in the investigation because they complemented each other. This strategy was supported by the recommendations of Ertel (2021) who argued that primary and secondary data sources could be merged in a holistic framework where one set of data is used to contextualize the findings of the other. In line with this approach, the primary data was contextualized within the framework of the secondary data analysis process. This plan made it possible for the researcher to compare the findings of both sets of data to identify areas of convergence or divergence with the mainstream understanding of sustainable management practices in the corporate sector.

In the primary data analysis section, data was collected from customers of Aldi company using the questionnaire survey method. However, before choosing to take part in the study, the informants were furnished with a participant information sheet. It summarized the expectations of the researcher towards the participants in the current probe. Those who were willing to take part in the study after reading the participant information sheet were later given an informed consent form, which stipulated their terms of engagement with the researcher. This form contained several pieces of information detailing how both parties would relate with one another in the research process, including the terms of withdrawing from the study, and incentives, or the lack of it, for participants wishing to take part in the investigation. Only those informants who signed the consent form proceeded to the next stage of data collection

The researcher sampled the views of 112 respondents who shared their opinions on the research topic. Given the extensive network of Aldi stores in the UK, the researcher sought the views of the informants regarding the corporate performance of five stores located in London. The sample size of five stores outlined above was used to make inferences about the performance of other stores because Aldi has an extensive network of outlets in the UK. The central command or authority influencing the adoption of corporate management practices in Aldi stores is assumed to create similar performance effects across its entire corporate division. Therefore, the corporate performance of the five stores sampled in the current probe will be used to make assumptions about others in the UK. Again, information that was collected in the primary data collection part was gathered using survey questionnaires.

The researcher used Qualtrics to develop the questionnaires because it is both useful and effective. The questionnaire had 20 questions that the researcher formulated to identify key metrics of interest that explained the relationship between sustainable management practices and corporate performance. Respondents were expected to respond to the survey questions, which were presented as positive statements. The researcher used the five-point Likert scale to measure the respondents’ views. This technique has five levels of conviction that capture a respondent’s sentiments about a research issue. They include “strongly agree,” “agree,” “neither agree nor disagree,” “disagree,” and “strongly disagree.”

For the secondary data findings, information was sourced from books, journals, and credible websites. These materials were obtained from different databases, including Google Scholar and Sage Journals. The keywords used in the analysis include “international corporate sustainability” and “corporate sustainability and performance.” These keywords yielded several hundreds of articles, which needed further review. To get relevant articles for the analysis, the researcher set the inclusion and exclusion criteria based on the publication date of the articles. Those that were published from the year 2017 were prioritized for analysis because they presented the most updated information about corporate management practices in international business.

Comparatively, the data analysis section of the current research involved the use of statistical software tools to describe the variables and make inferences on their relationships with one another. To achieve this goal, the researcher employed the Statistical Packages for the Social Science (SPSS) software –version 25 – to analyze the findings. This statistical analysis software was employed in the study because of its rich history in the analysis of data in the social sciences (Ertel 2021). Indeed, researchers say it provides accurate information with detail, thereby saving time (Ertel 2021). However, some observers believe that this technique is complicated and inappropriate for use when there is a small sample of respondents (Köhler, Smith and Bhakoo 2019). Despite these concerns, SPSS was employed in the investigation because it helped the researcher to determine correlations between variables. This plan was important in understanding how corporate performance is impacted by sustainability.

Two techniques ingrained in this tool were employed for the data analysis process. The first one was the descriptive findings, which highlighted characteristics of the research data that were useful in deducing research information. In this plan of assessment, descriptive aspects of the data, such as the mean, mode, frequency, and standard of deviation, were used to examine the data. This part of the analysis only presented descriptive information about the responses provided by the informants without getting into the details surrounding how each of the variable analyzed related with one another. This analysis was done in in the inferential analysis section where the relationship between different sets of findings was investigated for consistency or affiliation. This part of the statistical probe involved the use of the one-way ANOVA method, which helped the researcher to test whether there were correlations between the descriptive analysis findings highlighted above and the results obtained.

Ethical Considerations

The use of human subjects in research studies portends extensive ethical implications for researchers and their respondents. The current probe sought the views of Aldi customers, meaning that there was an implied ethical obligation between the researcher and the informants. This section of the study demonstrates that the main ethical considerations in the investigation were informed consent, privacy of the respondents, and treatment of data. The techniques used by the researcher to address these areas of ethical conduct are highlighted below.

Informed Consent and Withdrawal from the Investigation: Participants who took part in this investigation did so voluntarily. Stated differently, they were not given financial incentives to take part in the study and their cooperation was not forced either. The main goal of maintaining neutrality when engaging respondents was to maintain objectivity throughout the study process. This technique is associated with minimized research bias in data collection and analysis (Ditrich 2017). The researcher equally allowed informants who wished to withdraw their participation from the investigation to do so without repercussions. The aim was to ensure the views they gave in the study were honest and free from manipulation.

Privacy and Confidentiality of Data: The involvement of human participants in the present investigation created an implied ethical obligation on the researcher to protect the identity of the informants. To do so, the researcher presented the findings of the study anonymously. Stated differently, no personal identifiable materials, such as names and addresses, were disclosed in the final report. The goal was to ensure that the information provided by the informants was not detrimental to them.

Treatment of Data: Research data relating to Aldi’s performance was collected from hundreds of customers. This information was stored in a computer and secured with a password. The aim of doing so was to prevent unauthorized people from accessing the data, altering it or disclosing personal information relating to the informants. At the end of the investigation, the data stored in the computer will be destroyed to preserve the integrity of the findings.

Conclusion

This chapter has highlighted techniques that the researcher employed to carry out this study. The pragmatism philosophical approach was selected to contextualize the probe because it provided an analytical framework for merging sustainable management principles with daily corporate management activities. The inductive technique was equally used to organize the evidence collected from the questionnaire survey method, while the SPSS software was employed for data analysis. The ethical obligations of the researcher to the respondents have been highlighted at the end of the chapter and the findings developed from implementing the above-mentioned strategies are highlighted below.

Findings and Discussion

Key Findings

The descriptive analysis part of the data analysis process involved capturing the characteristic of a data set. This section of the analysis simply presents data as they are but there are no inferences made with other variables investigated in the study. To recap, five variables were assessed in this section of the probe. They included age, marital status, hours spent online, education qualifications, and number of years shopping at Aldi.

Marital Status

The respondents’ marital status was included in this review because of the impact of family setting on consumer satisfaction. For example, according to Abreu-Afonso et al. (2022), married people tend to be less aggressive in business compared to single people. Similarly, widowed entrepreneurs are likely to receive less support in business compared to married partners (Xian, Jiang and McAdam 2021). The same outcome is true for the financial assistance they receive to start a business or run it. Based on the effects of marital status on people’s socioeconomic outcomes, the informants were requested to state their marital status. Table 4.1 below shows the distribution of the respondents according to this variable.

Table 4.1: Distribution of respondents according to marital status

As depicted above, most of the respondents were either single or married. Those who were divorced or widowed formed the smallest sample of the population. This finding means that the views outlined by the respondents represented a majority of Aldi consumers because the cumulative percentage of married and single people was 75%, which is consistent with the percentage of the same demographic in the UK.

Age

The second demographic variable sampled in the current study was age. This variable was included in the study because researchers have affirmed the effects of generational differences on consumer behavior and satisfaction (Li 2021). For example, Generation Z and Millennials, who represent a majority of the emerging market force, is less patient about quality expectations compared to the older Baby Boomer generation (Li 2021). Therefore, corporate adjustments made to accommodate sustainable management principles and that infringe on quality are less likely to be accepted by a younger consumer demographic than an older one. Table 4.2 below shows the distribution of the respondents according to age.

Table 4.2: Distribution of respondents according to age

As highlighted above, most of the respondents (37.1%) were young people. The high number of young consumers in the study was not surprising because most people who give their product reviews online fit this profile. Therefore, it could be assumed that the age distribution of the respondents was reflective of the number of active online Aldi users.

Education Qualification

Education qualification was the third variable included in the current probe. It was integrated in the study to assess the respondents’ backgrounds because researchers have highlighted its effects on consumer perceptions and satisfaction (De Mooij 2019). For example, highly educated people are reported to give less feedback about products compared to their less-educated counterparts (Yu 2022). These behaviors could influence the type of responses obtained from online customers. Table 4.3 below outlines the distribution of respondents based on their educational qualifications.

Table 4.3: Distribution of respondents according to education qualifications

As highlighted above, most of the respondents who took part in the investigation had an undergraduate degree. They accounted for 32.3% of the total sample, while those who had a “high school of lower” and a master’s degree were 29% and 27.4% of the total sample, respectively. These findings suggest that a majority of the respondents were learned because of their relatively high educational qualifications.

Number of Hours Spent Online

The justification for analyzing the number of hours customers spent online was to estimate if this variable affected their feelings of the company’s overall performance. It was important to include this variable in the study because researchers have observed differences in consumer behavior and feedback of customers among customers based on the number of hours they spend on social media (Xian 2021). Table 4.4 shows the findings of this assessment.

Table 4.4: Distribution of respondents according to number of hours spent online

The findings highlighted above reveal that most of the informants spent an hour or less on social media. This population accounted for 51.6% of the total sample, while those who spent 2-3 hours made up 37.1% of the total sample. This finding reveals that most of the informants who took part in the study spent few hours on social media. This outcome may imply minimal interaction time with other customers or their views.

Years Shopping at Aldi

The last demographic variable sampled in this investigation related to the number of years customers shopped at Aldi. This variable was included in the probe because the number of years a customer has been loyal to a brand affects his/her perception of it. In this regard, loyal customers tend to have a more favorable view of brands compared to those who do not share the same loyalty (Xian 2021). Table 4.5 below shows the distribution of respondents according to the number of years they have been shopping at Aldi.

Table 4.5: Distribution of respondents according to shopping experience

Table 4.5 above demonstrates that most of the respondents who took part in the current investigations shopped at Aldi for less than two years. Comparatively, those who had shopped for more than 10 years accounted for the lowest number of informants – 3.2%. These findings imply that a majority of the views presented in the discussion were those of new customers.

Business Reputation

The descriptive analysis part of this study covered the main variables of the study, which were business reputation, customer welfare, environmental cost, and quality of services. The findings depicted in Table 4.6 below shows that the adoption of sustainable practices affected business reputation. This outcome was affirmed because none of the mean values for the variable reached the value 2.

Table 4.6: Business Reputation

Customer Welfare

The findings depicted in Table 4.7 below showed the adoption of sustainable management practices improved customer welfare. This pricing plan is consistent with the goal of sustainability, which is to create harmony and balance between business and personal goals.

Table 4.7: Customer Welfare

Cost of Doing Business

Table 4.8 below demonstrated that sustainable management practices helped to lower the cost of doing business. This outcome is affirmed because few respondents disagreed with the view that compliance with sustainable policies would be detrimental to the financial position of the business.

Table 4.8: Cost of doing business

Quality of Services

Table 4.9 below demonstrates that the adoption of sustainable management practices helped to improve the quality of services offered to customers. This statement was based on the low score that the participants towards this variable, meaning that they agreed with the statements made.

Table 4.9: Value addition findings

Inferential Analysis

The second part of the questionnaire sampled the informants’ views about four areas of corporate performance, including business reputation, cost of doing business, quality of services and customer welfare. These areas of business development were included in the study after analyzing data about small business development in the online retail sector (Cotter et al. 2021). The aim of undertaking this analysis was to find out if the demographic characteristics of the respondents affected any of the views depicted above. The findings are highlighted below

Impact of Marital Status on Findings

As highlighted in this study, a person’s marital status has an impact on their decision-making processes. This effect is notably true in entrepreneurship where it is believed that variations in marital status affect the zeal in which entrepreneurs review products or buy services (Xian, Jiang and McAdam 2021). To this end, it was important to undertake a comparative analysis of the findings to establish whether the marital status of the informants influenced their responses to the statements posed to them in the questionnaire. Therefore, the impact of the respondents’ marital status on their views was investigated in the study using the one-way ANOVA method. Table 10 below summarizes the findings of this probe.

According to the findings highlighted in Table 10 above, one statement out of the 20 posed to the respondents met the significance threshold of p>0.05. This finding suggests that the marital status of the respondents did not affect the quality of their responses. This finding contradicts those of other researchers who have argued the contrary because they suggest that one’s family structure influences their decision-making processes (Miller, Wiklund and Yu 2020). Nonetheless, the low levels of influence of the informant’s marital status on the findings mean that their views were independent of their family settings or social structures. This finding promotes objectivity in the interpretation of the results.

Impact of Age on Findings

It was important to understand the impact of the respondents’ age on the findings to establish whether their views were biased towards people of a specific age group. This analysis was critical to the probe because age is a moderating variable in developing product reviews and strategy analysis (Xian, Jiang and McAdam, 2021). Table 11 below summarizes findings that were obtained from this assessment.

The findings highlighted in Table 11 above reflect those of the impact of marital status on the respondents’ views because the statements posed to the respondents did not meet the significance threshold of p>0.05. This finding means that the respondent’s ages did not influence their views on the findings. Again, this outcome promotes the idea that the views presented by the respondents reflected an objective assessment of impact of sustainability on corporate performance. Thus, the insights provided by the informants about the research topic were devoid of age-related influences.

Impact of Education Qualifications on Findings

The third variable investigated in the present study related to the respondents’ education qualifications and its influence on their views about the research topic. This review was important to the study because the researcher could not predict the educational background of the informants after meeting them online, yet this variable was useful in analyzing their responses. Table 12 below shows the findings of the One-way ANOVA method. It was used to assess if the informants’ educational background affected their views on the research topic.

As highlighted in Table 12 above, the educational background of the respondents did not affect their views on the research topic. This is because none of the statements posed to them registered a significance value of p>0.05, which would have implied that education had an effect on their views on sustainability and corporate performance. This finding is inconsistent with research studies, which suggest that people’s educational experiences moderate their views on life du (Plessis 2022; Doherty 2019). Thus, it could be deduced that the quality of responses given by the informants was devoid of this influence.

Impact of Hours Spent Online on Findings

The impact of hours spent online on the findings presented in this study formed the basis for the current probe. It was intended to establish whether differences in hours spent online forced the informants to give positive or negative views on sustainability. This analysis was critical to the present probe because researchers opine that the number of hours people spend online influences their knowledge about various subjects (Morris, 2022). Table 13 below summarizes the findings associated with this aspect of the review.

The findings highlighted above reveal that number of hours that the researchers spent online did not affect the quality of responses. This statement stems from the insignificant number of statements that met the threshold of p>0.05. Thus, it could be assumed that the informants’ views were independent of their online experiences. These outcomes are inconsistent with those of other researchers who opine that the number of hours, which people spend online influences their judgment on various socioeconomic debates (du Plessis 2022). Thus, it could be assumed that the findings were objectively developed.

Impact of Years Shopping at Aldi on Findings

The last part of the inferential analysis related to an investigation on the impact of years spent shopping at Aldi on the findings presented by the respondents. This aspect of the investigation was important to the probe because it was based on the assumption that customers with more experience in the market are likely to have a better understanding of current market dynamics compared to those who have been in the market for fewer years (Hansford, Thomas and Wyatt 2022). Consequently, it was important for the researcher to investigate if the years of business operations had an impact on the findings given by the informants. Table 14 below summarizes the findings.

The findings depicted above are similar to those generated by other demographic variables examined in this study. Notably, none of the statements posed to the informants met the significance threshold of p>0.05. This finding means that the number of years the informants spent shopping at Aldi did not affect their views on the research topic. This finding contradicts those of other researchers who argue that people’s shopping experiences have an impact on the quality of strategy development employed by business owners (Doherty 2019. Consequently, it can be deduced that the experience did not play a significant role in influencing the views of the respondents regarding the questions posed to them.

Summary

The findings generated in this study have revealed that sustainable management practices have the potential to boost the performance of international companies. The views of the informants suggested that possible gains could be realized in improved business reputation, enhanced customer welfare, and improved service quality and lower production costs. Collectively, these insights demonstrate that international companies should adopt sustainable management practices because they enhance performance.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion

This study has investigated the impact of sustainability on the corporate performance of international firms using Aldi as a case study. The investigation emerged from a growing body of scholarly literature, which highlighted the increased adoption and demand for the integration of principles of sustainability in corporate management (Raza et al. 2021; Seuring 2022; Soderstrom, Sara and Klaus 2020). The evidence adduced from the investigations conducted in the second chapter of this paper showed that environmental cost, business reputation, quality of services and customer welfare were the main drivers of corporate performance in an environment where businesses adopted sustainable management concepts. The four indictors of corporate performance were obtained from a myriad of research studies, which highlighted their link with the success of international firms (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018; García-Canal 2018; Newman 2022). The current investigation strived to ascertain movements in corporate management indicators based on customers’ views regarding the impact of sustainability on corporate performance.

Findings from investigations highlighted above helped to develop the aim of the study, which was to understand the impact of sustainability on corporate performance. To recap, this study was guided by three research questions, which sought to find out how the adoption of sustainable management practices affected the business reputation, consumer satisfaction, and the cost of doing business for international firms The pieces of evidence gathered in this study demonstrated that the adoption of sustainable management practices boosted the reputation of firms that adopted them. Particularly, the evidence showed that the adoption of sustainable management principles ensured the improvement of transparency in stakeholder engagement.

The second question of this study strived to find out whether the adoption of sustainable management practices helped to enhance customer satisfaction. This question was posed to the respondents as “customer welfare” questions in the survey questionnaire instrument. The findings revealed that the adoption of sustainable management practices in corporate management improved customer welfare. Employees are equally likely to benefit from the process because sustainability caters for the interests of all stakeholders (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). The third research question underpinning the present study focused on understanding the implications of adopting sustainable management principles on the cost of doing business. The findings revealed that sustainability helped to reduce the cost of doing business in the long-term, but not short-term. These findings are consistent with those of Newman (2022), which indicated that sustainability helped companies to think long-term in times of crises. This way, sustainability helps companies to better plan their activities and deploy resources effectively, thereby leading to a long-term reduction in the cost of doing business.

The findings of this investigation revealed that the adoption of corporate management principles in international companies improves their performance. This outcome stems from the presence of formal structures of stakeholder engagement in companies that have adopted sustainability as a core corporate doctrine (Borsky, Leiter and Pfaffermayr 2018). The findings of this study equally demonstrated that international companies could benefit from adopting sustainable management practices by becoming long-term oriented. The effect is that companies that adopt sustainability may become more disciplined than their peers are because they are likely to redirect their resources towards the fulfillment of long-term plans, as opposed to short-term ones (Newman 2022). Therefore, the adoption of sustainable management practices by international firms can help them distinguish themselves from their competitors.

The insights mentioned above are useful in expanding the current body of the literature concerning factors that promote organizational performance in the 21^st century. They capture changing aspirations and expectations of the public on factors impacting corporate management. These discernments are based on a background of discussions about the impact of sustainability on corporate performance, which have been presented by researchers, such as Soderstrom, Sara and Klaus (2020). In this analysis, corporate sustainability has emerged as a key driver of business performance. To this end, the increased level of self-awareness about the importance of adopting sustainable corporate management practices cannot be ignored in the contemporary business environment. This is because it defines the new yardstick for measuring the corporate performance of modern businesses.

Broadly, the findings developed in this study could play a critical role in explaining the role and impact of integrating sustainability in corporate performance. They not only highlight the financial implications of doing so but also appreciate the social, cultural, and environmental consequences of the practice. Based on the assertions of researchers, such as Al-Kwifi (2020), Soderstrom, Sara and Klaus (2020), the adoption of sustainable management practices in corporate governance provides managers with a tool for balancing stakeholder interests in an organization. The result is the expansion of opportunities for growth and collaboration (Xian 2021). Failing to recognize the need for balance could affect various aspects of corporate performance and possibly cause dissatisfaction among some players (Al-Kwifi, 2020). Consequently, the integration of sustainable management principles in corporate governance helps firms to manage varied stakeholder interests.

Overall, the above-mentioned insights demonstrate that the adoption of sustainable management practices helps to improve corporate management. Indeed, it enhances the performance of both local and international businesses equally. However, it is important to recognize the limits of this study because the findings were developed using a case study after sampling the views of respondents in the retail sector. This approach of analysis means that the findings cannot be generalized beyond the context of the study.

Recommendations

The pieces of evidence analyzed in this study have demonstrated that sustainable management practices can boost the performance of international businesses. The recommendations outlined in this investigation will stem from tweaking the methodology adopted in addressing the research topic. First, future researchers can explore the same research interest by focusing on examining the impact of integrating sustainable management principles in other companies that do not have an international focus.

It is important to undertake such analysis because the current study has proven that there is a difference between the operations, scope, and influence of multinational firms compared to SMEs. This view is consistent with those of Wang (2020), which mentioned differences between Chinese SMEs and multinational entities. Differences in power and influence of these organizations have been demonstrated in their overseas operations (De Mooij 2019). Therefore, it is likely that the adoption of sustainable management principles will impact the performance of SMEs and international firms differently based on their scope of influence. From this basis of review, future researchers may investigate the research topic using a smaller company that does not have an international scope of focus – the current probe is based on the international experience of adopting sustainable management principles in corporate management.

Future researchers may similarly consider using a different strategy of data collection to investigate the research topic. In the current investigation, the researcher sampled the views of the respondents using questionnaires to assess various consumer behavioral qualities, such as prior shopping experiences and perspectives on quality. Focus groups and interviews could be employed in future studies to gather information from the same respondents. These techniques are appropriate for use in future investigations because the current probe involved the collection of primary data using questionnaires, which can be impersonal and unable to highlight detailed variables pertinent to a research tropic (Gray 2019). Interviews and focus group discussions would give the researcher an opportunity to probe the respondents further because the researcher acts as a moderate in both modes of data collection (Fellows and Liu 2021). Doing so would enable researchers to get rich data about the impact of sustainability on corporate performance.

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