PRIN 2022 CALL. DECREE NO. 104 OF 2 FEBRUARY 2022
TITOLO DEL PROGETTO: Organizational success factors of sustainability-oriented firms: an analysis of Italian firms in different phases of their life cycle
CUP CODE D53D23006640006
Budget: € 140.655
P.I.: Prof. Rosa Maria Dangelico (Polytechnic University of Bari)
Other Research Units: University of Palermo; University of Messina
The project involved three research units (Polytechnic University of Bari, University of Palermo, and University of Messina) and analysed organizational success factors for sustainability-oriented firms in different phases of their life cycle. Specifically, the aim of the project was to analyze the effects of different intra-organizational factors and inter-organizational factors on firm performance. Different dimensions of performance have been considered, namely economic, environmental, and social. Based on the literature, a theoretical framework linking organizational factors and firm performance was developed. The project studied 406 Italian firms, comprising a sample of 203 firms that obtained B Corp certification and a control sample of 203 firms. These samples include companies at different stages of their life cycle (startups and mature firms). Data have been collected since 2014 from several commercial databases (i.e., Orbis, Orbis IP, and Zephyr) and other sources (i.e., LinkedIn, company websites, and corporate sustainability reports). Text-mining techniques were used to retrieve data on sustainable process patterns from 548 corporate sustainability reports; these were validated through qualitative analysis to assess emerging research tools such as Large Language Models (LLMs). Panel data regression models were applied to test the hypotheses developed.
Expected results refer to the sustainable business process patterns and capabilities implemented by sustainability-oriented firms and to the effects of intra- and inter-organizational factors on different dimensions of firm performance.
Achieved results are: the creation of a unique and original database with data on intra-organizational factors (managerial team characteristics and sustainable business process patterns and capabilities) and inter-organizational factors (in terms of strategic collaborations), as well as different dimensions of firm performance (ROI, patents, environmental certifications, social certifications); the implementation rate of different sustainable capabilities and patterns by sustainability-oriented firms and a comparison of the implementation rate of capabilities implemented by startup and mature firms; the effects of the managerial team characteristics and strategic collaborations on firm performance and the moderating role of sustainability orientation; the effects of the managerial team characteristics and strategic collaborations and the moderating role of firm age; the effects of the managerial team characteristics, strategic collaborations, and sustainable capabilities on firm performance.
Based on the achieved results, managerial and policy guidelines have been developed.
The results obtained have been disseminated at conferences and at a workshop organized at the Politecnico di Bari.
