Strategies for sustainability initiatives:

why ownership matters

Carol-Ann Tetrault Sirsly and Sujit Sur

Carol-Ann Tetrault Sirsly is

an Assistant Professor at
Sprott School of Business,
Carleton University, Ottawa,
Canada. Sujit Sur is an
Assistant Professor at Rowe
School of Business,
Dalhousie University,
Halifax, Canada.

Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the risk management objectives of the firms
owners influence the organizations sustainability strategies with a particular focus on new sustainability
related initiatives. Given shareholder objectives direct firm attention to refine organizational focus, the
papers main premise is that ultimately it is the ownership structure of the firm that sets the agenda in
terms of sustainability initiatives. Considering the broad distinctions between family/founder ownership,
corporate ownership and institutional ownership, the overall ownership structure of the firm will strongly
influence the motivations and temporal considerations of the firm vis-a`-vis sustainability related
initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach Within a resource-based view, the authors link first-mover
advantages and sustainability strategies as a reflection of owners perceptions of risk management
and underlying motivations.
Findings The authors postulate that firms with predominant family/founder ownership undertake
sustainability-related initiatives as patient investors based on their ideological motivations, while
corporate owners undertake initiatives with capabilities building orientation, with institutional owners
adopting sustainability-related initiatives as a risk mitigation strategy.
Practical implications Managers charged with developing sustainability strategies may add a further
consideration, namely taking into account the risk management objectives of the owners of the firm, in
choosing and justifying the type of sustainability innovation.
Originality/value This conceptual paper provides a novel link between the first-mover advantage of
sustainability initiatives and the ownership and governance of the organization. It contributes to the
limited strategy research on ownership impact on sustainability initiatives and provides guidance to
managers in developing appropriate strategies.
Keywords Innovation, Sustainability, Risk management, Ownership, First mover advantage,
Sustainability initiatives
Paper type Conceptual paper

The authors would like to

express their appreciation to
the anonymous reviewer for
helpful suggestions and
insights that contributed to a
significant improvement in the
manuscript. The authors also
acknowledge the constructive
input from participants at the
EABIS 11th Annual Colloquium,
and at the 2012 David OBrien
Centre for Sustainable
Enterprise Workshop on
Sustainable Business held at
Concordia University, Montreal,
Canada. Finally, the authors are
grateful to Elena Urizar for her
prompt support all throughout
the submission and review
process.

DOI 10.1108/CG-06-2013-0072

odays challenges for sustainability initiatives to meet societal expectations and

provide competitive advantage cannot be ignored by business leaders. A condition
of a sustainable economy is the strength to push the boundaries to allocate resources
for developing new initiatives, and choosing the timing, duration and extent of the
commitments (i.e. early or late mover, limited or extensive, short-term or long-term,
respectively) to build sustainable organizations. Peter Loscher, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Siemens AG, emphasizes the importance of investing in people
alongside investments in research and development initiatives (Loscher, 2010). Thus,
sustainable business development is fuelled by the decisions and strategies regarding
investments in new initiatives, in both physical as well as human aspects. Such
sustainability-related innovations, i.e. successful new initiatives have also been credited to
be the driving force for continued corporate success (Bartlett, 2009) and attributed to the
firms attention to stakeholder cohesion in creating competitive advantage (Minoja et al.,
2010).

VOL. 13 NO. 5 2013, pp. 541-550, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1472-0701

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

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