An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate Sustainability

Recent decades have witnessed an unprecedented demand for corporate sustainability. Driven by a desire to remain competitive amidst economic turmoil and climate change, organisations are embedding sustainable measures into their long-term goals and strategies. Despite such progress, corporate sustai...

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Main Authors: Kennedy Mutua, Julieanna Powell-Turner, Melissa Spiers, Jess Callaghan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Administrative Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/5/161
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author Kennedy Mutua
Julieanna Powell-Turner
Melissa Spiers
Jess Callaghan
author_facet Kennedy Mutua
Julieanna Powell-Turner
Melissa Spiers
Jess Callaghan
author_sort Kennedy Mutua
collection DOAJ
description Recent decades have witnessed an unprecedented demand for corporate sustainability. Driven by a desire to remain competitive amidst economic turmoil and climate change, organisations are embedding sustainable measures into their long-term goals and strategies. Despite such progress, corporate sustainability is taking longer than anticipated, and to understand the reasons behind the delay, this research employs a systematic literature review to identify and categorise the key barriers to the adoption of corporate sustainability. A collection of barriers from 56 articles is established, totalling 90 unique barriers grouped into six main categories. The findings reveal that corporate sustainability is highly complex, emphasising the need for a transdisciplinary approach that incorporates various theoretical frameworks. The findings will be a general guide for any organisation to prepare itself for tackling sustainability barriers while equipping policymakers in developing policies aimed at reducing their magnitude. Equally, it will provide insights to institutions of higher learning on the significance of cross-industry cooperation to ensure skill gaps are addressed at earlier stages and aligned with organisational needs.
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spelling doaj-art-e7ef05b7f12a4f6db4c46b2d13f8ca652025-08-20T03:47:48ZengMDPI AGAdministrative Sciences2076-33872025-04-0115516110.3390/admsci15050161An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate SustainabilityKennedy Mutua0Julieanna Powell-Turner1Melissa Spiers2Jess Callaghan3Chester Business School, University of Chester, Chester CH14BJ, UKChester Business School, University of Chester, Chester CH14BJ, UKChester Business School, University of Chester, Chester CH14BJ, UKChester Business School, University of Chester, Chester CH14BJ, UKRecent decades have witnessed an unprecedented demand for corporate sustainability. Driven by a desire to remain competitive amidst economic turmoil and climate change, organisations are embedding sustainable measures into their long-term goals and strategies. Despite such progress, corporate sustainability is taking longer than anticipated, and to understand the reasons behind the delay, this research employs a systematic literature review to identify and categorise the key barriers to the adoption of corporate sustainability. A collection of barriers from 56 articles is established, totalling 90 unique barriers grouped into six main categories. The findings reveal that corporate sustainability is highly complex, emphasising the need for a transdisciplinary approach that incorporates various theoretical frameworks. The findings will be a general guide for any organisation to prepare itself for tackling sustainability barriers while equipping policymakers in developing policies aimed at reducing their magnitude. Equally, it will provide insights to institutions of higher learning on the significance of cross-industry cooperation to ensure skill gaps are addressed at earlier stages and aligned with organisational needs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/5/161corporateorganisationssustainabilitybarrierstransdisciplinarycomplex
spellingShingle Kennedy Mutua
Julieanna Powell-Turner
Melissa Spiers
Jess Callaghan
An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate Sustainability
Administrative Sciences
corporate
organisations
sustainability
barriers
transdisciplinary
complex
title An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate Sustainability
title_full An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate Sustainability
title_fullStr An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate Sustainability
title_full_unstemmed An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate Sustainability
title_short An In-Depth Analysis of Barriers to Corporate Sustainability
title_sort in depth analysis of barriers to corporate sustainability
topic corporate
organisations
sustainability
barriers
transdisciplinary
complex
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/5/161
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