Sustainable Management Practices and Stakeholder Pressure: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper aims to summarize and analyze what is known regarding the ways in which stakeholder pressure may influence sustainable practices. Furthermore, this study extends this understanding to the development of several research opportunities for further investigation. A systematic extensive literature review was performed to investigate the relationship between stakeholder pressure and sustainable management practices. This literature review shows that organizational factors are more widely covered than the individual and macro-level factors as moderating variables, and suggests more organizational-, individual-, and macro-level factors, as well as the interaction of these factors as moderating variables on the link between stakeholder pressure and sustainable management practices. Furthermore, the use of the stakeholder theory is dominant, followed by the use of the institutional theory. The manufacturing sector is widely covered, survey methodology is extensively used, and the environmental dimensions are more addressed than the social dimensions of sustainability. The relationship between stakeholder pressure and the adoption of sustainable management practices is not obvious, due to the varied results. Therefore, it is difficult to establish a direct relationship between stakeholder pressure and the adoption of sustainable management practices. This study furthers insight into the stakeholder pressure influence on sustainable management practices by reviewing the comprehensive literature and suggesting future research opportunities.

Automated summary

This study delves into the influence of stakeholder pressure on sustainable management practices through a comprehensive literature review and the identification of future research opportunities. The findings indicate that organizational factors are more extensively studied as moderating variables compared to individual and macro-level factors. It is also observed that stakeholder theory is predominantly used, followed by institutional theory. The manufacturing sector is widely covered, with survey methodology being frequently employed, and environmental dimensions receiving more attention than social dimensions. However, the relationship between stakeholder pressure and the adoption of sustainable management practices remains unclear due to varying results.