Sustainability as an Important Tool in Organisational Management: A Review of Literature

Abstract

This study aims to review the existing literature on organisational sustainability to understand diverse concepts related to organisational sustainability and its evolution. To achieve these objectives, the researcher has reviewed more than one hundred and fifty peer reviewed journal articles related to organisational sustainability that were published between 1987 and 2020. Findings of the literature review confirmed that there were diverse definitions of organisational sustainability and that organisational sustainability is in the process of evolution. Further, this review of literature confirmed the importance of stakeholder engagement in sustainability related decision making at the organisational level. The long term perspective has become a key concern when implementing sustainability in organisations; it has, however, become one of the biggest sources of worry for organisational leadership in this millennium as well. National cultural values and organisational culture are also identified in the literature as influencing leadership decisions related to organisational sustainability. Hence, this literature review confirmed that there are no best solutions or strategies in achieving organisational sustainability, though managers should adopt holistic perspectives and develop innovative solutions to deal with sustainability issues unique to their own organisations. Therefore, it can be concluded that organisational leadership implemented according to a holistic perspective would facilitate excellent results in establishing organisational sustainability. Future research should be directed towards understanding organisational sustainability in a context specific manner rather than using a generalised approach.