Technology, sustainable development, and corporate growth - striking a balance

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical study focused on three objectives: 1) to integrate evolving concepts of technology, sustainable development, and corporate growth; 2) to establish the importance of performance management for developing sustainability capabilities; and 3) to devise a sustainability balanced scorecard for operationalising multi-dimensional strategies of sustainability. The study highlights the changing perceptions of technology right from a cause of pollution to a source of the solution. A revolutionary improvement in technology is essential for sustainable development. Corporations can achieve competitive advantage by implementing sustainability strategies based on technological and organisational innovations. The sustainability strategies are dynamic capabilities that can be developed through a continuous practice of addressing emerging issues of sustainable development. The competing and multi-faceted dimensions of sustainability strategies can be operationalised by using sustainability balanced scorecard. This study contributes to the literature on natural resource-based view by integrating sustainable value framework with sustainability balanced scorecard. An illustration of how to design the sustainability balanced scorecard is provided to guide researchers and practitioners on the implementation of sustainability strategies.