Developing dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability: the role of sustainable knowledge transfer between supply chain partners

Abstract

Persistent differences in corporate commitments to sustainability have led to an increasing debate. However, reasons behind such differences still lack a generic theorization. We propose that a key source of these differences lies in what we define as dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability. These conceptualized capabilities can be disaggregated into three distinctive but related capabilities for firms to: (1) sense the emerging needs of various stakeholders, (2) identify profitable opportunities from the rapidly changing sustainable expectations, and (3) modify existing functional capabilities and their combinative patterns. It is our argument that sustainable knowledge transfer between supply chain partners plays a crucial role in improving the development of these three capabilities. We conclude this argument by providing a theoretical framework and a set of propositions for future empirical test.