Joan R. Sanchis’s research while affiliated with University of Valencia and other places

Extant literature has pointed to a positive relationship between sustainable-driven management and business competitiveness and organizational size as a moderating factor in such a relationship. In this vein, the Economy for the Common Good is a sustainability framework based on stakeholders’ management that allows embedding sustainable behavior into business strategy and counts with a version adapted to organizations working at a smaller scale like entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs. Hence, the present study aims to assess the impact of sustainable financial management implemented using the Economy for the Common Good framework on business competitiveness and the possible moderating effects of organizational size on this relationship. To do so, the authors apply hierarchical regression analysis to data gathered from 206 European enterprises that implemented sustainable-driven financial management using the Economy for the Common Good framework. Results confirmed the positive impact of sustainable financial management on business competitiveness. However, organizational age and size resulted in nonsignificant variables. Thus, we conclude that sustainable financial management using the Economy for the Common Good framework is a suitable tool for implementation in entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs.

Extant literature has pointed to organizational hybridity to lever sustainable business transformation. Moreover, some authors hold that there is a possible trade-off between sustainability and performance. However, there is still little empirical evidence on the impact that such sustainability-driven hybridization systems have on performance. Thus, the present study’s main goal is to fill this gap by providing empirical evidence on the impact of the implementation of the Economy for the Common Good, as a sustainability-driven organizational system, on business performance. To do so, the authors relied on a sample of 206 businesses from five European countries. Then, the authors followed a quantitative research approach based on a hierarchical regression analysis that allowed them to test for linear, curvilinear, and moderating effects. The authors found a positive relationship between the implementation of a sustainability-driven hybridization system and firm performance. Besides, they identified some curvilinear effects pointing to the existence of a “too much of a good thing” effect, along with some moderating effects derived from organizational size.

Organic farming offers the producers the possibility of focusing on their business while obtaining a competitive advantage. Nevertheless, this is centered in specific activities of the production process, thus only creating environmental value. Therefore, it is not an approach based on sustainability. As a consequence of this, it becomes necessary to enlarge this approach toward people (social value) and profitability (economic value). The objective of this work is to describe a tool based on the Economy for the Common Good model applied to the agroecological sector. We propose to adapt the Common Good Matrix to the characteristics of agroecological farms to offer a useful tool to manage and monitor Mediterranean small farms following a sustainability approach. The methodology consists of: (1) A bibliometric analysis of agroecological publications to identify sustainability indicators; (2) Delphi method application to perform a screening among the identified indicators; and (3) the establishment of peer groups of producers to carry out jointly their Common Good Balance Sheets. Eighteen experts participated in the Delphi study, and 15 companies participated in peer groups, of which seven obtained certification as companies of the common good. The bibliometric analysis shows that there is a gap of publications on agroecology and sustainability. The results obtained from peer study confirm that those agroecological companies that apply the adapted Common Good Matrix can implement corporate sustainability more easily.

The model of the Economy for the Common Good (ECG) has cooperation as one of its main principles. This alternative economic model proposes to prioritize cooperation over competition to favor the creation of social value. From this point of view, strategic alliances between organizations can be used as an instrument that supports implementation of the ECG model. In recent years, alliances between for-profit and non-profit entities have been strengthened as a method to facilitate actions focused on social responsibility and sustainability. Moreover, the ECG model has become an adequate management framework for corporate sustainability. This work aims to connect alliances between for-profit and non-profit organizations with the ECG model. First, this connection is manifested in a theoretical way. This paper is going to analyze how such alliances can contribute to increasing the values of the ECG model: human dignity, solidarity and social justice, environmental sustainability, and transparency and codetermination. Afterwards, this work analyzes two cases of this type of alliance—Grupo Vips-Fundación Hazlo Posible and Danone Foods-Grameen Bank—to determine the benefits that this type of cooperation can provide to society. We study their motives and the benefits that they bring to the organizations and the community. Therefore, this work assesses how these types of alliances influence the different topics included in the Common Good Matrix. Moreover, we conduct a comparative analysis between both cases. This work demonstrates that, by implementing this type of strategic alliances, the creation of social value is favored, thus contributing to implementation of the ECG model.

Being social entrepreneurship (SE) the closest to Economy for the Common Good (ECG) principles, our work proposes to analyze the contribution of ECG model to SE. It is also intended to establish the relationship that exists between both concepts. Therefore, our specific objectives are to (1) identify the specific contributions of ECG principles to SE as well as their overlaps, (2) perform a literature review to analyze and quantify the number of research papers on SE and ECG, and (3) identify the possible existing gap. Through a double methodology, we (1) determine the potential contributions of the ECG model to SE, we propose to analyze the Common Good (CG) matrix and (2) empirical analysis on the existing literature body on SE and ECG. SE and ECG model share a number of principles and features which may be translated into some important overlaps in relation to both research bodies. So CG matrix can help to successfully launch and manage social ventures. This fact is mainly due to the fact that there is not a sufficiently large body of literature that relates models. In future research, it would be interesting to extend the bibliographic search to other databases.

In relation to organizational performance measurement, there is a growing concern about the creation of value for people, society and the environment. The traditional corporate reporting does not adequately satisfy the information needs of stakeholders for assessing an organization’s past and future potential performance. Practitioners and scholars have developed new non-financial reporting frameworks from a social and environmental perspective, giving birth to the field of Integrated Reporting (IR). The Economy for the Common Good (ECG) model and its tools to facilitate sustainability management and reporting can provide a framework to do it. The present study depicts the theoretical foundations from the business administration field research on which the ECG model relies. Moreover, this paper is the first one that empirically validates such measurement scales by applying of Exploratory Factor Analysis on a sample of 206 European firms. Results show that two out of five dimensions are appropriately defined, along with some guidelines to refine the model. Consequently, it allows knowledge to advance as it assesses the measurement scales’ statistical validity and reliability. However, as this is the first quantitative-driven research on the ECG model, the authors’ future research will confirm the present results by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).