Factors affecting the outcome of corporate sustainability policy: a review paper

Despite having a focus on sustainability policy planning, failures occur during the implementation process. The gap between policy and its implementation causes failures of the sustainability policy. Against this backdrop, the primary objective of the present study is to explore the factors that create hurdles in the implementation of corporate sustainability policy in letters and spirits. The study adopts a systematic literature review (SLR) approach and reviews all the possible studies from 1950 to 2019 published by six major publishing houses. These studies were found using selected keywords. The findings of SLR reveal governance, education, and SMEs as frequently appearing words while exploring corporate sustainability. The stakeholder theory and the institutional theory appear as the most cited theories in the sustainability literature. The grassroots approach, environmental impact assessment, integrated sustainability assessment, evidence-based practice approach, systematic approach, economical instrument policy approach, and consultant services approach appear as the most relevant approaches used for policymaking in corporate sustainability. The SLR findings reveal five significant factors that influence corporate sustainability policy implementation and can cause the gap between policy and its implementation. These factors are government institutions (including macro and meso-institutions), internal and external stakeholders, management, organizational barriers, and normative references.