Sustainable Management Practices and Stakeholder Pressure: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This paper aims to summarize and analyze what is known regarding the ways in which stakeholder pressure may influence sustainable practices. Furthermore, this study extends this understanding to the development of several research opportunities for further investigation. A systematic extensive literature review was performed to investigate the relationship between stakeholder pressure and sustainable management practices. This literature review shows that organizational factors are more widely covered than the individual and macro-level factors as moderating variables, and suggests more organizational-, individual-, and macro-level factors, as well as the interaction of these factors as moderating variables on the link between stakeholder pressure and sustainable management practices. Furthermore, the use of the stakeholder theory is dominant, followed by the use of the institutional theory. The manufacturing sector is widely covered, survey methodology is extensively used, and the environmental dimensions are more addressed than the social dimensions of sustainability. The relationship between stakeholder pressure and the adoption of sustainable management practices is not obvious, due to the varied results. Therefore, it is difficult to establish a direct relationship between stakeholder pressure and the adoption of sustainable management practices. This study furthers insight into the stakeholder pressure influence on sustainable management practices by reviewing the comprehensive literature and suggesting future research opportunities.