Sustainability as Strategy: Investigating How Corporations Balance Profit and Responsibility in Practice

Chimkodkar, Aneesh (2025) Sustainability as Strategy: Investigating How Corporations Balance Profit and Responsibility in Practice. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Amid increasing social expectations, hardening ESG regulations and changing investors' priorities, corporate sustainability has become a strategic imperative instead of peripheral concern. This research explores how companies virtually integrate sustainability in strategic decision making, investigating whether initiatives are predominantly driven for profit reasons, ethical commitments or a hybrid of both. Based on the theory of interested parties, resource-based vision and institutional theory, this study critically examines the motivations, compensation and results experienced by business leaders who integrate sustainability in central commercial functions.

Using a mixed method approach, the study combines qualitative ideas of semi-structured interviews with ESG and medium to senior strategy executives (n = 10) and quantitative data of a survey of more than 100 commercial professionals in all industries. In addition, in-depth case studies of sustainability-led companies provide comparative information on how different governance structures and market pressures shape sustainability integration. Based on ESG reference points (for example, MSCI, Refinitiv) and corporate dissemination, the study validates self -informed statements with measurable performance indicators.

The results reveal a nuanced panorama where companies that adopt sustainability as a strategy often face tensions between short -term financial costs and long -term legitimacy, brand resistance and equity. While some companies implement sustainability substantially, which analyses it for innovation, the alignment of interested parties and competitive advantage, others resort to symbolic gestures under regulatory or reputational pressure. Research contributes a refined framework that distinguishes symbolic sustainability strategies from sustainability and describes critical enablers, including executive leadership, ESG capabilities and the alignment of interested parties.

This thesis provides theoretical and practical contributions for academics and professionals by identifying conditions under which sustainability serves both a strategic asset and a moral imperative, marking a change towards capitalism aligned with purpose in the corporate landscape after 2020.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Supervisors:	Name Email MacDonald, Robert UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > Economics > Business H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Large Industry. Corporations. > Corporate Governance H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Large Industry. Corporations.
Divisions:	School of Business (- 2025) > Master of Science in International Business
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	13 Dec 2025 15:21
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2025 15:21
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/9032

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