New Patterns in Corporate Sustainable Development?

Based on longitudinal data, collected in the Danish industry over a period of almost two decades, this paper addresses how strategic decision-makers have responded to the influence of stakeholders with regard to the natural environment in terms of prioritizing its relevance as manifested in their activities over time. More specifically, it seeks to answer how the stakeholders’ perceived influence develops over time and if and how changes have affected firms’ environmental activities. Based on a pre-tested structured questionnaire distributed to a random sample of small and medium-sized industrial firms in Denmark, data has been collected on an identical basis every fourth year since 1995. Before concluding, the paper addresses key implications for corporate managers and other affected decision-makers. The study concludes, that the sustainability topic has succeeded in gradually moving up the strategic agenda in industry (despite the presence of a severe international crisis during the last part of the period) suggesting that environmental strategic initiatives have become an enduring or lasting endeavour.