Competing for a Sustainable World

Sharma's book is so important and could not come at a more important time ... [It] effectively integrates the work on stakeholder assessment, opportunity framing, and capability building into the sustainable business context and offers new and important guidance to firms on how to effectively develop and implement sustainable business strategies. -- Stuart L. Hart, Steven Grossman Endowed Chair in Sustainable Business (University of Vermont); Editor, Base of the Pyramid 3.0

Based on original research, current state-of-the-art knowledge, and relevant examples, this book comprehensively outlines the process that managers can undertake to effectively and successfully implement a strategy that will help them achieve competitive advantage through sustainable innovation of products, services, and business models.

Sustainable innovation requires more than a clear vision and commitment. It requires effective execution and implementation based on an ongoing systematic process of engaging stakeholders to generate the evolving information critical for guiding decision-making, developing and implementing business logic for sustainable innovation, overcoming decision-making biases by managers, creating an opportunity framework to spark creativity, and developing effective organizational capabilities to build a sustainable innovation DNA within the organization. Such a capacity provides an organization with the ability to anticipate and overcome internal and external barriers and achieve competitive advantage through sustainable innovation of products, services, and business models.

Based on original research, current state-of-the-knowledge, and relevant examples, this book comprehensively outlines and describes the process that managers can undertake to effectively and successfully implement a sustainability strategy that will help them attract and retain managerial talent; increase operating legitimacy and reduce compliance costs; boost stakeholder support; reduce costs through increased efficiency, quality, reliability, safety, and responsiveness of existing operations; foster radical innovations in processes, products, services, and new markets; and promote competitive imagination of future products, services, and business models.