Thirty-Five Years of Research on Business and the Natural Environment. Part 2: The 75 Seminal Articles of the Field

by Andrew J. Hoffman
University of Michigan

In this second of three essays, I continue my discussion of the boundaries and historical trajectory of the Business and Natural Environment (B&NE) field by offering a list of which are the seminal and most influential articles on which it is built.  

I compiled the bibliographies of all 38 chapters in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Business and the Natural Environment (edited by Tima Bansal and myself and due to be released in late 2011). The 65 chapter authors cover the gamut of disciplines found in any business school andwere asked to make their bibliographies as inclusive as possible of what they consider to be the seminal papers of the field in their particular discipline.  After separating papers dealing with B&NE, the list totaled 874 articles. This is being treated as a proxy for the corpus of research on B&NE.

I then collected citation counts (as a measure of influence) for every article using Googlescholar (again, ISI and Scopus did not list all the articles in the sample).  Articles were then sorted along two criteria: absolute citation counts and normalized citation counts by year.  The first measures the overall impact of the article.  The second takes into account the fact that older articles will gather more citations than more recent articles.  

Table 1 offers a list of the 75 most highly cited articles in Business and the Natural Environment ranked by normalized citations per year.  Those articles with a higher normalized rank than absolute rank may be considered to be up and coming articles relative to their peer set (presuming their citation trend continues).  Those articles with a higher absolute rank than normalized rank may be considered to be sun setting in influence relative to their peer set.  Ideally, one would also develop a measure for the yearly trends in citation counts to observe if an article is declining in influence.  

Immediately, readers may quibble over what constitutes an article in B&NE.  The first article appeared in Nature in 1997 and caused quite a stir when the 13 authors analyzed 17 ecosystem services and determined a value for nature estimated at between $16 and $54 trillion per year, with a likely figure of at least $33 trillion.  This is followed by more commonly cited B&NE journals (like Academy of Management Review, Organization Studies and Administrative Science Quarterly).  Remaining near the top of the list are seemingly classic articles on the topic by Michael Porter and Milton Friedman.  

As you peruse the list, you will be hard pressed to find articles from the fields of finance and information technology, notably low in B&NE coverage.  You will also be hard pressed to find articles from Business Strategy & the Environment, the Journal of Industrial Ecology or Organization & Environment, three specialized journals that feature a lot of B&NE research as measured by number of articles.  

Again, I offer this list and these questions merely as provocations for further discussion over the state of the field of Business and the Natural Environment.  I offer the same limitations of this list as I offered in the tables in Part 1.  Does this list of 874 articles offer a fair representation of the field? Can we compare citation counts between multiple disciplines (i.e. engineering, economics and management) in any absolute way? And, how do overall citation counts differ from citation counts within the field of B&NE? In terms of the creation of a B&NE field, how do we capture the common streams of discourse?  And is there even one stream of research represented by these articles?  Are we even talking to each other?

TABLE 1

The 75 Most Cited Articles in Business and the Natural Environment, 1975-2010

CITATION	GOOGLE SCHOLAR CITATION COUNT		GOOGLE SCHOLAR NORM. BY YEAR
	COUNT	RANK	COUNT	RANK
Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Naeem, S., Limburg, K., Paruelo, J., O'Neill, R., Raskin, R., Sutton, P. and van den Belt, M. (1997). "The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital," Nature, 387: 253-260.	4461	1	318.64	1
Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & Wood, D. J. (1997). "Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts." Academy of Management Review, 22: 853-886.	2635	3	188.21	2
Clarkson, M. B. (1995). "A stakeholder framework for analyzing and evaluating corporate social performance." Academy of Management Review, 20: 92-117.	1979	5	123.69	3
Orlitzky, M., Schmidt, F. & Rynes, S. (2003). "Corporate social and financial performance: A meta-analysis." Organization Studies, 24(3): 403-441.	970	14	121.25	4
Porter, M. E. & van der Linde, C. (1995). "Toward a new conception of the environment-competitiveness relationship." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 94: 97-118.	1850	6	115.63	5
Porter, M. and C. Van Der Linde (1995), "Green and competitive:  Ending the stalemate," Harvard Business Review, September-October: 120-134.	1641	7	102.56	6
Margolis, J. D. & Walsh, J. P. (2003). "Misery loves companies: Rethinking social initiatives by business." Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(2): 268-305.	799	18	99.88	7
McWilliams, A. and Siegel, D. (2001). "Corporate social responsibility: a theory of the firm perspective," Academy of Management Review, 26(1):117-127.	901	16	90.1	8
Friedman, M. (1970). “The social responsibility of business is to increase profits,” The New York Times Magazine, September 13, The New York Times.	3675	2	89.63	9
Waddock, S.A., and Graves, S.B. (1997). ‘The corporate social performance-financial performance link’. Strategic Management Journal, 18: 303-319.	1132	11	80.86	10
Wood D. (1991)  “Corporate social performance  revisited” Academy of Management Review 16(4): 691-718.	1566	8	78.3	11
Russo, M. V. and Fouts, P. A. (1997). "A resource-based perspective on corporate environmental performance and profitability." Academy of Management Journal, 40: 534-559.	1092	13	78	12
Hart, S. L. (1995) “A natural-resource-based view of the firm,” Academy of Management Review, 20(4): 986-1014.	1229	9	76.81	13
Jaffe, A.B., Peterson, S.R., Portney, P.R., and Stavins, R.N. (1995) "Environmental regulation and the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing: What does the evidence tell us?". Journal of Economic Literature, 33: 132-63.	1160	10	72.5	14
Ostrom, E., (2009). "A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems."  Science, 325: 419-422.	143	191	71.5	15
Awaysheh, A. and Klassen, R. D. (2010), "Supply chain structure and its impact on supplier socially responsible practices," International Journal of Production and Operations Management, 30(12): 1246-68.	67	345	67	16
Matten D., and J. Moon (2008) “'Implicit' and 'explicit' CSR: A conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility,”  Academy of Management Review 33(2): 404-424	196	127	65.33	17
Carroll, A.B. (1979). "A three dimensional model of corporate social performance," Academy of Management Review, 4: 497-505.	2048	4	64	18
Aguilera, R.V., Rupp, D., Williams, C.A. and Ganapathi, J. (2007). "Putting the S back in corporate social responsibility: A multi-level theory of social change in organizations," Academy of Management Review, 32(3): 836-863.	256	104	64	19
Copeland, B.R. & Taylor, M.S. (2004). "Trade growth and environment." Journal of Economic Literature, 17: 7-71.	443	40	63.29	20
Garriga, E. and Melé, D. (2004). "Corporate social responsibility theories: Mapping the territory," Journal of Business Ethics, 53 (1-2): 51-71.	441	42	63	21
Hillman, A. & Keim, G. (2001). "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?" Strategic Management Journal, 22:2: 125-139.	603	29	60.3	22
Cropper, M, and W. Oates. (1992). "Environmental economics: A survey." Journal of Economic Literature 30: 675-740.	1118	12	58.84	23
Hart, S. L. (1997).  “Beyond greening: Strategies for a sustainable world.” Harvard Business Review: January/February: 66-76.	817	17	58.36	24
Wapner, P. (1995) "Politics beyond the state: Environmental activism and world civic politics," World Politics, 47: 311-340.	933	15	58.31	25
Bansal, P. & Roth, K. (2000) "Why companies go green: a model of ecological responsiveness," Academy of Management Journal, 43: 717-736.	634	25	57.64	26
King, A. A. and Lenox, M. J. (2000). "Industry self-regulation without sanctions: The chemical industry's Responsible Care program," Academy of Management Journal, 43(4): 698-716.	632	26	57.45	27
Hoffman, A. J. (1999). ‘Institutional evolution and change: Environmentalism and the US chemical industry.’ Academy of Management Journal, 42(4): 351-371.	662	22	55.17	28
Matten, D. and Crane, A. (2005). "Corporate citizenship: toward an extended theoretical conceptualization," Academy of Management Review, 30 (1): 166-179.	328	70	54.67	29
Hong, H. and M. Kacperczyk (2009), "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets", Journal of Financial Economics, 93: 15-36.	103	246	51.5	30
Griffin, J. & Mahon, J. (1997). "The corporate social performance and corporate financial performance debate: Twenty-five years of incomparable research." Business & Society, 36(1): 5-31.	669	20	47.79	31
Klassen, R.D., and McLaughlin, C.P. (1996). "The impact of environmental management on firm performance," Management Science, 42(8): 1199-1214.	715	19	47.67	32
Bhattacharya, C. B. & Sen, S. (2003). "Consumer-company identification: A framework for understanding consumers’ relationships with companies," Journal of Marketing, 67(4): 76-88.	378	55	47.25	33
Kollmuss, A. and Agyeman, J. (2002). "Mind the gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior," Environmental Education Research, 8(3): 239-260.	424	47	47.11	34
Sharma, S. & Vredenburg, H. (1998). "Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities." Strategic Management Journal, 19(8): 729-53.	602	30	46.31	35
Scherer, A.G. and Palazzo, G. (2007). "Toward a political conception of corporate responsibility - business and society seen from a Habermasian perspective," Academy of Management Review, 32 (4): 1096–1120.	177	150	44.25	36
Bauer, R, K. Koedijk and R. Otten (2005), "International evidence on ethical mutual fund performance and investment style", Journal of Banking and Finance, 29: 1751-1767.	261	101	43.5	37
Srivastava, S. K. (2007), "Green supply-chain management: A state-of-the-art literature review," International Journal of Management Reviews, 9(1): 53-80.	173	153	43.25	38
Eskeland, G. and A. Harrison. (2003). "Moving to greener pastures? Multinationals and the pollution haven hypothesis,"  Journal of Development Economics, 70: 1-23.	339	63	42.38	39
Deegan, C. (2002). "The legitimising effect of social and environmental disclosures: A theoretical foundation," Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 15(2): 282-311.	373	57	41.44	40
Gray R.H., R.Kouhy & S.Lavers (1995) "Corporate social and environmental reporting: A review of the literature and a longitudinal study of UK disclosure"  Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal  8(2): 47-77.	659	23	41.19	41
Smith, A., Stirling, A., & Berkhout, F. (2005), "The governance of sustainable socio-technical transitions," Research Policy, 34: 1491–1510.	246	109	41	42
Kemp, R., Schot, J., & Hoogma, R. (1998). "Regime shifts to sustainability through processes of niche formation: The approach of strategic niche management," Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 10(2): 175 - 198.	527	34	40.54	43
Sharma, S. (2000). "Managerial interpretations and organizational context as predictors of corporate choice of environmental strategy." The Academy of Management Journal, 43: 681-697.	441	43	40.09	44
Clarkson, P. M., Li, Y., Richardson, G. D., and Vasvari, F. P. (2008). "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33(4-5): 303-327.	118	225	39.33	45
Gladwin, T. N., Kennelly, J.J., and Krause, T.S. (1995). "Shifting paradigms for sustainable development: Implications for management theory and research," Academy of Management Review, 20: 874-907.	628	27	39.25	46
Aragón-Correa, J. & Sharma, S. (2003), "A contingent resource-based view of proactive corporate environmental strategy," The Academy of Management Review, 28(1): 71-88.	313	77	39.13	47
Zadek, S. (2004). "The path to corporate responsibility," Harvard Business Review, 82 (December): 125-132.	273	94	39	48
Maignan, Isabelle and O. C. Ferrell (2004), "Corporate social responsibility and marketing: An integrative framework," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32 (Winter): 3-19.	272	95	38.86	49
Walley, N., and Whitehead, B. (1994). ‘It’s not easy being green’. Harvard Business Review, 72(3): 46-52.	657	24	38.65	50
Palmer, K., Oates, W., and Portney, P. (1995). "Tightening of environmental standards: The benefit-cost or the no-cost paradigm?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9: 119–32.	615	28	38.44	51
Henriques, I. & Sadorsky, P. (1999). "The relationship between environmental commitment and managerial perceptions of stakeholder importance." Academy of Management Journal, 42: 87-99.	452	38	37.67	52
Luo, X. and C. B. Bhattacharya (2006), “Corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction, and market value,” Journal of Marketing, 70(4): 1-18.	187	138	37.4	53
Lyon, T. and J. Maxwell. (2011).  “Greenwash: Corporate environmental disclosure under threat of audit,” Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 20(1): 3-41.	36	480	36	54
Neu, D., Warsame, H., and Pedwell, K. (1998). "Managing public impressions: Environmental disclosures in annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, 23(3): 265-82.	462	37	35.54	55
Thierry, M., Salomon, M., Van Nunen, J., and Van Wassenhove, L.N. (1995). "Strategic issues in product recovery management." California Management Review, 37(2): 114-35.	568	31	35.5	56
Hamilton, J.T. (1995). "Pollution as news: Media and stock market reactions to the Toxics Release Inventory data," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 28: 98-113.	566	32	35.38	57
Buysse, K. & Verbeke, A. (2003). "Proactive environmental strategies: A stakeholder management perspective." Strategic Management Journal, 24: 453-470.	278	93	34.75	58
Stavins, R.N. (1998). "What can we learn from the grand policy experiment? Positive and normative lessons from SO2 allowance trading," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12: 69–88.	448	39	34.46	59
Christmann, P. (2000). "Effects of 'best practices' on environmental management on cost advantage: the role of complementary assets," Academy of Management Journal, 43(4):663-680.	374	56	34	60
Gungor, A. and Gupta, S. M. (1999), "Issues in environmentally conscious manufacturing and product recovery: A survey," Computers and Industrial Engineering, 36: 811-853.	402	50	33.5	61
Dowell, G., Hart, S. & Yeung, B (2000). "Do corporate global environmental standards create or destroy market value?" Management Science, 46(8): 1059-1076.	367	58	33.36	62
Hart, S.L., and Ahuja, G. (1996), "Does it pay to be green? An empirical examination of the relationship between emission reduction and firm performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, 5: 30-37.	490	36	32.67	63
Margolis, J. D., Elfenbein, H. A. & Walsh, J. P. (2009), "Does it pay to be good...and does it matter?  A meta-analysis of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance." Harvard Business School working paper.	65	352	32.5	64
Shrivastava, P. (1995) “The role of corporations in achieving environmental sustainability,” Academy of Management Review, 20(4): 936-960.	514	35	32.13	65
Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B. and Griskevicius, V. (2008). "A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels," Journal of Consumer Research, 35: 472-482.	94	269	31.33	66
Unruh, G. C. (2000). "Understanding carbon lock-in," Energy Policy, 28(12): 817-830.	337	67	30.64	67
Abrahamse, W., Steg, L., Vlek, C. and Rotenngatter, T. (2005). "A review of intervention studies aimed at household energy conservation," Journal of Enviromental Psychology, 25(3): 273-91.	183	144	30.5	68
Blevis, E. (2007). "Sustainable interaction design: Invention & disposal, renewal & reuse," in CHI 2007 Proceedings, San Jose, California: 503-12.	122	215	30.5	69
Konar, S. & Cohen, M. (2001). "Does the market value environmental performance?" Review of Economics and Statistics, 83(2): 281-89.	304	81	30.4	70
Harrison, J. S. & Freeman, R. E. (1999). "Stakeholders, social responsibility, and performance: Empirical evidence and theoretical perspectives," Academy of Management Journal, 42: 479-485.	364	59	30.33	71
Seuring, S. & Muller, M. (2008). "From a literature review to a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain management," Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(15): 1699-1710.	91	276	30.33	72
Klassen, R. D. and Whybark, D. C. (1999), "The impact of environmental technologies on Mmanufacturing performance," Academy of Management Journal, 40(6): 599-615.	348	60	29	73
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Maxwell, J. W., Lyon, T. P., and Hackett, S. C. (2000). "Self-regulation and social welfare: The political economy of corporate environmentalism," Journal of Law and Economics, 43(2): 583-619.	316	75	28.73	75
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Hackston, D. and Milne, M. J. (1996). "Some Determinants of Social and Environmental Disclosures in New Zealand Companies," Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 9(1): 77-108.	414	48	27.6	79
Henriques, I. and Sadorsky, P. (1996). "The determinants of an environmentally responsive firm: An empirical approach," Journal of Environmental Economics & Management, 30(3): 381-395.	401	51	26.73	84
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Shrivastava, P. (1995), "Environmental technologies and competitive advantage." Strategic Management Journal, 16(1), 183-200.	405	49	25.31	94
Aragón-Correa, J. 1998. 'Strategic proactivity and firm approach to the natural environment.' Academy of Management Journal, 41(5): 556-67.	321	73	24.69	101
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Starik, M. and Rands, G.P. (1995). "Weaving an integrated web: Multilevel and multisystem perspectives of ecologically sustainable organizations," Academy of Management Review, 20(4): 908-935.	347	61	21.69	123
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Shrivastava, P. (1995). "Ecocentric management for a risk society," Academy of Management Review, 20(1): 118-137.	316	74	19.75	147
Stewart, R.B. (1993), "Environmental regulation and international competitiveness," Yale Law Journal, 102: 2039-2106.	331	69	18.39	160
Burchell S., C. Clubb, A. Hopwood, J. Hughes & J. Nahapiet (1980) "The roles of accounting in organisations and society" Accounting, Organizations and Society 5(1): 5-27.	547	33	17.65	168
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Guthrie, J. and Parker, L. D. (1989). "Corporate social reporting: A rebuttal of legitimacy theory," Accounting and Business Research, 19(76): 342-356.	325	71	14.77	212
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