Anrafel de Souza Barbosa

Implementing sustainability-oriented strategies within the nonprofit sector is often framed through corporate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) frameworks, yet the unique institutional logic of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) demands a more nuanced conceptualization. This study investigates the processes and determinants of sustainable value creation in NPOs, adopting an integrated theoretical framework that dynamically combines Stakeholder Theory, the Resource-Based View, and Institutional Theory. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines a thematic synthesis of 60 high-impact papers with confirmatory guided interviews with representatives from eight diverse NPOs. Five core categories of sustainable value creation processes were identified: strategic management, operational management, financial resources management, human capital development, and systemic integration of sustainability. Furthermore, the study identifies 25 determinants formally classified into micro (individual agency), meso (organizational structure), and macro (institutional environment) levels. The findings demonstrate tensions between internal leadership agency and external structural constraints, highlighting the challenges associated with the lack of tailored sustainability tools. It is argued that sustainability in NPOs is a fluid, emergent process defined by mission-driven legitimacy rather than financial materiality. This research provides a diagnostic foundation for assessing ESG readiness and emphasizes the need for reflexive, context-sensitive management tools that align sustainability with the unique nonprofit ethos.

The integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into corporate practice depends in part on how employees of different demographic groups perceive ESG impacts. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify which workforce demographic characteristics most strongly influence employees' perceptions of how ESG criteria affect corporate sustainability performance. Using a mixed quantitative approach— partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) combined with multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) via PROMETHEE‐RATIO—the analysis draws on responses from 2747 employees of two Brazilian electricity‐sector firms. PLS‐SEM confirmed a multidimensional ESG measurement model and revealed significant multigroup differences. PROMETHEE‐RATIO rankings highlighted item Q3 as the highest‐priority target for intervention across groups, while Q10 and Q13 were consistently least critical. Nonparametric testing showed significant demographic variance (Kruskal–Wallis χ ² = 32.206, df = 7, p = 3.719 × 10 ⁻⁵ ). Women in the Central‐West (G8) displayed distinct factor loadings versus several groups. Gender and geographic region were the strongest demographic covariates associated with variation in ESG perceptions. Demographic heterogeneity (particularly gender and region) shapes employee ESG perceptions. Tailored, demographically sensitive ESG strategies are therefore recommended to enhance employee engagement and organizational sustainability. This study contributes a granular assessment to guide more inclusive ESG management.

Evaluation of corporate sustainability parameters has become part of organizational management. Item Response Theory (IRT) serves as a valuable approach for quantifying and exploring observable variables associated with these parameters. Therefore, this article aims to propose, apply, and validate an instrument utilizing IRT to measure environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts on corporate sustainability performance, using the perspective of workers. Workers were chosen as key stakeholders for the present study, as they were pointed by previous research as central to corporate sustainability decisions. The present paper addresses a literature gap by introducing, implementing, and validating a research instrument, along with a comparative scale, to assess the effects of integrating ESG criteria on corporate sustainability performance. Workers of two major Brazilian electricity sector companies were respondents for this instrument. Multigroup IRT method was used to assess item discrimination and difficulty levels, and to construct a scale reflecting workers' perceptions of integrating ESG criteria. The questionnaire consisted of 15 items, demonstrating Content Validity Coefficients (CVC) above .97, confirming the instrument's content effectiveness. Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald's Omega were greater than .94 for both companies. Questionnaire items demonstrated satisfactory discrimination ability and varying difficulty levels, resulting in a five‐level scale to gauge the impacts of ESG criteria. This research contributes through the introduction and validation of the research instrument, the latent trait assessment scale, and the evaluation of workers' perceptions regarding ESG criteria impacts on corporate sustainability performance. In conclusion, the proposed instrument showed robust psychometric properties, displaying favorable reliability and validity parameters. It effectively measures the impacts of ESG criteria, providing interpretable levels aligned with the unique characteristics of its constituent items

In a corporate sustainability context, scholars have been studying internal and external relations provided by Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, mostly from the organizational perspective. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to map and analyze the literature on the impacts of integrating ESG criteria on corporate sustainability performance from different points of view. The methodology used followed the Preferred Report Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, corroborated by a critical analysis. The results indicate that the integration of ESG criteria, observed from different perspectives, strengthens corporate sustainability performance. They also revealed narrowing gaps in the literature regarding methodological analysis. Most of the papers in the analyzed sample use company-level data and employ regression analysis in their analysis. The present study concludes that companies, regardless of nationality, follow the guidelines of ESG criteria integration and such procedure brings several benefits. It points to the lack of more confirmatory research approaches from a workers’ perspective, as the interest remains in the economic-environmental realm from the organizations’ point of view. The absence of such evidence points to a gap in the literature that suggests the need for new study initiatives.

To foster competitive advantages, many organizations have implemented quality management systems (QMS), environment management systems (EMS) and occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS) with a predisposition to integrate them. Thus, the objective of this article was to propose a mathematical model capable of measuring the workers’ perception of the impacts of integrated management systems on the organizational performance of a large company. For this, a questionnaire derived from a systematic literature review was applied. For data analysis, Cluster Analysis was used to group the observable variables. Subsequently, Factor Analysis (FA) was performed to determine the factor loads and the percentage of explanation of the items. Finally, it was implemented Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to measure the confluences between latent and observable variables and validate the theoretical model. The results showed that the items were grouped according to similarity through three dimensions associated with QMS, EMS and OHSMS, and that multidimensional FA explained latent traits in 73%. SEM parameters achieved excellent adjustment rates. The contribution of this study is in the validation of the theoretical structure (SEM) that explains how the Integrated Management System is perceived by workers.

In the past few decades, many organizations are implementing management systems. The similarities between them allowed the integration of different models. The main purpose of this article was to map and analyse the literature on the impacts of Integrated Management Systems (IMS) on organizational performance. The methodology used followed the guidelines of the Preferred Report Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses – PRISMA, based on a sample of scientific articles extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus data bases. The results revealed important benefits of the IMS (such as improving operational performance, reducing costs, sustainable development, stakeholder satisfaction, reduction of occupational risks, etc.) and a wide willingness to integrate them. The researched systems were the Quality Management System – QMS, the Environmental Management System – EMS, and the Occupational Health and Safety Management System – OHSMS. Many studies have ratified the benefits of the IMS. However, no quantitative research was found in the articles’ sample measuring the proportion of impacts that each of the three management systems offers with the integration amongst them. In this way, future research was evidenced according to the investigation of the gains provided by the systems’ integration and due to the identified gap.