Sustainability in Constrained Economic Times

While firms have increasingly adopted environmentally and socially sustainablemanagement strategies, little is known about how these organizations react duringtimes of economic constraint. On the one hand, conventional wisdom suggests thatfirms' sustainability strategy would be de-emphasized. However, emerging scholarshipsuggests that many firms may increase their sustainability investments duringconstrained economic times. Building on the articles comprising this Special Issue, weoffer notable evidence that firms tend to shift their sustainability strategy in innovativeways that enable them to do more with less and increase firm value without undertakingsignificant cutbacks. Specifically, we argue that, during times of economic constraint,firms a) engage in sustainability “trimming” to adapt to their new economic setting; b)use trimming to compete more effectively; and c) trim in ways that are path dependent,building upon prior complementary capabilities and resources. We formulate anexplanation for these novel findings and conclude with observations about futureresearch opportunities