What role do the age of business owners and the age of a company play in its commitment to sustainability? A new international study involving Prof. (FH) Dipl.-Verwaltungsw. (FH) Sylvia Rohlfer, PhD, M.A., Professor and Researcher at the Institute Business and Innovation at IMC Krems, provides differentiated insights into this question. Together with Mahsa Samsami, Simon Jebsen and Martin Senderovitz, Rohlfer examines the relationship between time-related factors and companies’ commitment to sustainability.
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Age Matters – but in Different Ways
Published in the internationally recognised Q1 journal Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, the study is based on data from almost 90,000 business owners in 67 countries. The findings show that older business owners tend to pursue sustainability goals more strongly. At the same time, a company’s ability to change may decline as it grows older, as established routines and structures can make sustainable transformation more difficult. The institutional context in which companies operate also influences their commitment to sustainability.
Experience as a Resource – Renewal as a Challenge
The findings provide valuable insights for companies, business advisory organisations and policymakers. The experience of older business owners can be an important resource for sustainable development. At the same time, young companies should integrate sustainability into their business models as early as possible. For established companies, the key is to deliberately develop existing structures and routines further in order to enable sustainable change.
“Our findings show that age cannot simply be equated with more or less sustainability. What matters is the interplay between experience, entrepreneurial routines and institutional conditions. For established companies in particular, the question is therefore how experience can be harnessed while at the same time creating space for sustainable renewal,” says Sylvia Rohlfer of IMC Krems.