Cultural context, organizational performance and Sustainable Development Goals: a pending task

Abstract

The collaboration of private companies in the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is key to address global challenges of climate change, social inequality and environmental degradation. This collaboration can also boost their own organizational performance. However, the research on the relationship between SDG commitment and organizational performance remains inconclusive. The diversity of findings could stem from cross-cultural differences in corporate environments. The aim of this study, therefore, was to analyze the interaction between SDG commitment and organizational performance and to examine how this interaction is influenced by cultural factors. Using simultaneous equation modeling on a sample of 3,420 companies from 30 countries for the period 2015 to 2020, our results show that engagement with SDGs has an impact on organizational performance levels which is further enhanced by the catalytic effect of certain cultural factors.