title: Enterprises’ sustainability orientation: A natural language processing approach

authors: Culpi Mann, Evelize

subjects: sustainability orientation

abstract: Sustainability in business is widely viewed as a strategic orientation decision. However, comparatively, little is known about assessing sustainability orientation and its drivers and implications for enterprises. This thesis examines sustainability orientation from a diverse perspective and focuses on sustainability orientation using corporate narratives. Specifically, this thesis harnesses the power of natural language processing (NLP) techniques, which is a field of artificial intelligence (AI), as a tool for research in extracting insights from textual communication. 
The thesis comprises three studies along with a cohesive synthesis of their implications. First, I begin by drawing on the vast literature on corporate social sustainability (CSR) to explore contextual factors that drive enterprises' behaviour towards sustainability. Specifically, the results illustrate that CSR practices are associated with external constituents' scrutiny levels. It is strongly related to political factors and social visibility and partially to media exposure. In addition, the study provides evidence to illustrate that positive influences on CSR practices may have been short-lived when a longer time horizon is considered. 
Second, by exploring small and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs), I elucidated the implications of a communicated sustainability orientation strategy on enterprises' economic performance. I used the communication of social values as a signal of sustainability orientation and explored its impacts, also considering social actions as an additional signal of sustainability orientation. The findings suggest that the effect of communicating social values on economic performance varies between social enterprises and traditional commercial enterprises. Unlike traditional commercial enterprises, social enterprises do not achieve economic performance advantages by communicating social values. Instead, it is the social actions of social enterprises that positively influence economic performance. 
Third, I explore sustainability orientation through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) lenses. The last empirical study explores the effect of a communicated SDG orientation strategy on the economic performance of traditional commercial enterprises and social enterprises. The results demonstrated a positive relationship between the communication of a narrow set of SDGs and enterprises' economic performance. The extent of this effect is similar between social and traditional commercial enterprises. The results take on the meaning that stakeholders might appreciate an enterprise's SDG orientation strategy that concentrates on a narrow set of SDGs within distinct purpose-driven institutional contexts. 
This thesis is an effort to increase transparency about critical aspects of enterprises' sustainability orientation: its assessment, influential factors and implications for economic performance. This doctoral thesis provides significant practical and theoretical contributions to understanding the complex dynamics between sustainability orientation and business context. By focusing on the evolutionary nature of social norms, this research provides an aggregated view of how environmental pressures affect an enterprise's practices towards sustainability. This thesis also offers an initial step in examining the relationship between a communicated sustainability orientation strategy and enterprises' economic performance. It highlights that social enterprises and traditional commercial enterprises experience different external pressures and should tailor their sustainability orientation strategies to their specific context. Moreover, this thesis reinforces that innovative NLP approaches can overcome challenges in measuring sustainability orientation.

text: Enterprises’ sustainability orientation: A natural language processing approach Sustainability in business is widely viewed as a strategic orientation decision. However, comparatively, little is known about assessing sustainability orientation and its drivers and implications for enterprises. This thesis examines sustainability orientation from a diverse perspective and focuses on sustainability orientation using corporate narratives. Specifically, this thesis harnesses the power of natural language processing (NLP) techniques, which is a field of artificial intelligence (AI), as a tool for research in extracting insights from textual communication. 
The thesis comprises three studies along with a cohesive synthesis of their implications. First, I begin by drawing on the vast literature on corporate social sustainability (CSR) to explore contextual factors that drive enterprises' behaviour towards sustainability. Specifically, the results illustrate that CSR practices are associated with external constituents' scrutiny levels. It is strongly related to political factors and social visibility and partially to media exposure. In addition, the study provides evidence to illustrate that positive influences on CSR practices may have been short-lived when a longer time horizon is considered. 
Second, by exploring small and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs), I elucidated the implications of a communicated sustainability orientation strategy on enterprises' economic performance. I used the communication of social values as a signal of sustainability orientation and explored its impacts, also considering social actions as an additional signal of sustainability orientation. The findings suggest that the effect of communicating social values on economic performance varies between social enterprises and traditional commercial enterprises. Unlike traditional commercial enterprises, social enterprises do not achieve economic performance advantages by communicating social values. Instead, it is the social actions of social enterprises that positively influence economic performance. 
Third, I explore sustainability orientation through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) lenses. The last empirical study explores the effect of a communicated SDG orientation strategy on the economic performance of traditional commercial enterprises and social enterprises. The results demonstrated a positive relationship between the communication of a narrow set of SDGs and enterprises' economic performance. The extent of this effect is similar between social and traditional commercial enterprises. The results take on the meaning that stakeholders might appreciate an enterprise's SDG orientation strategy that concentrates on a narrow set of SDGs within distinct purpose-driven institutional contexts. 
This thesis is an effort to increase transparency about critical aspects of enterprises' sustainability orientation: its assessment, influential factors and implications for economic performance. This doctoral thesis provides significant practical and theoretical contributions to understanding the complex dynamics between sustainability orientation and business context. By focusing on the evolutionary nature of social norms, this research provides an aggregated view of how environmental pressures affect an enterprise's practices towards sustainability. This thesis also offers an initial step in examining the relationship between a communicated sustainability orientation strategy and enterprises' economic performance. It highlights that social enterprises and traditional commercial enterprises experience different external pressures and should tailor their sustainability orientation strategies to their specific context. Moreover, this thesis reinforces that innovative NLP approaches can overcome challenges in measuring sustainability orientation.

year: 2024

title: Isolation from Rhizobium of factors which transfer electrons to soybean nitrogenase

authors: Phillips, D.A.

subjects: Rhizobium japonicum

abstract: Rhizobium japonicum grown anaerobically with nitrate produced several factors capable of transferring electrons from spinach chloroplasts lacking photosystem II to soybean root nodule nitrogenase. The same organism grown aerobically produced no factors with detectable activity. It is concluded that the bacterium is potentially capable of producing these proteins in the low oxygen conditions of the leguminous root nodule.

text: Isolation from Rhizobium of factors which transfer electrons to soybean nitrogenase Rhizobium japonicum grown anaerobically with nitrate produced several factors capable of transferring electrons from spinach chloroplasts lacking photosystem II to soybean root nodule nitrogenase. The same organism grown aerobically produced no factors with detectable activity. It is concluded that the bacterium is potentially capable of producing these proteins in the low oxygen conditions of the leguminous root nodule.

year: 1973-01

title: Nga Taumata o te Moana - A return to rangatiratanga over the takutai moana

authors: Downs, Season-Mary

subjects: takutai moana

abstract: The Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 extinguished Māori customary rights to the foreshore and seabed at law by vesting ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown.   The Act prohibited Māori from having their customary rights recognised at common law by removing the jurisdiction of the courts to investigate customary rights in the takutai moana.  The 2004 Act provided for the recognition of new lesser rights, should Māori be able to meet the tests specified in the legislation.  The legislation was heavily criticised and deemed inconsistent with the treaty,  the rule of law, and international human rights law, where it extinguished the rights of Māori, but not the rights of other right holders.   The legislation was so controversial the 2004 Act was repealed by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011.   In the Crown’s mind, the 2011 Act is final, and the longstanding foreshore and seabed dispute related to Māori customary claims to the takutai moana is resolved by the legislation. 

The purpose of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 is to “establish a durable scheme to ensure the protection of the legitimate interests of all New Zealanders” in the takutai moana.    Under the new Act, the takutai moana is now given the special status of “common marine and coastal area”; an area that is “incapable of ownership” by the Crown, Māori or anyone else.   The Act states that it “acknowledges” the “Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi)” and “recognises” the “mana tuku iho” exercised in the common marine and coastal area by iwi, hapū, and whānau as tangata whenua.    Like the 2004 Act, the 2011 Act still bars Māori from obtaining common law customary rights in the takutai moana, and instead puts in place a regime for the recognition of new legal rights that are created by the Act itself.

The primary research question is:  Is the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 consistent with te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Māori version of the treaty?

The primary research question is answered by examining the colonial experience of Te Kapotai, a coastal hapū (tribe) in the Southern Bay of Islands from pre-te Tiriti times through to the present day.  It provides an account of how, over time, Crown law, policy and practice have eroded the ability of Te Kapotai to exercise their rangatiratanga (authority) over their takutai moana.  This thesis concludes that the 2011 Act is inconsistent with te Tiriti for four key reasons:
1.	The Act was developed and implemented without negotiation and consent from Māori;
2.	The Act continues to remove the customary rights and procedure for recognition of those rights that were previously available at common law; 
3.	The Act fails to provide for the exercise of rangatiratanga by Māori over the takutai moana as guaranteed under Article 2 of te Tiriti o Waitangi; and 
4.	The Act is in breach of the principle of equity and equal treatment under Article 3 of te Tiriti o Waitangi where it treats Māori and their rights to the takutai moana differently to how all other right/interest holders in the foreshore and seabed are treated.

This research recommends a multifaceted approach to resolving the takutai moana issue, which includes pausing the implementation of the 2011 Act, and the development of interim options to increase Māori participation in the management of the takutai moana.  It promotes that a transformational approach to the takutai moana issue can be achieved when te Tiriti is implemented, and when Māori can exercise rangatiratanga over the takutai moana in a manner that was intended under te Tiriti o Waitangi.

text: Nga Taumata o te Moana - A return to rangatiratanga over the takutai moana The Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 extinguished Māori customary rights to the foreshore and seabed at law by vesting ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown.   The Act prohibited Māori from having their customary rights recognised at common law by removing the jurisdiction of the courts to investigate customary rights in the takutai moana.  The 2004 Act provided for the recognition of new lesser rights, should Māori be able to meet the tests specified in the legislation.  The legislation was heavily criticised and deemed inconsistent with the treaty,  the rule of law, and international human rights law, where it extinguished the rights of Māori, but not the rights of other right holders.   The legislation was so controversial the 2004 Act was repealed by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011.   In the Crown’s mind, the 2011 Act is final, and the longstanding foreshore and seabed dispute related to Māori customary claims to the takutai moana is resolved by the legislation. 

The purpose of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 is to “establish a durable scheme to ensure the protection of the legitimate interests of all New Zealanders” in the takutai moana.    Under the new Act, the takutai moana is now given the special status of “common marine and coastal area”; an area that is “incapable of ownership” by the Crown, Māori or anyone else.   The Act states that it “acknowledges” the “Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi)” and “recognises” the “mana tuku iho” exercised in the common marine and coastal area by iwi, hapū, and whānau as tangata whenua.    Like the 2004 Act, the 2011 Act still bars Māori from obtaining common law customary rights in the takutai moana, and instead puts in place a regime for the recognition of new legal rights that are created by the Act itself.

The primary research question is:  Is the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 consistent with te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Māori version of the treaty?

The primary research question is answered by examining the colonial experience of Te Kapotai, a coastal hapū (tribe) in the Southern Bay of Islands from pre-te Tiriti times through to the present day.  It provides an account of how, over time, Crown law, policy and practice have eroded the ability of Te Kapotai to exercise their rangatiratanga (authority) over their takutai moana.  This thesis concludes that the 2011 Act is inconsistent with te Tiriti for four key reasons:
1.	The Act was developed and implemented without negotiation and consent from Māori;
2.	The Act continues to remove the customary rights and procedure for recognition of those rights that were previously available at common law; 
3.	The Act fails to provide for the exercise of rangatiratanga by Māori over the takutai moana as guaranteed under Article 2 of te Tiriti o Waitangi; and 
4.	The Act is in breach of the principle of equity and equal treatment under Article 3 of te Tiriti o Waitangi where it treats Māori and their rights to the takutai moana differently to how all other right/interest holders in the foreshore and seabed are treated.

This research recommends a multifaceted approach to resolving the takutai moana issue, which includes pausing the implementation of the 2011 Act, and the development of interim options to increase Māori participation in the management of the takutai moana.  It promotes that a transformational approach to the takutai moana issue can be achieved when te Tiriti is implemented, and when Māori can exercise rangatiratanga over the takutai moana in a manner that was intended under te Tiriti o Waitangi.

year: 2020