Case Study: Exploratory Assessment of Sustainability Capability of Textile and Apparel Corporations in China

The researchers approach the first MRCS question of whether each company views sustainability as a perfect duty by examining firms' statements for evidence of their sustainability perceptions. Researchers first discussed and agreed with one another on what statements indicate perfect duty or imperfect duty, and then differentiated and coded each company according to it. The first author initially did coding. The second author then reviewed the initial coding and reviewed them all. Whenever there was a disagreement, two researchers discussed and resolved any discrepancies. As a result, at the end of the entire coding process, both authors had 100% agreement on interpretation and coding. This coding process was applied for the content analysis of corporate sustainability goals and structures as well.

Table 2 contains examples of text data showing companies' perception of sustainability as described in their sustainability reports. Statements taken to suggest the perception of sustainability as a perfect duty referred to believing in sustainability and/or having a sustainability mission; for example, "as a social citizen, corporations must take itself as a part of the community and assume social responsibility [作为社会公民, 必须融入社会群体, 承担社会责任]", "taking sustainability as the core value of the corporation [可持续发展作为公司的核心价值]", etc. Researchers grouped companies expressing such statements into "perfect duty" companies, which were coded as 1. Statements taken to suggest the perception of sustainability as a imperfect duty referred to sustainability being an accessorial duty and/or beneficial means to enhance the corporate image; for example, "we realize the importance of environmental and social sustainability to our group [我们意识到环境及社会可持续发展对本集团而言至关重要]", "good performance of social responsibility can enhance brand value and competitiveness [良好的社会责任能够提升品牌价值和企业竞争力]", etc. Researchers classified companies expressing such statements into "imperfect duty" companies, which were coded as 0. Companies expressed no statement on their opinions or perceptions on sustainability were grouped into "no description" companies, which were coded as null.

Table 2 Data examples and coding explanation of sustainability perception