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Abstract
Purpose: The aim is to evaluate level of challenges encountered by firms in implementing sustainable business practices, their dimensions, and how those challenges can be combated for long-term value creation.
Motivation: The pursuit of sustainable development goals (SDGs) has recently changed how businesses are conducted and shifted organizational focus from wealth maximization to value maximization. Now, definition of a successful business is linked to its ability to create long-term value. This pursuit has been reported to yield a different result level over years, which could be due to some challenges that may not be found in annual reports.
Methodology: As a case study, this study focuses on four leading oil and gas firms in Nigeria, with 20 respondents drawn from each company, making a sample of 80 respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the primary data gathered, which were further subjected to empirical testing using the Z-test technique.
Findings: Evidence revealed significant and low challenges in implementing sustainable business practices for long-term value creation. Results from this study also show three basic challenges in implementing sustainable business practices in West Africa: instability challenges, which are mostly external, structural challenges, which are mostly internal, and governance challenges, which are perceived as both internal and external.
Research implications: Several avenues have been suggested for future studies as a follow-up on this study, including conducting a study to identify extent to which each of challenges identified in this research affects sustainability pursuit and long-term value creation within or outside oil and gas industry and across countries.
Practical implications: Outcome of this study serves to develop sustainable business practices, policies, and strategies by enhancing an understanding of challenges in implementation and offering advancement options.
Social implications: The conceptualization provided in this study informs government and international policymakers on the appropriateness of existing governance models for the attainment of sustainable development, the firm-level limitations and areas to focus policy emphasis that would help firms achieve long-term value creation for sustainable development.
Originality/value: This study is one of the first contemporary studies to evaluate the firm-level challenges to sustainable development and long-term value creation in sub-Saharan Africa. In its uniqueness, this study addresses the challenges identified by offering suggestions for advancement. Also, the focus on oil and gas firms presents a “worst-case scenario” of the implementation challenges of sustainable business practices.
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article Type: Research Article
EUR J SUSTAIN DEV RES, Volume 9, Issue 3, 2025, Article No: em0291
https://doi.org/10.29333/ejosdr/16333
Publication date: 01 Jul 2025
Online publication date: 05 May 2025
Article Views: 354
Article Downloads: 166
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