Share:


The nexus of government incentives and sustainable development goals: is the management of resources the solution to non-profit organisations?

    Muhammad Anwar   Affiliation
    ; Muhammad Sualeh Khattak   Affiliation
    ; József Popp   Affiliation
    ; Daniel Francois Meyer   Affiliation
    ; Domicián Máté   Affiliation

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become the main priority across the globe due to their significant role in economic growth and propensity. However, in particular, it is not yet known how governments can achieve SDGs through non-profit organisations (NPOs) by providing financial and non-financial incentives. The present study included 263 Pakistan NPOs in a primary survey using a questionnaire. The results obtained from the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) highlight that: (i) government incentives do not directly influence community development; (ii) The government non-financial incentives have a significant direct effect on environmental activities to reduce pollution, energy consumption and waste; (iii) Resource management fully mediates the paths between government incentives and community development while partially mediates environmental activities; and finally, (iv) resource management has a favourable influence both on the goals of community development and environmental activities. This research paper contributes to the knowledge in that government incentives do not have a direct influence on social development, but has an indirect influence through efficient management. Recommendations are that government and public bodies need to support NPOs to engage actively in philanthropic activities. Similarly, NPOs should efficiently utilize and manage the resources to benefit the maximum number of poor and needy individuals.


First published online 22 September 2020

Keyword : community development, environmental activities, emerging economies, government incentives, NPOs, resource management, SDGs

How to Cite
Anwar, M., Khattak, M. S., Popp, J., Meyer, D. F., & Máté, D. (2020). The nexus of government incentives and sustainable development goals: is the management of resources the solution to non-profit organisations?. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 26(6), 1284-1310. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2020.13404
Published in Issue
Nov 17, 2020
Abstract Views
2406
PDF Downloads
1627
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Aceleanu, M. I., Șerban, A. C., Țîrcă, D. M., & Badea, L. (2018). The rural sustainable development through renewable energy. The case of Romania. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 24(4), 1408–1434. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2017.1303650

Adams, R., Kewell, B., & Parry, G. (2018). Blockchain for good? Digital ledger technology and sustainable development goals. In World sustainability series (pp. 127–140). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67122-2_7

Ali, M. H., Zailani, S., Iranmanesh, M., & Foroughi, B. (2019). Impacts of environmental factors on waste, energy, and resource management and sustainable performance. Sustainability, 11(8), 2443. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082443

Ali, S. H., Giurco, D., Arndt, N., Nickless, E., Brown, G., Demetriades, A., Durrheim, R., Enriquez, M. A., Kinnaird, J., Littleboy, A., Meinert, L. D., Oberhänsli, R., Salem, J., Schodde, R., Schneider, G., Vidal, O., & Yakovleva, N. (2017). Mineral supply for sustainable development requires resource governance. Nature, 543(7645), 367–372. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21359

Alińska, A., Filipiak, B., & Kosztowniak, A. (2018). The importance of the public sector in sustainable development in Poland. Sustainability, 10(9), 3278. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093278

Annan-Diab, F., & Molinari, C. (2017). Interdisciplinarity: Practical approach to advancing education for sustainability and for the Sustainable Development Goals. The International Journal of Management Education, 15(2), 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2017.03.006

Anton, W. R. Q., Deltas, G., & Khanna, M. (2004). Incentives for environmental self-regulation and implications for environmental performance. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 48(1), 632–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2003.06.003

Anwar, M., Zaman Khan, S., & Ali Shah, S. Z. (2020). A study of the relationship between innovation and performance among NPOs in Pakistan. Journal of Social Service Research, 46(1), 26–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2018.1516265

Apostolopoulos, N., Al-Dajani, H., Holt, D., Jones, P., & Newbery, R. (Eds.). (2018). How social enterprises can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – A conceptual framework. In Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable development goals. Contemporary issues in entrepreneurship research (pp. 33–46). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-724620188

Arhin, A. (2016). Advancing post-2015 Sustainable development goals in a changing development landscape: Challenges of NGOs in Ghana. Development in Practice, 26(5), 555–568. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2016.1189513

Armstrong, J. S., & Overton, T. S. (1977). Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. Journal of Marketing Research, 14(3), 396. https://doi.org/10.2307/3150783

Aryal, K., Laudari, H. K., & Ojha, H. R. (2020). To what extent is Nepal’s community forestry contributing to the sustainable development goals? An institutional interaction perspective. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 27(1), 28–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2019.1627681

Ayuso, S., & Navarrete-Báez, F. E. (2018). How does entrepreneurial and international orientation influence SMEs’ commitment to sustainable development? Empirical evidence from Spain and Mexico. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25(1), 80–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1441

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108

Barua, S. (2019). Financing sustainable development goals: A review of challenges and mitigation strategies. Business Strategy & Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsd2.94

Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238– 246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238

Blum, H., & Legey, L. F. L. (2012). The challenging economics of energy security: Ensuring energy benefits in support to sustainable development. Energy Economics, 34(6), 1982–1989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2012.08.013

Borumand, A., & Rasti-Barzoki, M. (2019). A game-theoretic approach to greening, pricing, and advertising policies in a green supply chain. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Production Research, 30(3), 273–286. https://doi.org/10.22068/ijiepr.30.3.273

Boţa-Avram, C., Groşanu, A., Răchişan, P.-R., & Gavriletea, M. (2018). The bidirectional causality between country-level governance, economic growth and sustainable development: a cross-country data analysis. Sustainability, 10(2), 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020502

Bowen, K. J., Cradock-Henry, N. A., Koch, F., Patterson, J., Hayha, T., Vogt, J., & Barbi, F. (2017). Implementing the “Sustainable Development Goals”: towards addressing three key governance challenges – collective action, trade-offs, and accountability. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 26–27, 90–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.05.002

Carius, F., & Job, H. (2019). Community involvement and tourism revenue sharing as contributing factors to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Jozani–Chwaka Bay National Park and Biosphere Reserve, Zanzibar. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(6), 826–846. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2018.1560457

Chai, Y., & Schoon, M. (2016). Institutions and government efficiency: Decentralized irrigation management in China. International Journal of the Commons, 10(1), 21–44. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.555

Cheng, H., Hu, X., & Zhou, R. (2019). How firms select environmental behaviours in China: The framework of environmental motivations and performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 208, 132–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.09.096

Christmann, P., & Taylor, G. (2001). Globalization and the environment: determinants of firm selfregulation in China. Journal of International Business Studies, 32, 439–458. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.277452

Cucchiella, F., D’Adamo, I., Gastaldi, M., & Miliacca, M. (2018). Efficiency and allocation of emission allowances and energy consumption over more sustainable European economies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 182, 805–817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.079

Danso, A., Adomako, S., Amankwah‐Amoah, J., Owusu‐Agyei, S., & Konadu, R. (2019). Environmental sustainability orientation, competitive strategy and financial performance. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(5), 885–895. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2291

Degong, M., Ullah, F., Khattak, M. S., & Anwar, M. (2018). Do international capabilities and resources configure firm’s sustainable competitive performance? Research within Pakistani SMEs. Sustainability, 10(11), 4298. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114298

Deng, W., Yang, T., Tang, L., & Tang, Y. T. (2018). Barriers and policy recommendations for developing green buildings from local government perspective: a case study of Ningbo China. Intelligent Buildings International, 10(2), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508975.2016.1248342

Devalkar, S. K., Sohoni, M. G., & Arora, P. (2017). Ex-post funding: how should a resource-constrained non-profit organization allocate its funds? Production and Operations Management, 26(6), 1035–1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.12633

Doering, O. (1992). Federal policies as incentives or disincentives to ecologically sustainable agricultural systems. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 2(3), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1300/J064v02n03_03

Feliciano, D. (2019). A review on the contribution of crop diversification to Sustainable Development Goal 1 “No poverty” in different world regions. Sustainable Development, 27(4), 795–808. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1923

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312

Gao, J., Liang, Z., Shang, J., & Xu, Z. (2019). Remanufacturing with patented technique royalty under asymmetric information and uncertain markets. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 26(3), 599–620. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2019.10287

Guo, Y., Xia, X., Zhang, S., & Zhang, D. (2018). Environmental regulation, government R & D funding and green technology innovation: Evidence from China provincial data. Sustainability, 10(4), 940. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10040940

Hafezi, M., & Zolfagharinia, H. (2018). Green product development and environmental performance: Investigating the role of government regulations. International Journal of Production Economics, 204, 395–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.08.012

Hair, J., Black, B., Babin, B., & Anderson, R. (2010). Multivariate data analysis. Prentice-Hall.

Hair, J. F., Babin, B. J., & Krey, N. (2017). Covariance-based structural equation modeling in the journal of advertising: review and recommendations. Journal of Advertising, 46(1), 163–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2017.1281777

Hall, J., & Matos, S. (2010). Incorporating impoverished communities in sustainable supply chains. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 40, 124–147. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600031011020368

Harangozo, G., & Zilahy, G. (2015). Cooperation between business and non-governmental organizations to promote sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 89, 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.10.092

Hassan, M. M., Lee, K. E., & Mokhtar, M. (2019). Streamlining non‐governmental organizations’ programs towards achieving the sustainable development goals: A conceptual framework. Sustainable Development, 27(3), 401–408. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1912

Hayes, A. F., & Scharkow, M. (2013). The relative trustworthiness of inferential tests of the indirect effect in statistical mediation analysis: does method really matter? Psychological Science, 24(10), 1918–1927. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613480187

Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. (2007). Structural equation modeling: guidelines for determining model fit. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53–80.

Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

Huang, S. K., Kuo, L., & Chou, K. L. (2018). The impacts of government policies on green utilization diffusion and social benefits – A case study of electric motorcycles in Taiwan. Energy Policy, 119, 473–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.061

Ilyas, S., Hu, Z., & Wiwattanakornwong, K. (2020). Unleashing the role of top management and government support in green supply chain management and sustainable development goals. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(8), 8210–8223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07268-3

Imaz, M., & Sheinbaum, C. (2017). Science and technology in the framework of the sustainable development goals. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 14, 2–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-04-2016-0030

Jayaraman, R., La Torre, D., Malik, T., & Pearson, Y. E. (2015). Optimal work force allocation for energy, economic and environmental sustainability in the united arab emirates: a goal programming approach. In Energy procedia (Vol. 75, pp. 2999–3006). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.611

Kung, C.-C., Zhang, L., & Kong, F. (2016). How government subsidy leads to sustainable bioenergy development. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 112, 275–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.03.003

Lin, H. (2019). Government–business partnerships for radical eco-innovation. Business & Society, 58(3), 533–573. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650316684822

Long, H., Tu, S., Ge, D., Li, T., & Liu, Y. (2016). The allocation and management of critical resources in rural China under restructuring: Problems and prospects. Journal of Rural Studies, 47, 392–412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.03.011

MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, P. M. (2012). Common method bias in marketing: causes, mechanisms, and procedural remedies. Journal of Retailing, 88(4), 542–555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2012.08.001

Memon, A., Yong An, Z., & Memon, M. Q. (2020). Does financial availability sustain financial, innovative, and environmental performance? Relation via opportunity recognition. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(2), 562–575. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1820

Merino-Saum, A., Baldi, M. G., Gunderson, I., & Oberle, B. (2018). Articulating natural resources and sustainable development goals through green economy indicators: A systematic analysis. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 139, 90–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.07.007

Mia, M. A., Nasrin, S., & Cheng, Z. (2016). Quality, quantity and financial sustainability of microfinance: Does resource allocation matter? Quality and Quantity, 50(3), 1285–1298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-015-0205-1

Morgan, T., Tokman, M., Richey, R., & Defee, C. (2018). Resource commitment and sustainability: a reverse logistics performance process model. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(2), 164–182. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-02-2017-0068

Nhamo, G. (2020). Higher education and the energy sustainable development goal: policies and projects from University of South Africa. In G. Nhamo, & V. Mjimba (Eds.), Sustainable development goals and institutions of higher education (pp. 31–48). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26157-3_3

Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory, Issue 972. McGraw-Hill.

Olson, R. K. (1992). Integrating sustainable agriculture, ecology, and environmental policy. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 2(3), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1300/J064v02n03_01

Omer, M. A. B., & Noguchi, T. (2020). A conceptual framework for understanding the contribution of building materials in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable Cities and Society, 52, 101869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101869

Onnis, L. (2019). Human resource management policy choices, management practices and health workforce sustainability: remote Australian perspectives. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 57(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12159

Pakdeechoho, N., & Sukhotu, V. (2018). Sustainable supply chain collaboration: Incentives in emerging economies. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 29(2), 273–294. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-05-2017-0081

Pennerstorfer, A., & Neumayr, M. (2017). Examining the association of welfare state expenditure, nonprofit regimes and charitable giving. Voluntas, 28(2), 532–555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-016-9739-7

Rasul, G. (2016). Managing the food, water, and energy nexus for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in South Asia. Environmental Development, 18, 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2015.12.001

Rodríguez Bolívar, M. P., Navarro Galera, A., Alcaide Muñoz, L., & López Subirés, M. D. (2016). Risk factors and drivers of financial sustainability in local government: An empirical study. Local Government Studies, 42(1), 29–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2015.1061506

Rosati, F., & Faria, L. G. D. (2019). Business contribution to the Sustainable Development Agenda: Organizational factors related to early adoption of SDG reporting. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(3), 588–597. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1705

Rutkauskas, A. V., Miečinskienė, A., & Stasytytė, V. (2008). Investment decisions modelling along sustainable development concept on financial markets. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 14(3), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.3846/1392-8619.2008.14.417-427

Sarikaya, S., & Buhl, H. U. (2020). The challenge of resource allocation in the nonprofit sector: determining the right amount of fundraising expenses. Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1080/10495142.2019.1708527

Scheyvens, R., Banks, G., & Hughes, E. (2016). The private sector and the SDGs: The Need to move beyond ‘Business as Usual’. Sustainable Development, 24(6), 371–382. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1623

Sheu, J. B., & Chen, Y. J. (2012). Impact of government financial intervention on competition among green supply chains. International Journal of Production Economics, 138(1), 201–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2012.03.024

Song, M., Fisher, R., & Kwoh, Y. (2019). Technological challenges of green innovation and sustainable resource management with large scale data. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 144, 361–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.07.055

Songling, Y., Ishtiaq, M., Anwar, M., & Ahmed, H. (2018). The role of government support in sustainable competitive position and firm performance. Sustainability, 10(10), 3495. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103495

Stigson, P., & Dahlquist, E. (2017). Policies and incentives – natural resources available today and in the future: How to perform change management for achieving a sustainable world. In Natural resources available today and in the future: how to perform change management for achieving a sustainable world (pp. 269–280). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54263-8_10

Sueyoshi, T., & Goto, M. (2019). DEA non-radial approach for resource allocation and energy usage to enhance corporate sustainability in Japanese manufacturing industries. Energies, 12(9), 1785. https://doi.org/10.3390/en12091785

Sueyoshi, T., & Yuan, Y. (2015). China’s regional sustainability and diversified resource allocation: DEA environmental assessment on economic development and air pollution. Energy Economics, 49(49), 239–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2015.01.024

United Nations. (2003). Studies in methods, Series 61(1), Handbook of national accounting: integrated environmental and economic accounting.

Vasco-Correa, J., Khanal, S., Manandhar, A., & Shah, A. (2018). Anaerobic digestion for bioenergy production: Global status, environmental and techno-economic implications, and government policies. Bioresource Technology, 247, 1015–1026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.004

Vladimirova, K., & Le Blanc, D. (2016). Exploring links between education and sustainable development goals through the lens of UN flagship reports. Sustainable Development, 24(4), 254–271. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1626

Wang, Z., Huo, J., & Duan, Y. (2020). The impact of government incentives and penalties on willingness to recycle plastic waste: An evolutionary game theory perspective. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 14(2), 625–633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1208-2

Wilmshurst, T. D., & Frost, G. R. (2001). The role of accounting and the accountant in the environmental management system. Business Strategy and the Environment, 10(3), 135–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.283

Wu, J., & Si, S. (2018). Poverty reduction through entrepreneurship: Incentives, social networks, and sustainability. Asian Business and Management, 17(4), 243–259. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-018-0039-5

Yusoff, N. M., Ishak, N. A., Samad, N. H. A., & Roslan, N. (2017). Financial crisis 2008: Impacts on sustainability of non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Malaysia. Advanced Science Letters, 23(8), 7456–7459. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2017.9497

Zaman, K., Abdullah, I., & Ali, M. (2017). Decomposing the linkages between energy consumption, air pollution, climate change, and natural resource depletion in Pakistan. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 36(2), 638–648. https://doi.org/10.1002/ep.12519

Zhai, Z., Shan, M., & Le, Y. (2020). Investigating the Impact of governmental governance on megaproject performance: evidence from China. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 26(2), 449–478. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2020.11334

Zhang, H., Xiong, L., Li, L., & Zhang, S. (2018). Political incentives, transformation efficiency and resource-exhausted cities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 196, 1418–1428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.093

Zhang, J. J., & Guan, J. (2018). The time-varying impacts of government incentives on innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 135, 132–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.04.012

Zhu, H., & Yoshikawa, T. (2016). Contingent value of director identification: The role of government directors in monitoring and resource provision in an emerging economy. Strategic Management Journal, 37(8), 1787–1807. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2408