Mind the gaps! Navigating multiple intellectual challenges to boost strategic alignment with the SDGs

Rob van Tulder

Chapter 2 in The Elgar Companion to International Business and the Sustainable Development Goals, 2026, pp 12-38 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter examines the critical role of International Business (IB) scholarship in addressing societal challenges through the lens of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The chapter argues that while the SDGs’ implementation has faced setbacks since 2015, the framework remains the most comprehensive approach for aligning business strategies with sustainable development. The chapter identifies and analyzes seven key gaps that need filling: strategy, finance and investment, governance, leadership, data, innovation, and skills gaps. Despite slow progress in SDG achievement globally, the agenda has produced three significant dividends: governance (through national policy documentation), data (through improved metrics and harmonization), and frontrunner (through corporate adoption and strategic alignment). The author presents frameworks and tools for corporate action on SDGs, structured around six ‘how to make it’ questions: resilient, strategic, material, powerful, functional, and collaborative. The chapter concludes that engaged IB scholarship must facilitate these questions through teaching and research, requiring new profiles for scholars who can work in partnership with practitioners while maintaining independence. This approach demands a balance between teaching, research, and engagement, presenting both challenges and opportunities for academics and business schools in contributing to sustainable development.

Keywords: Sustainable development goals (SDGs); International business; Corporate strategy; Multinational enterprises; Stakeholder engagement; Sustainability gaps (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035348473
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