Showing papers in "Organization & Environment in 2015"

The Means and End of Greenwash

Abstract: Corporate claims about environmental performance have increased rapidly in recent years, as has the incidence of greenwash, that is, communication that misleads people into forming overly positive ...

Employee Green Behavior: A Theoretical Framework, Multilevel Review, and Future Research Agenda

Abstract: We propose a conceptual model based on person–environment interaction, job performance, and motivational theories to structure a multilevel review of the employee green behavior (EGB) literature and agenda for future research. We differentiate between required EGB prescribed by the organization and voluntary EGB performed at the employees’ discretion. The review investigates institutional-, organizational-, leader-, team-, and employee-level antecedents and outcomes of EGB and factors that mediate and moderate these relationships. We offer suggestions to facilitate the development of the field, and call for future research to adopt a multilevel perspective and to investigate the outcomes of EGB.

Embracing Tensions in Corporate Sustainability A Review of Research From Win-Wins and Trade-Offs to Paradoxes and Beyond

Abstract: Corporate sustainability is rife with tensions as firms seek to balance often divergent economic, social, and environmental goals. To assess how tensions have been addressed in past research and to...

Organizations, Climate Change, and Transparency: Reviewing the Literature on Carbon Disclosure

Abstract: The debate surrounding climate change often centers on companies’ contributions to global warming, which has led to an increase in the importance of carbon disclosure. We evaluate the current state of related research and identify its trends, coherences, and caveats via a systematic literature review. Sociopolitical theories of disclosure, economic theories of disclosure, and institutional theory serve as the main theoretical anchors for our exploration. The existing research emphasizes the determinants and, to a lesser extent, effects of carbon disclosure, as well as the associated regulatory issues such as voluntary versus mandatory disclosure. Additionally, we discuss related topics, such as assurance and risks. We find that a large portion of scholarly work provides no link to theory, despite the fact that such links can be identified, for example, from the financial disclosure literature. Finally, we report on the established knowledge and examine the need for additional research.

Organizational Perspectives of Industrial Symbiosis A Review and Synthesis

Abstract: Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a collaborative environmental action whereby firms share or exchange by-products, materials, energy, or waste as a way to economically reduce aggregate environmental impact. Research in IS has flourished over the past two decades, and the time is ripe for a coherent review of organizational perspectives on the topic, particularly since the practice of IS is rife with difficulties often attributed to “social” factors. We review the organizational perspectives found in IS literature using a two-dimensional framework considering the antecedents, consequences, lubricants, and limiters of IS assessed through institutional, network/system, organizational, and individual levels of analysis. Our framework highlights what organizational perspectives have been adopted so far and also points to avenues of future scholarship of this unique phenomenon.

Dynamics of Environmental and Financial Performance The Case of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract: While corporate sustainability has been defined as an approach that creates long-term value with minimum environmental damage, there is still little understanding of the time horizon over which imp...

Institutional Theory and the Natural Environment Research in (and on) the Anthropocene

Abstract: This review article summarizes the main tenets of institutional theory as they apply to the topic of the Anthropocene in the domain of organization and the natural environment. But our review is distinctive for two reasons: First, it is focused on providing avenues researching the Anthropocene Era. Second, while based on the trajectory of current, accumulated theory and research, our review is forward-looking in its orientation and thus aimed at guiding future work to explore the emergence of a new social reality in Anthropocene Society. We begin by summarizing the scientific research on the Anthropocene Era, then move to its implications for grand and midrange institutional theory principles, and of institutional principles for the study of it. We end with a call to reenergize and reradicalize the organization and the natural environment field to properly address the magnitude and scope of this shift to the Anthropocene.

Social, Environmental and Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research What Is Needed for Sustainability-as-Flourishing?

Abstract: What process of socioeconomic transformation might move humanity towards sustainability-as-flourishing, an ideal view of sustainability where life flourishes indefinitely on Earth? We suggest entre...

Toward a Theory of Purpose-Driven Urban Entrepreneurship

Abstract: Inspired by Shrivastava and Kennelly, we aim to extend theory on place-based entrepreneurship by highlighting the uniqueness of cities and the interplay between purpose-driven entrepreneurs and the urban places where they operate. This article sets out to conceptualize a middle-range theoretical framework and establish the boundary conditions for purpose-driven urban entrepreneurship based on a combination of inductive reasoning and deductive theorizing. We draw from sustainability and territorial development literatures and the complexity science view of entrepreneurship to establish units, laws of interaction, boundaries, and system states of purpose-driven urban entrepreneurship across three geospatial layers, and elaborate a complexity model comprising sources of opportunities, context, and venturing process. We conclude with potential avenues for further theoretical and empirical development of the purpose-driven urban entrepreneurship construct.

Toward Cognitive Plurality on Corporate Sustainability in Organizations The Role of Organizational Factors

Abstract: Running a company workshop on research collaborations between academia and private firms on corporate sustainability with sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers from around 20 European stock-quotes companies a couple of years ago yielded some most interesting insights. In the closing panel discussion, the participants were invited to share their experiences with cases where—in contrast to the business case idea—environmental or social issues did not easily align with financial objectives. No single participant spoke up on such a kind of experience. However, as soon as the official part of the workshop was over, numerous participants came to see the panelists, explaining that there were plenty of cases where different sustainability aspects were at odds but that it was inappropriate to speak about such experiences in public because it went against their firms’ official policy and credo that was built on a business case and the belief that sustainability pays off financially. These company representatives admitted that there were tensions and conflicts in corporate sustainability—but only in private, not in public. What this anecdote suggests is that there may be a disconnect between the official sustainability agenda of the firm and the way organizational members perceive and make sense of sustainability aspects—and that the official, business case–driven corporate sustainability discourse dominates over deviant and more pluralistic views of organizational members. In a similar vein, a recent study among 1,847 executives and managers found that roughly 70% perceive environmental and social issues as “significant” or “very significant,” yet only 10% see their organizations fully tackling these issues and another 40% feel that their organizations largely address these issues (Kiron, Kruschwitz, Rubel, Reeves, & Fuisz-Kehrbach, 2013). This disconnect between the way organizational members perceive sustainability issues and the action and strategies taken at the organizational level suggests that inside many organizations there may exist a dormant potential for more substantive responses to sustainability. However, this potential does not seem to fully surface and materialize and often individuals’ views on sustainability do not seem to trickle up to inform organizational-level responses to sustainability issues. Rather, it seems that the dominant business case logic (Gao & Bansal, 2013; Hahn & Figge, 2011) and the economics language that it uses (Ferraro, Pfeffer, & Sutton, 2005) dominate over alternative views held by organizational members. In view of the often-bemoaned reluctance of many firms

A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Framework of Corporate Water Responsibility:

Abstract: This article offers a conceptual framework that comprehensively describes essential aspects of corporate water responsibility. What heretofore has been essentially regarded as an issue to be tackled by governmental institutions, and therefore not perceived as an important component of the value that is created for the institutional and private owners of profit-driven companies, is explicitly treated here as a corporate responsibility. Bridging knowledge domains, I review major research works conducted by management, corporate sustainability, and (welfare) economics scholars and focusing on water management issues to unveil the conditions under which corporations are likely to manage, or to be challenged in managing, water in responsible/sustainable ways. Three types of “tensions” that confront academics and managers alike are discussed: voluntary actions versus coercion, free riding versus cooperation, and economic versus corporate water responsibility motives. I propose a three-dimensional framework of c...

Being Good When Not Doing Well: Examining the Effect of the Economic Downturn on Small Manufacturing Firms’ Ongoing Sustainability-Oriented Initiatives

Abstract: How firms behave under conditions of decline and resource constraints has not been considered in the corporate sustainability literature. This leaves unanswered the question how much we should rely...

Being Green Against the Wind? The Moderating Effect of Munificence on Acquiring Environmental Competitive Advantages:

Abstract: We analyze the effect of munificence on the development of a proactive environmental strategy (PES) and firm performance. In addition, we examine the moderating role of perceived munificence on the...

Living With Contradictions The Dynamics of Senior Managers’ Identity Tensions in Relation to Sustainability

Abstract: In this article, we investigate how senior managers located in Northern Europe in the energy and power industry coordinate their recognition of sustainability challenges with other things they say and do. Identity theory is used to examine the fine-grained work through which the managers navigate identities and potentially competing narratives. In contrast with other studies we find that pursuing cohering identities and resolving potential tensions and contradictions does not appear to matter for most of the managers. We explore the dynamics of how managers live with apparent contradictions and tensions without threat to their narrative coherence. We extend existing research into managerial identities and sustainability by showing how managers combine different potentially contrasting identity types, identifying nine discursive processes through which the majority of managers distance and deflect sustainability issues away from themselves and their companies, and, showing the contrasting identity dynamics in the case of one manager to whom narrative coherence becomes important and prompts alternative action.

Pro-Environmental Change and Short- to Mid-Term Economic Performance The Mediating Effect of Organisational Design Change

Abstract: The aim of this study is to contribute empirically to the understanding of the economic effects of pro-environmental change in firms. First, we analyse whether pro-environmental changes performed i...

Does “Local” Mean Ethical? The U.S. “Buy Local” Movement and CSR in SMEs

Abstract: “Buy Local” campaigns argue that consumers who patronize local firms instead of national chains reap broad economic, social, and ecological benefits for their home communities. These campaigns, which seek to create social change through market forces, imply that “local” means ethical. What ethical claims do localism advocates make for the benefits of local consumption, and how do they verify those claims? And how does the buy-local case inform broader debates on ethical markets? We find that U.S. buy-local organizations routinely focused on marketing concerns and failed to police members’ socially responsible bona fides. We also find that prolocal organizations promoted community cohesion and served an important role in disseminating sustainability information through new networks. We suggest that small- and medium-sized enterprises, which face particular challenges in authenticating claims for their economic and ecological impact, should consider restricting claims to their more specific and more easily ...

Managing the Poverty–CO2 Reductions Paradox: The Case of China and the EU

Abstract: This article examines the “Poverty–CO2 (carbon dioxide) Reductions Paradox,” wherein reducing poverty through economic growth simultaneously increases CO2 emissions from increased production and co...

Invisible Compromises Global Business, Local Ecosystems, and the Commercial Bumble Bee Trade

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to challenge organizational scholars, management educators, and business leaders to consider more deeply the impact of global business activities on local ecosystems....

Taking Stock, Looking Ahead: Editors' Introduction to the Inaugural Organization & Environment Review Issue

Abstract: In summer 2015, the Organizations and the Natural Environment Division of the Academy of Management will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its first formal conference program back in 1995. Over the past two decades, a vibrant and engaged scholarly community has generated thousands of empirical and conceptual studies on the complex relationships between organizations and their natural and social environments. Each individual study focuses on specific research questions crafted to meet the rigorous requirements of academic journals. However, too often our journal publishing and professional norms push us to focus on small, incremental contributions to knowledge. Anniversaries can remind us to pause, take stock, and build on the past to shape a new future. The Organization & Environment (O&E) editorial board decided to provide a venue for this anniversary celebration: a special issue where as a community of scholars we can reflect on where we have been, what we have learned, and what remains to be understood to both further our field and help society address pressing environmental challenges. In this first review issue of O&E, we hoped to draw insight and inspiration from in-depth reviews of specific topics. Our call for articles invited authors to reflect on the state of theory, empirical research, and practice in relation to key questions at the interface of organizations and the natural environment. We sought out comprehensive and analytical reviews of recent research that synthesized, integrated, and extended our thinking. We encouraged authors to anchor their thoughts in detailed retrospection on past and current research, and to identify the key theoretical, empirical, methodological, or practical challenges of future O&E research. There was an enthusiastic response from the community of scholars and in the end, we have assembled a group of six articles.1 Each offers a stand-alone review of a particular phenomenon within the O&E domain. Together they showcase the wide range of scholarship addressing topics ranging from the macro to the micro foundations of our field. Beginning at the macro end of the spectrum, Hoffman and Jennings (2015) alert us to the challenges of our own making as they introduce the concept of the Anthropocene to our scholarly conversation. By asking us to contemplate the implications of the permanent and unprecedented stratospheric and geologic impacts that we as humans are having on our planet, they connect the

Organising for Ecological Repair: Reconstructing Land Management Practice

Abstract: In this article, we explore organising narratives that underpin the generation of effective ecological solutions. We examine the processes of meaning construction in relation to the development of ...

In Vino Veritas Understanding Sustainability With Environmental Certified Management Standards

Abstract: This article explores differences in the degrees of agreement regarding sustainability among adopters and nonadopters of environmental certified management standards (ECMS). Utilizing a mixed metho...

The Downside of (and Antidotes to) Unhelpful Stealth Sustainability

Abstract: Several recent articles in this and a number of other related journals, as well as Academy of Management and other sustainability-related conference presentations, have focused on the concept, practice, and results of “greenwashing,” or the making of sustainability claims for products, processes, and organizations that are unwarranted, if not wholly untrue. As important as that topic is to the field of organizations and environment, the opposite may be equally problematic— sometimes referred to as “brownwashing,” which may be a form of stealth sustainability, the latter of which has also been described as smarter sustainability marketing. However, for several years, I have been using the term stealth sustainability in a different way. The latter is the implementation of sustainability projects and achievement of sustainability results that are not acknowledged publicly and, at times, are hidden from the general public, media, and/or other stakeholders to the detriment, rather than for the benefit, of advancing sustainability. Stealth sustainability can occur at any level of human activity, including the individual, organizational, community, and societal levels, and given the nature of anything that is stealthy, it is often difficult to detect and, therefore, also difficult to emulate or to improve. That is, stealth sustainability can be far less helpful than it might be. But given the generally positive feedback most sustainability entities would likely receive if their respective sustainability profiles were made visible, why would individuals, organizations, and others adopt and practice a stealth sustainability strategy? Possible reasons for this counterintuitive approach are fear of being scrutinized; fear of eventual conceptual, product, or project problems including failure; and fear of raising expectations, both internally and externally, that even more or better sustainability projects will be developed on an ongoing basis in the future. Another reason, which has been the focus of one use of the term brownwashing (Kim & Lyon, 2014), is the fear that one or more stakeholders might not look favorably on the idea or the results of sustainability management. So fear may be a major generalized factor in why those who engage in sustainability management may be hesitant to make that information public. However, as understandable as that emotion is, several other human characteristics, including altruism, self-pride, leadership, and rationality, may be summoned to balance out those fears. Why would such a transformation of human motivation and behavior be beneficial? If, as it appears, both environmental and socioeconomic sustainability need to be advanced to become central organizing principles in all human cultures, significant numbers of individuals, organizations, networks, and communities within those cultures apparently need to not only adopt and execute sustainability projects but also need to promote both their successes and their nonsuccesses, so that we can learn from one another and use those lessons to improve and increase those sustainability projects so that they diffuse throughout, and eventually shape, our cultures in sustainability directions. No promotion, no learning, no advancement.

The Emergence of New Markets for Environmental Services: The Role of U.S. Shellfish Industry Associations

Abstract: Does membership in industry associations affect whether firms extend beyond their traditional markets? I use a data set from a survey of U.S. shellfishermen and empirically examine the relationship between membership in associations and participation in new markets. Traditionally, shellfishermen have been growing and harvesting shellfish for human consumption. However, some shellfishermen also engage in alternative revenue-generating environmental projects such as coastal restoration, clean-up, and research. Drawing on the organizational literature on associations and economic sociology literature, I test hypotheses about whether associations contribute to generating value and promoting cooperation among their members thus fulfilling requirements for a new market to emerge. I find that shellfishermen who are members of industry associations are more likely to participate in alternative revenue-generating activities and derive revenues from environmental projects. I argue that industry associations play an...

Practicing What We Teach (and Research): Paradoxes on the Paths to Advancing Sustainable Academic Careers and Lifestyles

Abstract: Colleagues and Other Dear Readers — an introductory note on this editorial: a couple of years ago, in an early editorial after J. Alberto Aragon-Correa and I officially became Co-Editors-inChief of this journal at the start of 2013, I provocatively titled that piece “Sustainability Management Academics: How’s That Going?”, implying that academic sustainability management as a profession is a challenging one. And, I mentioned, though barely so, that, in my opinion, one of the aspects of being a successful sustainability management academic, at least from a leadership standpoint, was practicing sustainability, not only in our professional but also in our personal lives. We each have the potential to influence many stakeholders beyond our official research, teaching, and service job responsibilities, including our family members, friends, neighbors, community residents, and even complete strangers whom we happen to meet in the course of our daily lives. A few years before that, I wrote an essay titled “Sustainable Living Beyond 9-to-5” (Starik, 2004) in which I humbly but more directly asserted that to be true to our profession of sustainability management, we needed to practice the principles of that profession outside of our jobs, and I suggested a number of ways some Academy of Management leaders (each associated with the Academy’s Organizations and the Natural Environment, or ONE, Division whom I knew personally) were actually trying to do just that. This idea of “personal academic sustainability management” became painfully salient for yours truly when several months ago I accepted an open term (or “continuing”) research faculty position with the University of Technology, Sydney, in downtown Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, necessitating a reassessment of all, and a relocation of most, of my worldly belongings from San Francisco, California, where I had been researching and teaching sustainability management at San Francisco State University. That cross-oceanic move inspired me to address this topic in my own personal/professional life in this issue’s editorial. Happily, though, as the result of several trips outside Australia, I met two of my friends and veteran ONE colleagues (Kate Kearins and Eva Collins) in New Zealand, had great visits with them, and eventually asked Eva to join me in developing a collaborative guest editorial on the general issue of personal academic sustainability management. [Some of Kate’s work was featured in an O&E issue in 2013 (Tregidga, Kearins, & Milne, 2013)]. So, after a brief introduction to the excellent articles in this