How can scientists and engineers contribute to organisational sustainability reform?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore how research and development (R&D) scientists and engineers can contribute to sustainability initiatives in their organisations. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a critical case study methodology, focussed on a large Vietnamese company in which business leaders sought to engage R&D scientists and engineers in sustainability initiatives focussed on eco-innovation and eco-efficiency. Bourdieu’s theoretical lens of habitus, capitals and field facilitates a relational analysis of the findings. Findings While R&D scientists and engineers adapted well to early changes aligned with eco-innovation, they struggled to engage with sustainability initiatives in the case firm. This study explains adaptions and constraints as scientists and engineers’ professional habitus and capitals, and their broader organisational field. Practical implications This paper provides insight into how organisations might integrate professional acculturation and appropriate facilitators to promote the additional contribution of scientists and engineers to sustainability initiatives in the context of an organisation. Social implications Although eco-innovation and eco-efficiency are only potential dimensions of comprehensive organisational sustainability reform, this research provides insight into how engaging scientists and engineers with a broader social sustainability agenda might be advanced. Originality/value The study addresses calls for empirical insights into ways that scientists and engineers can commit to organisational sustainability practices based on the configurations of habitus, capital and organisational field.

The survival of hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical case study in Vietnam

“…Habitus was defined as a “system of durable, transposable dispositions” (Bourdieu 1990 , p. 87), or in other words, habitus is a consequence of tradition, the continuity, and constancy of behaviors, which are assured over time. Bourdieu ( 1990 , p. 88) highlighted the dependability of habitus as follows: “habitus tends to ensure its own constancy and its defense against change through the selection it makes with new information by rejecting information capable of calling into question its accumulated information.” However, Bourdieu ( 1990 , p. 88) denies that habitus allowed “the free production of all the thoughts, perceptions and actions inherent in the particular conditions of its production, and only those.” Rather, habitus constructs a middle field between the agent’s rights and the artificial determinism of activities (Hoang et al 2020 ).…”

“…However, Bourdieu (1990, p. 88) denies that habitus allowed "the free production of all the thoughts, perceptions and actions inherent in the particular conditions of its production, and only those." Rather, habitus constructs a middle field between the agent's rights and the artificial determinism of activities (Hoang et al 2020).…”

The influence of family culture on the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of immigrant enterprise: a case of Korean business in Vietnam

“…Although CSR activities are mainly associated with organisations in developed countries, different concepts of CSR have recently emerged in the developing world. However, the comprehensive understanding of the long-term benefits of CSR is still low and in its infancy, owing to the fact that most of the businesses in developing countries are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the CSR agenda and CSR practices of these firms were to either improve corporate reputation, attract attention from potential investors or satisfy regulatory requirements (Jamali and Neville, 2011; Jamali et al , 2017; Hoang et al , 2020a). In the same vein, Nguyen et al (2019) examined the optimal level of CSR, as demonstrated by businesses in developing countries and concluded that SMEs could promote sustainability, increase new business opportunities and innovations through CSR activities.…”

“…Bourdieu’s (1986) theoretical perspective placed the activities shaped by an individual in an organisation at the centre of the theoretical framework. Organisation members such as managers or entrepreneurs drive many different practices including social responsibility initiatives such as giving donations, environmental technologies adoption of cleaner production (Azmat, 2010; Hoang et al , 2020a; Hoang et al , 2020b). These actions have been accomplished in the social field of organisation, where professions compete for different capitals of “social,” “cultural” and “economic” (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 249).…”

“…Habitus, capital and field are complicated and divisive topics (Thomson, 2008; Hoang et al , 2020a). As a result, we only highlighted the brief explanation of these topics as our work goal does not include Bourdieu’s scholarship in detail.…”