Navigating between adaptation and transformation: How intermediaries support businesses in sustainability transitions

Kundurpi, Aravind; Westman, Linda; Luederitz, Christopher; Burch, Sarah; Mercado, Alexander

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125366

Cited by 29 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…Research on sustainability strategy making offers no exception to these observations with its primary interest in organizational success factors (Engert & Baumgartner, 2016; White, 2009), initiatives and impacts (Eweje, 2011), and control systems (M. P. Johnson & Schaltegger, 2016; Wijethilake, 2017). In contrast, the literature on small businesses has clearly addressed the important role internal and external stakeholders play in realizing sustainability oriented‐action (Journeault et al, 2021; Kundurpi et al, 2021; Westman et al, 2019), demonstrating how they provide the necessary support system that enables organizations to address sustainability strategically (Danso et al, 2020; Mousavi et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do small businesses pursue sustainability? The role of collective agency for integrating planned and emergent strategy making

et al. 2021

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Research on sustainability strategy in large corporations has shown that carefully planned strategies can address environmental and social concerns. However, we still lack clarity on how small businesses form sustainability strategies. Assuming that small businesses can-or should-carefully plan strategies is inappropriate considering that such organizations often lack the needed resources, foresight, and formalized decision-making structures. Building on the study of two craft breweries in Canada and Germany, we detail how a combination of planned and emergent actions enables owners, employees, and external stakeholders to jointly form strategic sustainability orientation. Developing these findings into an integrated activity-based model, we show the need to move beyond the dichotomy between planned and emergent strategizing. We contribute a human-centered perspective to the sustainability strategy literature and suggest that research should take the role of people in small businesses more seriously as here interpersonal relationships and collective agency are central in forming strategic sustainability orientation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do small businesses pursue sustainability? The role of collective agency for integrating planned and emergent strategy making

et al. 2021

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“…Transition management is about fostering sustainability transitions from a system perspective [8], where participatory, collaborative processes involving multiple actors and individuals are considered essential to reach the ultimate goal of sustainability. In fact, recent literature often presents the need for intermediary actors and organizations to navigate the fluid boundaries between adaptation and transformation in sustainable transitions [16,23,24]. Still, the framework of transition management is lacking in detail as to how organizations and individuals can in practice and prepare to engage in transition processes inside as well as outside of the organization.…”

Section: Individuals In Transition Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As more and more organizations recognize the importance of sustainability transitions, there will be a large demand for skilled individuals capable of engaging in such processes [11]. Whether they span internal or external boundaries of the organization, such individuals become critical change agents in organizations [16] and essential in preparing the organization for sustainability transitions. As proposed by Smink, Negro [17] and Goodrich, Sjostrom [11], further research into boundary spanners' activities, skills, and training is warranted because it can increase organizations' capability to create and exploit transition opportunities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparing an Organization for Sustainability Transitions—The Making of Boundary Spanners through Design Training

Yström

Agogué

Rampa³

2021

Sustainability

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Organizations today need to adapt their operations for a more sustainable future, and the transition management literature has highlighted the need for individuals who can collaborate with others to find new paths forward. Essentially, these individuals are boundary spanners with specific skills and competences to bridge diverging perspectives and facilitate knowledge dissemination and integration. Such individuals become critical change agents in organizations and essential in preparing the organization for sustainability transitions. The purpose of this study is to explore how organizations can enable and encourage individuals to take on this role and develop the skills and competences needed to become boundary spanners. Based on a case study set in a large Canadian energy corporation striving to shift towards more sustainable operations, our paper explores the emergence of boundary spanners, focusing on the effects of a design training program in supporting such roles in the organization. Our findings outline essential characteristics of boundary spanners; through illustrative career trajectories of four individuals participating in the training program, we show how the training program contributed to the emergence of boundary spanners.

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“…In this term, it seems that the only available alternative would be to find where and when sustainability matches the business models and the value creation process of the company (Bocken et al, 2014). The network approach can be classified under the business model innovation as networks could play a function of tailoring sustainability and helping SMEs to adopt a hands‐on guidance in their internally developed projects (Camarinha‐Matos et al, 2010; Kundurpi et al, 2021).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

The enabling role of formalized corporate networks to drive small and medium‐sized enterprises toward sustainability

2021

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The global economy's transition toward more sustainable development models is undoubtedly grounded on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, SMEs, individual entrepreneurs, and microenterprises have always encountered barriers to implementing social responsibility and sustainability concepts. The paper investigates the enabling role of formalized corporate networks to drive SMEs toward sustainable behaviors. A quantitative nonlinear regression approach is applied to a content analysis of a sample of network contracts coded. The content analysis is applied to analyze the declared objectives, the purpose of the contract, and sustainability areas. An ordered logistic regression is applied on variables related to the behavior of SMEs before entering in the contract and post-adhesion phases. Data demonstrates how networks of SMEs can be used as enabling factors to boost sustainability among them. Specifically, the study is based on a sample of 96 formalized network contracts (FNCs), including 1486 Italian SMEs in that sustainability-oriented networks. It offers an evidence-based perspective on how networks of companies can play a fundamental role in the development of policies aimed at bringing small companies closer to the concept of sustainability (such as eco-innovations, eco-efficiency, environmental performance, and social innovations, among others) and its practical implementation. This paper has two significant strengths. The first is that it uses as a sample a set of 1486 companies, including individual entrepreneurs and microenterprises, whose data are usually difficult to collect. The second is that it demonstrates the efficacy of a contractual form that could be scalable to different countries.

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Navigating between adaptation and transformation: How intermediaries support businesses in sustainability transitions

Cited by 29 publications

References 89 publications

How do small businesses pursue sustainability? The role of collective agency for integrating planned and emergent strategy making

How do small businesses pursue sustainability? The role of collective agency for integrating planned and emergent strategy making

Preparing an Organization for Sustainability Transitions—The Making of Boundary Spanners through Design Training

The enabling role of formalized corporate networks to drive small and medium‐sized enterprises toward sustainability

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