What lies beneath the surface? The hidden complexities of organizational change for sustainability in higher education

Abstract

There is widespread recognition that higher education institutions have an important role to play in the transition towards a more sustainable global society. In this context, many universities have embarked on a journey towards 'sustainability', and there has been increasing research on related processes of organizational change. There is evidence that 'human' factors have an important role to play in change processes and numerous case studies capture how these occur, but there is little synthesis of qualitative research in this area. This paper presents a meta-ethnography of 13 qualitative studies from peer reviewed academic publications. Using a grounded approach, we identified nine themes which we then synthesized in order to develop an in-depth understanding of organizational change processes for sustainability. This led to the identification of a number of hidden contradictions and tensions that seem to characterize such processes. These contradictions and tensions lead to recurring barriers to change and issues that can undermine the very sustainability of change processes. These issues are also influenced by the perception of who has power to affect change, networks and institutional structures. We discuss the implications for research and practice and suggest the need to recognize existing tensions and contradictions through reflexive practice and genuine dialogue as well as developing flexible structures and moving towards 'double loop' learning within institutions. The meta-ethnography presents a look beyond the surface of what has become an increasingly important area of institutional change in higher education, helps to inform practice, and contributes to emerging research imperatives.

Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education: Interconnecting the Reporting Process and Organisational Change Management for Sustainability

“…The reporting process was perceived as a learning experience for the involved stakeholders (see also [27]), i.e., staff, faculty and management, and in some cases also students, when the reporting process was used as a didactic concept. All these elements might lead to a "campus culture" that is (more) sensitive to SD issues, see [87]. Yet, since the SR process is currently leading to incremental changes, it is difficult to assess whether the changes are lasting, or likely to lead to lasting transformation towards SD within HEIs.…”

“…In the particular case of HESD, some of the research on OCMS includes: the evolution of a campus sustainability network [83]; the implementation of an SD policy [84]; the role of accreditation in fostering change towards sustainability [16]; drivers and barriers for implementing SD in higher education [85,86]; incorporation and institutionalization into HEIs' systems (including barriers to change and how to overcome them) [5]; and the complexities of organizational change for SD [87]. Most of the articles focused on human interactions between stakeholders within the SD integration process in HEIs, such as the issue of "pointing at power" [87], where stakeholders tend to perceive SD initiatives as other peoples' responsibility, and they see others as holding the barriers to change for SD because of their power but unwillingness to affect change.…”

“…Most of the articles focused on human interactions between stakeholders within the SD integration process in HEIs, such as the issue of "pointing at power" [87], where stakeholders tend to perceive SD initiatives as other peoples' responsibility, and they see others as holding the barriers to change for SD because of their power but unwillingness to affect change. In the majority of the cases, such organizational changes have been considered to be a radical innovation [5] and a "challenge that forces a paradigm shift" [86], where an integrated or whole-system approach is required [5,88].…”

The role of higher education institutions in regional transition paths towards sustainability

“…Furthermore, through their relationships and networks they have been able to provide necessary financing which has allowed the elaboration of expertise in the field of sustainability and the development of a dedicated research focus. These committed individuals, so called 'champions' (Hoover and Harder 2015), or 'frontrunners' (Brown et al 2013), are central to institutional and organisational changes towards sustainability (Wright and Wilton 2012).…”

Strategic Planning for Sustainability in Canadian Higher Education

“…Building on this strength of case study research in the field of SHE, there has been a growing call for greater synthesis via meta-ethnographies of existing qualitative case studies as well as via comparative research [28]. Moving beyond a single case study approach, the Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN) was developed to undertake national and international comparative studies of sustainability in education policy and practice [29].…”