Greener Management International invites contributions for a special
issue of the journal on the subject:
Corporations and Sustainability: The South Asian Perspective
Background to the theme
The last two decades have seen rapid and often dramatic changes in the
institutional, economic and ecological contexts faced by firms
operating in South Asian economies. The most significant driver of this
change has been the economic liberalization attempts of national
governments resulting in easier and faster flows of information, labour
and capital between these economies and the rest of the world.
Consequently, global environmental and social concerns are increasingly
driving governmental and corporate decision making processes for firms
operating in South Asia.
The example of India is a case in point. Both as a result of the Indian
government’s attempts to integrate with global markets and its large
market potential, India has emerged as an important destination for
firms seeking to establish their presence in South Asia. While India’s
liberalization attempts are of recent vintage, rapid industrialization
has been a high priority of successive governments since early 1950’s.
The somewhat frenetic pace of industrialization without supporting
infrastructure has caused severe environmental degradation in many
areas thereby making effective environmental management an issue of
urgent national priority. Further, despite having a comprehensive
legislative framework, the quantum of national level losses associated
with poor environmental performance is staggering. In the Indian case,
the environmental cost of degradation has been estimated to be around
10 percent of the country’s GDP.
In many South Asian economies recent policy reforms have focused on
export-led growth, particularly in industries such as manufactured
goods and outsourced services in which these countries are perceived to
have a comparative advantage. These industries include food processing,
transportation, power generation, fuels, textiles, leather, drugs and
pharmaceuticals, information technology and other service sectors.
However, the success of this approach will depend on local firms’
ability to meet importer specified standards, which may include
environmental and social criteria. Consequently, global concerns, such
as climate change, destruction of global commons, poverty alleviation
and labour rights have become important factors in the decision making
of firms active in South Asian markets a.
Accompanying these firm level changes is an intense debate on the issue
of economic growth and industrial greening at the national level. While
industrial sustainability is well understood in the in developed
country contexts, greening or sustainability may differ in terms of
approaches as well as outcomes in emerging economies. Available
evidence indicates that economic growth driven by economic
liberalization and rapid industrialization may lead to adverse
environmental impacts unless managed properly. The problem is more
critical for the South Asian subcontinent where a number of countries,
including India’s immediate neighbours such as Pakistan and Bangladesh,
have also embarked on their own reform programmes.
In responding to these emerging challenges firms have begun to
reevaluate and redesign their strategies, structures and processes as
well as incorporate sustainability principles into their strategies.
Despite these attempts, several barriers still hamper the
sustainability initiatives of firms operating in emerging economies.
These include prevailing market conditions, the absence of
institutional incentives, the lack of appropriate infrastructural
support, and poor access to cleaner technologies and financial
resources for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Coverage
This special edition of Greener Management International aims to
examine issues related to building an environmentally-sustainable
industrial system from an emerging economy perspective, with specific
emphasis on the subcontinent. In particular, contributions are being
sought to address the following topics (submissions are also welcome on
additional areas not indicated below):
• Incorporation of sustainability concerns on the strategic
decision-making processes of firms
• Impact of sustainability issues on firm/industry level competitive
advantage
• Regulatory impact on sustainability practices and corporate governance
• Facilitators and barriers to the eco-transformation of firms and
industries
• Integrated responses to climate change
• Energy management initiatives including renewable energy
• Green manufacturing initiatives
• Ecopreneurship (Environmental Entrepreneurship)
• Sustainable design initiatives
• Sustainable marketing initiatives
• Supply chain management, especially studies of individual value chains
• Industrial ecology initiatives
• Waste management
• Sustainable/Socially Responsible Investment approaches
• Sustainability reporting initiatives
• Risk management and corporate communications
• Stakeholder management, especially community engagement initiatives
• Experiences in adoption of certifiable international standards
• Adoption of voluntary standards, self regulation and collaborative
approaches
• New and emerging business models such as Base of the pyramid (BOP)
• Sector specific initiatives, especially those in the Information
technology, Manufacturing and Service Sectors
• Other corporate social responsibility or sustainability approaches
adopted
We invite contributions from practitioners, researchers and scholars to
submit theoretical (but applicable and relevant) papers as well as
appropriate case studies. We particularly welcome submissions that use
a comparative analytic framework and utilize empirical evidence to
address theoretical questions. Theoretical papers should be between
4,000 and 8,000 words and case studies between 2,500 and 4,000 words in
length. The paper submissions should follow editorial guidelines, which
can be obtained from Greenleaf Publishing (see below). All papers will
be peer-reviewed.
Schedule
The submission deadline for initial expressions of interest in the form
of abstracts of approximately 300 words is 31 August 2007. Abstracts
should ideally be sent as e-mail attachments to the Guest Editor for
the review process (see “Contact Details” at the end of this Call).
A selection process will then be put into motion. Contributors whose
abstracts are felt appropriate for the Themed Issue will then be asked
to submit full papers by the end of November, 2007. Contributors will
be informed of the acceptance of their contributions or be invited to
submit final revised papers by the end of January, 2008. It is intended
that the special issue of Greener Management International will be
published in Summer 2008.
* Abstract submissions: 31 August, 2007
* Full paper submissions: 30 November, 2007
*Revised paper submissions: 31 January, 2008
Contact details
For further information, to discuss ideas for contributions and to
submit abstracts/manuscripts, please contact the Guest Editor:
Professor P.D Jose
Corporate Strategy and Policy Area
Indian Institute of Management
Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore 560076
India
Phone: 91-80-26582450 ext 3092, 26993092 (Direct), Fax: 91-80-26584050
Email:
jose@iimb.ernet.in
Contribution guidelines for Greener Management International can be
obtained from:
Jayney Bown
Greenleaf Publishing
Aizlewood Business Centre
Aizlewood’s Mill
Sheffield S3 8GG
UK
Tel: +44 (0)114 282 3475
Fax: +44 (0)114 282 3476
e-mail:
journals@greenleaf-publishing.com
They are also available online at:
http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/default.asp?contentid=38
"Greener Management International" Issue 50 is a special theme issue:
CHINA
THE CHALLENGES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Edited by Betty J. Diener, Barry University, USA, and Anna Lee Rowe,
Curtin University, Australia
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