Colleagues: Following a delay due to a network disruption, the June issue of Organization & Environment has been published. It contains an introduction and seven review articles on important topics in the field. The abstracts follow:
Russo, M. V., Louche, C., & Wagner, M. (2024). A Solid Foundation But What Will Be Built on It? Reviews of the Management, Organizations, and Environmental Sustainability Field. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266241264262
In this conceptual essay, we integrate broader insights into the state of research on management, organizations, and environmental sustainability, enabling a clearer view of where the field stands and the directions in which it should best grow. To this end, we first review the findings and insights of the articles published within this special review issue. Then, we define a set of emerging themes from viewing the set of articles collectively, highlighting the communalities and trends within the field but also rising concerns. Based on this assessment, we propose several remedies and a future agenda that would help our field to become more inclusive and impactful. In this final section, we specifically and critically expand on (a) the imperative of interdisciplinarity; (b) the need to avoid being trapped in the mainstream; and (c) a corresponding institutionalized intent to develop further novel approaches for research in our field.
Burbano, V. C., Delmas, M. A., & Cobo, M. J. (2024). The Past and Future of Corporate Sustainability Research. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 133-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231213105
Despite the skyrocketing of corporate sustainability research in management, environmental grand challenges like climate change, persist. Given firms' pivotal role in either improving or worsening these challenges, it is important to consider how corporate sustainability research can affect the resolution of these challenges. Understanding the historical evolution of the cognitive structure of the field facilitates the forecasting of the likely future path of sustainability research. Through the analysis of the co-occurrence of 25,701 keywords in 11,954 sustainability-related articles from 1994 to 2021, we identify and graphically illustrate how ideas in the field have been interconnected, evolved, and are trending. Unexpectedly, we observe that the environmental focus in the literature wanes despite heightened environmental salience. We suggest ways that the trajectory of sustainability research should change to improve our ability to help businesses address environmental challenges. These include reassessing the problem focus, recalibrating theoretical foundations, and reimagining methodologies.
Foster, A., Wissman, N., Bray, L. A., DeBoer, J., Ergene, S., Stewart, O. J., & Dunham, I. M. (2024). Rising to the Challenge: Embedding Environmental Justice in Management and Organization Studies. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 159-193. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231201992
Management and organization studies (MOS) scholars have recently brought attention to the lack of engagement with social equity and justice in tackling grand challenges. We argue that environmental justice (EJ) can deepen MOS' engagement with social equity in addressing grand challenges, particularly climate change. Through a bibliometric analysis and qualitative review, we explore scholarly communities within EJ literature and draw connections to MOS research. We develop three bridges between EJ and MOS scholarship: (a) investigating organizational roles and processes in distributing environmental benefits and burdens within socioecological systems, (b) situating the firm within structural and historical contexts that create and perpetuate environmental injustices, and (c) prioritizing the goals, perspectives, and agency of activists and neglected voices within environmental conflicts and solutions. Ultimately, this review aims to build meaningful pathways to embed EJ in MOS research on grand challenges.
Lüdeke-Freund, F., Froese, T., Dembek, K., Rosati, F., & Massa, L. (2024). What Makes a Business Model Sustainable? Activities, Design Themes, and Value Functions. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 194-220. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266241235212
What makes a business model sustainable? To answer this question, we conducted a systematic review of 390 journal articles on business models for sustainability (BMfS). Building on the activity system perspective, we engaged in an active categorization process, in which we identified 26 activity groups focused on 12 design themes. These activities and design themes are associated with organizations' potential to use their business models to contribute to sustainable value creation. Our analysis also revealed that the identified activities and design themes can be related to three overarching value functions of BMfS: maintaining, unlocking, and sharing value. Our findings indicate that these value functions play a pivotal role in creating sustainable value through business models. The identified design themes can serve as guiding principles for organizations seeking to make their business models sustainable, while the identified value functions can provide a foundation for theorizing on sustainable value creation through business models.
Montgomery, A. W., Lyon, T. P., & Barg, J. (2024). No End in Sight? A Greenwash Review and Research Agenda. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 221-256. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231168905
Greenwashing is more virulent than ever. A profusion of environmental, social, and governance and net zero commitments are becoming fraught with questionable and misleading claims. At the same time, we are no closer to solving the pressing environmental and social issues of our time. In this review, we seek to examine this shift and summarize changes in greenwash research into three key phases: (a) 1.0 Static Communication; (b) 2.0 Dynamic Management; and (c) 3.0 Narratives about the Future. We analyze current key areas of developing literature and point to numerous open questions for future research. Next, we go beyond much of the published work to examine emerging tactics and lay out a forward-looking agenda for future research. We also propose a model of Corporate Miscommunication, integrating various streams in greenwash research. In doing so, we seek to lay a pathway for greenwashing researchers to finally find that elusive "end" to greenwashing.
Morales-Raya, M., & Muñoz, P. (2024). Varieties of Time in Business Sustainability Research: An Integrative Review and Research Agenda. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 257-297. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231210610
In this article, we tackle the lack of clarity in the conceptualization and substantive use of time in business sustainability research. We do so by means of an integrative review that synthesizes 172 papers published over the last 20 years across seven subject areas within business and management research. From our review, we developed a typology that highlights three primary categories that differentiate various conceptualizations and uses of time in business sustainability literature: (a) temporal resourcing, (b) temporal structuring, and (c) temporal prospecting for sustainability. The typology organizes a body of literature that remains scattered, provides conceptual clarity, and opens avenues for future empirical research and theorization in the space.
Tardin, M. G., Perin, M. G., Simões, C., & Braga, L. D. (2024). Organizational Sustainability Orientation: A Review. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 298-324. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231226144
Organizational sustainability orientation (OSO) is a concept increasingly gaining prominence among academics and practitioners. The primary goals of this study entail:(a) elucidating about the origins and evolution of OSO, encompassing its conceptual foundations, the scholarly communities instrumental in shaping the field, and its co-evolution with social and environmental orientations; (b) delineating the diverse research streams within the OSO domain and establishing avenues for advancing this line of inquiry; and, (c) proposing a conceptual framework that includes the drivers, consequences, and contextual contingencies associated with OSO. The study employs two bibliometric analyses, namely, co-citation and citation and a qualitative thematic analysis. Drawing on a dataset of 112 scholarly articles, the research provides nuancedinsights into the development and advancement of OSO research, underscores its state of the art, and proposes avenues for future investigations in this evolving field.
Unter, K. M. M., Park, S., & Rivera, J. (2024). Business Response Strategies to Climate Change: An Integrative and Research Frontiers Outlook. Organization & Environment, 37(2): 325-357. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231202819
As climate change (CC)-related adversity has become more evident, physical CC impacts and the need to respond to it are now a prominent topic in the political agenda in multiple countries. Accordingly, businesses have begun to adopt strategies to seeking to respond to CC. Recently, strategy and general management scholars have produced a growing number of articles examining the factors that increase the adoption of CC strategies, and, in a few cases, the environmental and financial performance implications of these strategies. Our review indicates that: (a) business research tends to dismiss CC-related adversity, with much of the research on drivers of responses highlighting a clear anthropocentric bias; (b) many papers discuss either adaptation or mitigation without much examination of synergies and tradeoffs between strategies; and (c) we know little about what and how physical climate conditions affect firms and their ability to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage.
Michael V. Russo
Charles H. Lundquist Professor of Sustainable Management
Editor-in-Chief, Organization & Environment
Lundquist College of Business
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403