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Management of organizational tensions can facilitate the simultaneous advancement of economic, social, and environmental priorities. The approach is based on managers identifying and managing tensions between the three priorities, by employing one of the three strategic responses. Although recent work has provided a theoretical basis for such tension acknowledgment and management, there is a dearth of empirical studies. We interviewed 32 corporate sustainability managers across 25 forestry and wood-products organizations in Australia. Study participants were divided into two groups: (1) those considered effective at corporate sustainability and (2) a status-quo group. Contrary to current theory, our findings showed that acknowledgment of organizational tensions was widespread in the Australian forestry and wood-products industry and not limited to those managers who are effective at managing corporate sustainability. What differed was the degree to which managers did something about the perceived tensions—with the effective group more consistently acting to manage and resolve paradoxical scenarios. Our findings suggest that existing theoretical constructs of tension management may not adequately capture the individual-level complexity involved with managing tensions in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing plastic electronics industry constitutes an important arena for addressing sustainability challenges. This study integrates literature related to eco‐innovations and ecocentric business strategies to investigate its ability to adopt a sustainable development strategy on the basis of ecological sustainability. An exploratory qualitative study in the U.K. market reveals the need for both technological‐push and market‐pull factors to guide technological development. Awareness of sustainable development and the potential to support it are high, but actors in this sector do not prioritize these concerns. Efforts to increase commitment to sustainable development must address three distinctive groups: innovative developers, supplier/manufacturers, and industry facilitators. Articulating the importance of sustainable development might create incentives and generate market pull. The industry also has potential to support sustainable development, which then can support industry development. This article thus offers theoretical insights for ecocentric eco‐innovations, ecocentric business strategy, and ecocentric visionary leadership, along with managerial, industry, and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study investigates whether the views of managers need to be congruent with the corporate sustainability (CS) logics—either integrative or instrumental—of their employing organization. We assessed the CS performance of 25 organizations within the Australian forestry and wood products industry and analyzed the CS orientations of 32 senior managers within these companies to explore whether their individual CS views were consistent with organizational CS logics. The findings indicate that, in general, better performing organizations are led by managers that hold the integrative view, whereas poorer performing organizations are more likely to have managers with an instrumental view of CS. Nonetheless, there were noteworthy exceptions to this conclusion. The findings indicate that, under certain industry conditions, managers who hold an instrumental view may be able to generate ecological and social organizational outcomes that are at least equal to those produced by integrative managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds theory at the intersection of ecological sustainability and strategic management literature-specifically, in relation to dynamic capabilities literature. By combining industrial organization economics-based, resource-based, and dynamic capability-based views, it is possible to develop a better understanding of the strategies that businesses may follow, depending on their managers' assumptions about ecological sustainability. To develop innovative strategies for ecological sustainability, the dynamic capabilities framework needs to be extended. In particular, the sensing-seizing-maintaining competitiveness framework should operate not only within the boundaries of a business ecosystem but in relation to global biophysical ecosystems; in addition, two more dynamic capabilities should be added, namely, remapping and reaping. This framework can explicate core managerial beliefs about ecological sustainability. Finally, this approach offers opportunities for managers and academics to identify, categorize, and exploit business strategies for ecological sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual article examines the relationship between marketing and sustainability through the dual lenses of anthropocentric and ecocentric epistemology. Using the current anthropocentric epistemology and its associated dominant social paradigm, corporate ecological sustainability in commercial practice and business school research and teaching is difficult to achieve. However, adopting an ecocentric epistemology enables the development of an alternative business and marketing approach that places equal importance on nature, the planet, and ecological sustainability as the source of human and other species' well-being, as well as the source of all products and services. This article examines ecocentric, transformational business, and marketing strategies epistemologically, conceptually and practically and thereby proposes six ecocentric, transformational, strategic marketing universal premises as part of a vision of and solution to current global un-sustainability. Finally, this article outlines several opportunities for management practice and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feature of Australian Higher Education over the last 10 years has been the increased numbers of international students. This feature has been perceived to have great potential for enhanced learning for all students – both international and domestic. Yet, student surveys and research clearly indicate that there is very little interaction occurring between domestic and international students. This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which university teaching can promote interaction between students from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Using an innovative video-analysis methodology, the research found that academics engage in a variety of activities to encourage interaction between student groups. In order to assist academics in planning interaction, one of the main findings of the study was the development of ‘The Interaction for Learning Framework (ILF)’, that identifies key dimensions for curriculum design that can be used by academics to inform ways that they can enhance interaction between diverse student groups within teaching and learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If we are to move to a more sustainable world, all actors-including governments, organizations, communities, and individuals-need to play their part in committing to a shift in the way we live our lives. This conceptual article explores the challenges that face the human resource management (HRM) profession in moving to a strategic position that supports the requirements of the biophysi-cal environment. We argue that this is becoming an imperative for the future survival and success of organizations large and small, and thus is likely to be a key “modus operandi” for HRM professionals in the future who are looking to embed ecological sustainability into their organizations. This article offers new insights into developing business strategies for ecological sustainability, highlighting the implications for strategic HRM activity through organizational effectiveness, leadership, values, and, ultimately, HRM processes and systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of global "strategic sustainability", represented by a conceptual framework, the "spheres of strategic sustainability". The paper examines routes, solutions and a vision for corporate strategic sustainability in the macro context of the global physical environment and the planet. This builds on previous research identifying key drivers and strategies for corporate sustainability. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is conceptual in nature and underpinned by Gaia theory, ecosystems theory and the laws of thermodynamics. These three offer specific foci for sustainability research including holism, integration and synthesis: without which, sustainability research would be difficult to achieve. Findings - The paper identifies two major domains - "corporate" and "consumer" strategic sustainability. It examines the corporate domain in which routes are identified through responses to existing globalisation, corporate strategy and corporate culture. Research limitations/implications - The paper provides insight and preliminary conceptual development towards a full theoretical model of corporate and consumer strategic sustainability. The framework will guide future conceptual and empirical investigations and broaden and deepen our understanding of how flim's can construct strategic business models that incorporate sustainability. Originality/value - The paper offers a conceptual framework that develops the concept of "corporate strategic sustainability" and provides positive, practical solutions to incorporating sustainability into business models. It also challenges the current dominant socio-economic paradigm and sets the scene for a more positive eco-paradigm that serves the present and future needs of the planet, environment, businesses and human society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Asia Pacific region acquiring communicative competence in intercultural interactions in English is an increasingly important goal for adult English language learners. One aspect of communicative competence that has been little researched to date is competence in interpreting the nonverbal channels of communication that accompany speakers’ verbal messages. For Thai learners of English the differences between Thai and English native speakers in many features of nonverbal communicative behaviour can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. In this study the understanding of English native speakers’ nonverbal communication and attitudes to such communication is investigated with a group (n = 73) of Thai university students. Using experimental classroom-based research the effectiveness of two teaching approaches using American and Australian films have been evaluated. One of these approaches involves explicit teaching about nonverbal communication used by English native speakers, whereas the other approach does not teach about nonverbal communication, but exposes the students to nonverbal codes whilst explicitly teaching the linguistic features of interactions in the chosen films. Results of pre and post teaching intervention assessments support the importance of explicit teaching for Thai background English learners’ enhanced appreciation of the nonverbal communication of English native speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diasporic communities formed as a result of recent migration movements face particular issues and challenges in supporting the intergenerational transmission of their heritage language, especially when the language involved is not one that has high visibility and status in the surrounding society. This article is a case study of a mature migrant community in Melbourne, Australia; people of Maltese background ; and aims to explore in some depth factors that are promoting and inhibiting intergenerational language transmission within the community. Two groups of factors are identified ; facilitating factors and motivating factors ; and these are discussed and related to the experiences and attitudes of the interviewees. The parents interviewed represent two vintages of migration: pre- and post-independence in Malta. Superficially, it appears that the post-independence migrants have a stronger commitment to intergenerational language transmission. However, it is argued that this only partially explains the observed differences. For both vintages, changes in the opportunities for diasporic engagement and in government policy settings in both the homeland and in Australia are creating an environment which is more facilitative of intergenerational language transmission for families motivated to support such transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diasporic communities formed as a result of recent migration movements face particular issues and challenges in supporting the intergenerational transmission of their heritage language through language maintenance and heritage language education (HLE) initiatives, especially when the language involved is not one that has high visibility and status in the surrounding society. This paper reports on a case study of ongoing action-oriented research to raise awareness and use of the heritage language within the second and third generations of such a community, Maltese-background people in Melbourne, Australia. The community is well established with the ageing first generation having primarily migrated in 1950s and 1960s. Within the community poorer than average educational outcomes for the second generation led to a programme of research and action to enhance ethnic identification and involvement with the heritage language and culture. Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were conducted to investigate attitudes to and use of Maltese within the community. These data have formed the basis for other ongoing initiatives to strengthen heritage language maintenance and education efforts, described and evaluated below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]