Search

Purpose: Sustainability has long been known to present an epistemic challenge. In the corporate setting, this challenge translates into the difficulties experienced by managers not only in devising solutions to corporate sustainability problems, but even in developing the awareness of the latter. The paper explores how these difficulties may be overcome by corporate stakeholder management policies. Design/methodology/approach: The paper develops a conceptual framework that reconstructs the Hayekian theory of market process in the context of Williamson's (1996) distinction between autonomous and cooperative adaptation. Findings: Applying the Hayekian theory of market process to the process of engagement and collaboration of corporate stakeholders, the paper shows how the latter process may address the epistemic challenge of corporate sustainability and derives implications for the design of business models for sustainability. Originality/value: The paper informs stakeholder theory in two ways: first, stakeholder theory is given a novel justification in terms of reflecting the growing prominence of cooperative adaptation and second, corporate stakeholder management is shown to be crucial for maximizing not only economic but also sustainability performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to revisit the viable system model (VSM) discussing it from both the theoretical and the empirical standpoints, and ascertaining its relevance for organizational governance.Design/methodology/approach A combination of theoretical and empirical components is used: introduction to theory and critique on the one hand; case studies and a large sample empirical study on the other.Findings The VSM has proved to be a powerful means of governance for organizations in turbulent times. It conveys a durable, reliable knowledge. This has been corroborated in both case studies and a large-scale empirical study.Practical implications Application of the model under study can activate a huge potential for the improvement of organizations.Originality/value This contribution tests the VSM in an unseen fashion – qualitatively and quantitatively. The results suggest that a high confidence in the model is justified. It conveys to managers and leaders an unconventional, superior approach to both diagnosis and design of their organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose the Viable System Model (VSM) as an effective model to base the analysis of organizational sustainability (long-term viability). It is specifically proposed as a model to integrate the various sustainability tools, and as the basis for designing a unified Sustainability Management System. Design/methodology/approach – The VSM is used as an organizational model to examine three prominent sustainability standards: ISO 26000, ISO 14001 and ISO 14044. A generic manufacturing company is used as a template; and its typical business processes are related to each of the VSM’s components. Each clause of the three sustainability standards is then mapped on to the VSM model. These three models are integrated into one, by analysing the differences, similarities and complementarities in the context of each VSM component, and by identifying common invariant functions. Findings – In all, 12 generic sustainability functions are identified. ISO 26000 has the widest scope; ISO 14001 is focused primarily on internal measurement and control (System 3), while ISO 14044 is a complex performance indicator at the System 3 level. There is a general absence of System 2. Each standard can be regarded as a distinct management layer, which needs to be integrated with the Business Management layer. Research limitations/implications – Further research is needed to explore the specifics of integration. Practical implications – This integration should not be based on creating distinct roles for each management layer. Originality/value – The paper uses the insights of organizational cybernetics to examine prominent sustainability standards and advance sustainability management at the business level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper and Special Issue build a case for why justice matters in water governance and why it should be explicitly accounted for in water management and allocation. It describes four characteristics of water and their implications for social and environmental justice. These four characteristics -- the spatial and temporal uneven distribution of water; the fact that water is essential for all life, with minimums needed for the survival of both the environment and humankind; water's added benefits to human well-being through the goods and services it provides; and the ensuing political dimensions of power asymmetries affecting water governance -- have resulted in a plethora of disciplinary interpretations of justice in an attempt to capture its relevance and importance. The collection of papers in this Special Issue provides a glimpse into the diverse range of issues that can emerge when justice considerations are taken or not taken into account in water governance. Water justice is particularly significant when societal change occurs because of altered allocations, institutional rules of the game or in the underlying hydrological regime. We summarise 10 steps that contribute to the continuing articulation of a 'water justice framework' by researchers interested in this field of research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – While there is some agreement on the usefulness of systems and complexity approaches to tackle the sustainability challenges facing the organisations and governments in the twenty-first century, less is clear regarding the way such approaches can inspire new ways of governance for sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to progress ongoing research using the Viable System Model (VSM) as a meta-language to facilitate long-term sustainability in business, communities and societies, using the “Methodology to support self-transformation”, by focusing on ways of learning about governance for sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – It summarises core self-governance challenges for long-term sustainability, and the organisational capabilities required to face them, at the “Framework for Assessing Sustainable Governance”. This tool is then used to analyse capabilities for governance for sustainability at three real situations where the mentioned Methodology inspired bottom up processes of self-organisation. It analyses the transformations decided from each organisation, in terms of capabilities for sustainable governance, using the suggested Framework. Findings – Core technical lessons learned from using the framework are discussed, include the usefulness of using a unified language and tool when studying governance for sustainability in differing types and scales of case study organisations. Research limitations/implications – As with other exploratory research, it reckons the convenience for further development and testing of the proposed tools to improve their reliability and robustness. Practical implications – A final conclusion suggests that the suggested tools offer a useful heuristic path to learn about governance for sustainability, from a VSM perspective; the learning from each organisational self-transformation regarding governance for sustainability is insightful for policy and strategy design and evaluation; in particular the possibility of comparing situations from different scales and types of organisations. Originality/value – There is very little coherence in the governance literature and the field of governance for sustainability is an emerging field. This piece of exploratory research is valuable as it presents an effective tool to learn about governance for sustainability, based in the “Methodology for Self-Transformation”; and offers reflexions on applications of the methodology and the tool, that contribute to clarify the meaning of governance for sustainability in practice, in organisations from different scales and types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]