Call for Papers

Sustainable organizing is becoming a recognized area of inquiry in management and organizational sciences (Ergene et al., 2021). The scholarly interest in sustainability stems from wider conversations about the relations between human societies and the ecosystems they rely upon, as well as the origin of social-ecological crises, such as the climate emergency (Wittneben et al., 2012). Sustainable organizing scholarship has also sparked interest in better understanding the ecology and functioning of ecosystems, not only from an ethical or political economy perspective (Ergene et al., 2021), but also as a necessity to make sense of the complex relations between organizations and organizing and ecosystem dynamics (de Groot et al., 2002; Diamond, 2005). Yet, despite such endeavors, management and organizational theories and practices thus far have largely overlooked the relevance of social-ecological relations, challenging the carrying capacity of planetary systems to be kept within sustainable boundaries (Whiteman et al., 2013).
 
Studying sustainable organizing requires researchers to navigate the complexity and contradictions of socio-ecological dynamics more thoroughly (Ergene et al., 2021). In fact, sustainability issues bring a great deal of challenges and ambiguities since they are situated in so-called social-ecological systems (SES) where "the delineation between social and ecological systems is artificial and arbitrary" (Folke et al., 2005, p. 443). These issues also include uncomfortable trade-offs and tensions we cannot ignore. To tackle these challenges and ambiguities, there have been repeated and long-standing calls for interdisciplinary research to overcome the “fractured epistemology” of management and organization sciences (Gladwin et al., 1995; Wohlgezogen et al., 2020) and adopt a more systemic perspective (Williams et al., 2017). We need to develop interdisciplinary research that bridges not only across social sciences (e.g. with psychology or economics) but with natural sciences as well. Without insights from natural sciences, organizational scholars cannot qualify and quantify important aspects of sustainable organizing, including insights on time – such as how present practices affect future outcomes; space – such as ecosystem dynamics connecting global sustainability issues and their local manifestations; and people – such as the orders of magnitude we have to consider to sustain the life of 8 billion people while operating within planetary boundaries. To summarize, one cannot discuss “sustainability” if we ignore biophysical laws and planetary boundaries (Nilsen, 2023).
 
Yet management and organization research directly engaging with the natural sciences remains scattered, either conceptually or empirically. Overall, “the business management literature remains focused on understanding the social, organizational, or institutional implications of corporate sustainability, in isolation from quantitative indicators of ecosystem functioning” (Whiteman et al., 2013, p. 308). Several challenges explain this: the multi- dimensionality of ecological issues often requires skills in different disciplines in order to be understood and effectively measured in research projects. Many of these variables are complex to grasp, with notable time lags inherent to their functioning. Research has recently started to dig into the complexity of studying the interaction between social dynamics and ecological realities (Boons, 2013; Pascucci et al., 2021; Pinkse & Gasbarro, 2019; Winn & Pogutz, 2013). However, scholars working with biophysical and ecological data are often using different theoretical angles and are established in different fields of knowledge, hindering an effective collaboration across disciplines and the sharing of best practices. This is partly due to institutional barriers in management and organization studies. By creating a space of shared learning, this sub-theme aims to help such scholarly work federate into a stronger and more productive stream of research (Baudoin et al., 2022). Much has been said about why such interdisciplinary research is hard (Leahey et al., 2017). This sub-theme intends to create a space to foster such research.
 
We welcome submissions, both theoretical and empirical, that directly engage with insights from the natural sciences, such as biophysical and ecological variables, concepts, or frameworks like the planetary boundaries (Whiteman et al., 2013). We encourage submissions from authors using methodologies that are less common in management or organization studies, but widely used in the natural sciences, such as simulations and scenario modeling. Among disciplines of interest, management research could learn from physics, geology, agronomy, biology, hydrology, or climatology, among others. In this sub-theme, we will also exchange experience and insights on methodological and theoretical struggles in this interdisciplinary endeavor and summarize what we learn from this work of bringing together social and natural sciences in terms of sustainable organizing.

Submissions might explore, for instance, the following questions:

• How do biophysical and ecological conditions affect organizational behaviors and practices at the individual, organizational, or system levels?

• How does being exposed to biophysical environmental changes like climate change affect consumer or organizational behavior?

• How do individual behaviors, organizational practices or governance instruments affect biophysical systems?

• How do we measure the short and long-term ecological impacts of organizational practices?

• How do we design or implement governance or managerial tools that account for planetary boundaries?

• What does achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions imply for management and organization in different economic sectors?

• How do different cultural perspectives interpret and respond to observed and/or experienced changes in ecological systems?

• What are the methods available – and the potential struggles – to integrate biophysical contexts in organization and management studies?

References

• Baudoin, L., Carmine, S., Nava, L., Poggioli, N., & van den Broek, O.M. (2022): “Imagining a Place for Sustainability Management: An Early Career Call for Action.” Journal of Management Studies, 60 (3), 754–760.
• Boons, F. (2013): “Organizing Within Dynamic Ecosystems: Conceptualizing Socio- Ecological Mechanisms.” Organization & Environment, 26 (3), 281–297.
• de Groot, R.S., Wilson, M.A., & Boumans, R.M.J. (2002): “A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services.” Ecological Economics, 41 (3), 393–408.
• Diamond, J.M. (2005): Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking Penguin.
• Ergene, S., Banerjee, S.B., & Hoffman, A.J. (2021): “(Un)Sustainability and Organization Studies: Towards a Radical Engagement.” Organization Studies, 42 (8), 1319–1335.
• Folke, C., Hahn, T., Olsson, P., & Norberg, J. (2005): “Adaptive Governance of Social- Ecological Systems.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 30 (1), 441–473.
• Gladwin, T.N., Kennelly, J.J., & Krause, T.-S. (1995): “Shifting Paradigms for Sustainable Development: Implications for Management Theory and Research.” Academy of Management Review, 20 (4), 874–907.
• Leahey, E., Beckman, C.M., & Stanko, T.L. (2017): “Prominent but Less Productive: The Impact of Interdisciplinarity on Scientists’ Research.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 62 (1), 105–139.
• Nilsen, H.R. (2023): “Code Red for Humanity: The Role of Business Ethics as We Transgress Planetary Thresholds.” Journal of Business Ethics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05402-3
• Pascucci, S., Dentoni, D., Clements, J., Poldner, K., & Gartner, W.B. (2021): “Forging Forms of Authority through the Sociomateriality of Food in Partial Organizations.” Organization Studies, 42 (2), 301–326.
• Pinkse, J., & Gasbarro, F. (2019): “Managing Physical Impacts of Climate Change: An Attentional Perspective on Corporate Adaptation.” Business & Society, 58 (2), 333–368.
• Whiteman, G., Walker, B., & Perego, P. (2013): “Planetary Boundaries: Ecological Foundations for Corporate Sustainability.” Journal of Management Studies, 50 (2), 307–336.
• Williams, A., Kennedy, S., Philipp, F., & Whiteman, G. (2017): “Systems thinking : A review of sustainability management research.” Journal of Cleaner Production, 148, 866–881.
• Winn, M.I., & Pogutz, S. (2013): “Business, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity: New Horizons for Management Research.” Organization & Environment, 26 (2), 203–229.
• Wittneben, B.B.F., Okereke, C., Banerjee, S.B., & Levy, D.L. (2012): “Climate Change and the Emergence of New Organizational Landscapes.” Organization Studies, 33 (11), 1431–1450.
• Wohlgezogen, F., McCabe, A., Osegowitsch, T., & Mol, J. (2020): “The wicked problem of climate change and interdisciplinary research: Tracking management scholarship’s contribution.” Journal of Management & Organization, 26 (6), 1048–1072.
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