Planning organisational changes for Corporate Sustainability. An analysis of three case studies' resistance to change and their strategies to overcome it

Corporations and their leaders are increasingly accepting their role in making societies more sustainable. This has fostered the development of voluntary tools and initiatives (mainly based on ‘hard’ technocentric... [ view full abstract ]

Corporations and their leaders are increasingly accepting their role in making societies more sustainable. This has fostered the development of voluntary tools and initiatives (mainly based on ‘hard’ technocentric solutions) to help them address sustainability. However, discussions on ‘soft’ issues have been limited. This paper analyses the organisational change efforts for Corporate Sustainability of three case studies. It was found that CS drivers catalyse change from the unsustainable status quo (SQ) towards more sustainable activities. Barriers to change usually block these efforts; identifying them can help to apply appropriate strategies to overcome them, thus helping to better incorporate and institutionalise CS. This would bring the system to a More Sustainability Oriented State (MSOS). In time the MSOS becomes the status quo novo, and the process starts again. Planning such organisational changes could help companies better overcome resistance to change and integrate their efforts for was sustainability more holistically, including technological and human changes.