IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v9y2000i1p24-35.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Action, knowledge and business–environment research: a case for grounded constitutive process theories and a sense of audience

Author

Listed:
  • Mark Stubbs

Abstract

Reflection upon the business–environment literature reveals a difficult transition from early concerns with raising awareness, to current interest in meeting the shortfall in knowledge that many recognize as a barrier to improving environmental performance. From its standpoint of ‘research as reflective conversation’, this paper suggests how research contributions can be framed to provide knowledge with which to address this shortfall. In particular, a case is presented for ‘constitutive process theories’: rich but concise stories of situated action from which others can draw lessons. The paper demonstrates how constitutive process theories can illuminate key aspects of the context, content and process of environmental initiatives. Criteria are identified for assuring rigour and relevance for theories developed in this genre. For instance, individuals involved in a particular initiative must recognize their story in its summary. Also, the theory should include meaningful cues for a wider practitioner audience. These points are illustrated in a constitutive process theory of how a multi‐agency network formed in response to concerns about air quality, transport and public health. Reflecting on lessons learned, the paper argues that the ability to be guided, but not limited, by an acute ‘sense of audience’ is a critical skill for researchers seeking to provide knowledge for action. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Stubbs, 2000. "Action, knowledge and business–environment research: a case for grounded constitutive process theories and a sense of audience," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 24-35, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:9:y:2000:i:1:p:24-35
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0836(200001/02)9:13.0.CO;2-T
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0836(200001/02)9:13.0.CO;2-T
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0836(200001/02)9:13.0.CO;2-T?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Professor Richard Welford, 1993. "Breaking the link between quality and the environment: Auditing for sustainability and life cycle assessment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(4), pages 25-33, December.
    2. Jobst Conrad, 1995. "Development and results of research on environmental management in Germany," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(2), pages 51-61, April.
    3. Peter Roberts, 1992. "Business and the environment: An initial review of the recent literature," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(2), pages 41-50, June.
    4. Douglas J. Lober & David Bynum & Elizabeth Campbell & Mary Jacques, 1997. "The 100 plus corporate environmental report study: A survey of an evolving environmental management tool," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 57-73, May.
    5. Gerard J. Lewis, 1997. "A cybernetic view of environmental management: the implications for business organizations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(5), pages 264-275, November.
    6. Denis Smith, 1992. "Strategic management and the business environment: What lies beyond the rhetoric of greening?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 1-9, March.
    7. Keijo Räsänen & Susan Meriläinen & Raimo Lovio, 1994. "Pioneering descriptions of corporate greening: Notes and doubts on the emerging discussion," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(4), pages 9-16.
    8. R. J. Welford, 1998. "Editorial: Corporate environmental management, technology and sustainable development: postmodern perspectives and the need for a critical research agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(1), pages 1-12, February.
    9. Mitroff, Ian I. & Linstone, Harold A., 1993. "The unbounded mind: Breaking the chains of traditional business thinking," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 88-89.
    10. Wanda J. Orlikowski & Daniel Robey, 1991. "Information Technology and the Structuring of Organizations," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 2(2), pages 143-169, June.
    11. A Neale, 1997. "Organisational learning in contested environments: lessons from Brent Spar," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 93-103, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jenny Ählström & Niklas Egels‐Zandén, 2008. "The processes of defining corporate responsibility: a study of Swedish garment retailers' responsibility," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(4), pages 230-244, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Susse Georg & Lanni Füssel, 2000. "Making sense of greening and organizational change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 175-185, May.
    2. Matthias S. Fifka, 2013. "Corporate Responsibility Reporting and its Determinants in Comparative Perspective – a Review of the Empirical Literature and a Meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 1-35, January.
    3. Ramus, Catherine A., 2002. "Encouraging innovative environmental actions: what companies and managers must do," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 151-164, July.
    4. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4907 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Judith Petts & Andrew Herd & Simon Gerrard & Chris Horne, 1999. "The climate and culture of environmental compliance within SMEs," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(1), pages 14-30, January.
    6. Patrick Velte & Martin Stawinoga, 2017. "Empirical research on corporate social responsibility assurance (CSRA): A literature review," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(8), pages 1017-1066, November.
    7. Tom Thomas & Eric Lamm, 2012. "Legitimacy and Organizational Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 191-203, October.
    8. Anselm Schneider, 2015. "Reflexivity in Sustainability Accounting and Management: Transcending the Economic Focus of Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 525-536, March.
    9. Chiasson, Mike & Saunders, Chad, 2005. "Reconciling diverse approaches to opportunity research using the structuration theory," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 747-767, November.
    10. Keijo Räsänen & Susan Meriläinen & Raimo Lovio, 1994. "Pioneering descriptions of corporate greening: Notes and doubts on the emerging discussion," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(4), pages 9-16.
    11. Dalia Streimikiene, 2014. "The Impact of Research and Development for Business Innovations in Lithuania," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 16(37), pages 965-965, August.
    12. Philip Peck & Knud Sinding, 2003. "Environmental and social disclosure and data richness in the mining industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 131-146, May.
    13. Michael Ross Jayne, 2001. "Managing environmental risk in existing light industrial estates," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(6), pages 365-382, November.
    14. Judith Petts, 2000. "The Regulator — Regulated Relationship and Environmental Protection: Perceptions in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 18(2), pages 191-206, April.
    15. Georgios K. Vasios & Andreas Y. Troumbis & Yiannis Zevgolis & Maria N. Hatziantoniou & Marios F. Balis, 2019. "Environmental choices in the era of ecological modernization: siting of common interest facilities as a multi-alternative decision field problem in insular setups," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 49-64, March.
    16. Steven Way & Yufei Yuan, 2014. "Transitioning From Dynamic Decision Support to Context-Aware Multi-Party Coordination: A Case for Emergency Response," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 649-672, July.
    17. Mäkelä, Marileena, 2017. "Environmental impacts and aspects in the forest industry: What kind of picture do corporate environmental reports provide?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 178-191.
    18. Korhonen, Jouni & Honkasalo, Antero & Seppälä, Jyri, 2018. "Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 37-46.
    19. Beck, A. Cornelia & Campbell, David & Shrives, Philip J., 2010. "Content analysis in environmental reporting research: Enrichment and rehearsal of the method in a British–German context," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 207-222.
    20. Maryam Alavi & Dorothy E. Leidner, 2001. "Research Commentary: Technology-Mediated Learning—A Call for Greater Depth and Breadth of Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, March.
    21. Purba Rao & Alok Kumar Singh & Olivia la O'Castillo & Ponciano S. Intal & Ather Sajid, 2009. "A metric for corporate environmental indicators … for small and medium enterprises in the Philippines," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 14-31, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:9:y:2000:i:1:p:24-35. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.