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Managers' interpretations of LCA: enlightenment and responsibility or confusion and denial?

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  • Eva Heiskanen

Abstract

Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) and ‘life cycle thinking’ are popular approaches to evaluate and manage the environmental aspects of products. While LCA has been propagated as a decision‐making tool, the interest here is in LCA as a mental model, which managers may interpret and enact differently. If LCA and ‘life cycle thinking’ manage to infuse organizations with an extended sense of responsibility, this could counteract some of the ‘organized irresponsibility’ of modern markets. However, LCA use may also lead to confusion, doubt and denial. This article explores potential managerial interpretations of LCA with a small illustration from the wholesale trade, and through a conceptualization of the illustration in terms of Hatch's (1993) dynamic model of organizational culture. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Eva Heiskanen, 2000. "Managers' interpretations of LCA: enlightenment and responsibility or confusion and denial?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 239-254, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:9:y:2000:i:4:p:239-254
    DOI: 10.1002/1099-0836(200007/08)9:43.0.CO;2-6
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    Cited by:

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    2. Andreas Fritsch & Johanna von Hammerstein & Clemens Schreiber & Stefanie Betz & Andreas Oberweis, 2022. "Pathways to Greener Pastures: Research Opportunities to Integrate Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Business Process Management Based on a Systematic Tertiary Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Stefan Seuring, 2004. "Industrial ecology, life cycles, supply chains: differences and interrelations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(5), pages 306-319, September.
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    5. Anne Marie de Jonge, 2003. "Limited LCAs of pharmaceutical products: merits and limitations of an environmental management tool," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 78-90, June.
    6. Sebastian Fredershausen & Henrik Lechte & Mathias Willnat & Tobias Witt & Christine Harnischmacher & Tim-Benjamin Lembcke & Matthias Klumpp & Lutz Kolbe, 2021. "Towards an Understanding of Hydrogen Supply Chains: A Structured Literature Review Regarding Sustainability Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, October.
    7. Junming Zhu, 2020. "Suggested use? On evidence‐based decision‐making in industrial ecology and beyond," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(5), pages 943-950, October.
    8. David Lazarevic & Michael Martin, 2018. "Life cycle assessment calculative practices in the Swedish biofuel sector: Governing biofuel sustainability by standards and numbers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1558-1568, December.

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