IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v148y2018i2d10.1007_s10551-017-3587-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Paradox Perspective on Corporate Sustainability: Descriptive, Instrumental, and Normative Aspects

Author

Listed:
  • Tobias Hahn

    (KEDGE Business School)

  • Frank Figge

    (KEDGE Business School)

  • Jonatan Pinkse

    (The University of Manchester)

  • Lutz Preuss

    (University of Sussex)

Abstract

The last decade has witnessed the emergence of a paradox perspective on corporate sustainability. By explicitly acknowledging tensions between different desirable, yet interdependent and conflicting sustainability objectives, a paradox perspective enables decision makers to achieve competing sustainability objectives simultaneously and creates leeway for superior business contributions to sustainable development. In stark contrast to the business case logic, a paradox perspective does not establish emphasize business considerations over concerns for environmental protection and social well-being at the societal level. In order to contribute to the consolidation of this emergent field of research, we offer a definition of the paradox perspective on corporate sustainability and a framework to delineate its descriptive, instrumental, and normative aspects. This framework clarifies the paradox perspective’s contents and its implications for research and practice. We use the framework to map the contributions to this thematic symposium on paradoxes in sustainability and to propose questions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss, 2018. "A Paradox Perspective on Corporate Sustainability: Descriptive, Instrumental, and Normative Aspects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 235-248, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:148:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3587-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3587-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-017-3587-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-017-3587-2?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Griffiths, Andrew, 2010. "Corporate sustainability and organizational culture," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 357-366, October.
    2. Padilla, Emilio, 2002. "Intergenerational equity and sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 69-83, April.
    3. Nancy Staudenmayer & Marcie Tyre & Leslie Perlow, 2002. "Time to Change: Temporal Shifts as Enablers of Organizational Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(5), pages 583-597, October.
    4. Andreas Georg Scherer & Guido Palazzo & David Seidl, 2013. "Managing Legitimacy in Complex and Heterogeneous Environments: Sustainable Development in a Globalized World," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 259-284, March.
    5. Gail Whiteman & Brian Walker & Paolo Perego, 2013. "Planetary Boundaries: Ecological Foundations for Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 307-336, March.
    6. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    7. Jijun Gao & Pratima Bansal, 2013. "Instrumental and Integrative Logics in Business Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 241-255, January.
    8. Málovics, György & Csigéné, Noémi Nagypál & Kraus, Sascha, 2008. "The role of corporate social responsibility in strong sustainability," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 907-918, June.
    9. Philipp Schreck, 2011. "Reviewing the Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility: New Evidence and Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(2), pages 167-188, October.
    10. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge, 2011. "Beyond the Bounded Instrumentality in Current Corporate Sustainability Research: Toward an Inclusive Notion of Profitability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(3), pages 325-345, December.
    11. Wenlong Yuan & Yongjian Bao & Alain Verbeke, 2011. "Integrating CSR Initiatives in Business: An Organizing Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 75-92, June.
    12. Marc Vilanova & Josep Lozano & Daniel Arenas, 2009. "Exploring the Nature of the Relationship Between CSR and Competitiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 57-69, April.
    13. Pablo Rodrigo & Daniel Arenas, 2008. "Do Employees Care About CSR Programs? A Typology of Employees According to their Attitudes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 265-283, December.
    14. Salzmann, Oliver & Ionescu-somers, Aileen & Steger, Ulrich, 2005. "The Business Case for Corporate Sustainability:: Literature Review and Research Options," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 27-36, February.
    15. Eric Neumayer, 2013. "Weak versus Strong Sustainability," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14993.
    16. Tomi Kallio, 2007. "Taboos in Corporate Social Responsibility Discourse," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(2), pages 165-175, August.
    17. Natalie Slawinski & Pratima Bansal, 2015. "Short on Time: Intertemporal Tensions in Business Sustainability," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 531-549, April.
    18. Christine Byrch & Markus J. Milne & Richard Morgan & Kate Kearins, 2015. "Seeds of hope? Exploring business actors’ diverse understandings of sustainable development," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(5), pages 671-705, June.
    19. Anil K. Gupta & Vijay Govindarajan, 2000. "Knowledge flows within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 473-496, April.
    20. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse, 2014. "Private environmental governance through cross-sector partnerships: Tensions between competition and effectiveness," Working Papers hal-00961234, HAL.
    21. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss & Frank Figge, 2015. "Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 297-316, March.
    22. Bertrand Zuindeau, 2007. "Territorial equity and sustainable development," Post-Print halshs-00200677, HAL.
    23. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss, 2010. "Trade‐offs in corporate sustainability: you can't have your cake and eat it," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 217-229, May.
    24. Smith, Wendy K. & Gonin, Michael & Besharov, Marya L., 2013. "Managing Social-Business Tensions: A Review and Research Agenda for Social Enterprise," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 407-442, July.
    25. Ans Kolk & Jonatan Pinkse, 2008. "A perspective on multinational enterprises and climate change: Learning from “an inconvenient truth”?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(8), pages 1359-1378, December.
    26. Benjamin Richardson & Wes Cragg, 2010. "Being Virtuous and Prosperous: SRI’s Conflicting Goals," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(1), pages 21-39, April.
    27. David Stuckler & Martin McKee & Shah Ebrahim & Sanjay Basu, 2012. "Manufacturing Epidemics: The Role of Global Producers in Increased Consumption of Unhealthy Commodities Including Processed Foods, Alcohol, and Tobacco," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-8, June.
    28. Miron-Spektor, Ella & Gino, Francesca & Argote, Linda, 2011. "Paradoxical frames and creative sparks: Enhancing individual creativity through conflict and integration," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 229-240.
    29. Pratima Bansal, 2005. "Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 197-218, March.
    30. R. Edward Freeman & Andrew C. Wicks & Bidhan Parmar, 2004. "Stakeholder Theory and “The Corporate Objective Revisited”," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 364-369, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss & Frank Figge, 2015. "Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 297-316, March.
    2. Jay Joseph & Marc Orlitzky & Bruce Gurd & Helen Borland & Adam Lindgreen, 2019. "Can business‐oriented managers be effective leaders for corporate sustainability? A study of integrative and instrumental logics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 339-352, February.
    3. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge, 2018. "Why Architecture Does Not Matter: On the Fallacy of Sustainability Balanced Scorecards," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 919-935, July.
    4. Simone Carmine & Valentina De Marchi, 2023. "Reviewing Paradox Theory in Corporate Sustainability Toward a Systems Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 139-158, April.
    5. Ozgur Isil & Michael T. Hernke, 2017. "The Triple Bottom Line: A Critical Review from a Transdisciplinary Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1235-1251, December.
    6. Jaakko Siltaloppi & Risto Rajala & Henri Hietala, 2021. "Integrating CSR with Business Strategy: A Tension Management Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 507-527, December.
    7. Thaís Vieira Nunhes & Merce Bernardo & Otávio José de Oliveira, 2020. "Rethinking the Way of Doing Business: A Reframe of Management Structures for Developing Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-32, February.
    8. Zhang, Yan & Han, Yu-Lan, 2019. "Paradoxical leader behavior in long-term corporate development: Antecedents and consequences," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 42-54.
    9. Sarah Birrell Ivory & Simon Bentley Brooks, 2018. "Managing Corporate Sustainability with a Paradoxical Lens: Lessons from Strategic Agility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 347-361, March.
    10. Laura F. Sasse-Werhahn & Claudius Bachmann & André Habisch, 2020. "Managing Tensions in Corporate Sustainability Through a Practical Wisdom Lens," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 53-66, April.
    11. Catherine Le Roux & Marius Pretorius, 2016. "Conceptualizing the Limiting Issues Inhibiting Sustainability Embeddedness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-22, April.
    12. Tiberio Daddi & Domenico Ceglia & Guia Bianchi & Marcia Dutra de Barcellos, 2019. "Paradoxical tensions and corporate sustainability: A focus on circular economy business cases," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 770-780, July.
    13. Karen LaPierre & Naomi Wakayama & Toshiro Wakayama, 2016. "Creating Shared Value In The Presence Of Conflicts And Tradeoffs: A Paradox Perspective On Business And Society," Working Papers EMS_2016_11, Research Institute, International University of Japan.
    14. Kai Hockerts & Cory Searcy, 2023. "How to Sharpen Our Discourse on Corporate Sustainability and Business Ethics—A View from the Section Editors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 225-235, October.
    15. Christian Voegtlin & Andreas Georg Scherer, 2017. "Responsible Innovation and the Innovation of Responsibility: Governing Sustainable Development in a Globalized World," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 227-243, June.
    16. Lea Stadtler, 2018. "Tightrope Walking: Navigating Competition in Multi-Company Cross-Sector Social Partnerships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 329-345, March.
    17. Merriam Haffar & Cory Searcy, 2017. "Classification of Trade-offs Encountered in the Practice of Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 495-522, February.
    18. Enrico Fontana & Hyemi Shin & Chikako Oka & Jos Gamble, 2022. "Tensions in the strategic integration of corporate sustainability through global standards: Evidence from Japan and South Korea," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 875-891, March.
    19. Mario Vaupel & David Bendig & Denise Fischer-Kreer & Malte Brettel, 2023. "The Role of Share Repurchases for Firms’ Social and Environmental Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 401-428, March.
    20. Kirsti Iivonen, 2018. "Defensive Responses to Strategic Sustainability Paradoxes: Have Your Coke and Drink It Too!," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 309-327, March.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:148:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3587-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.