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Representatives of future generations as promoters of sustainability in corporate decision processes

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  • Julia Bogacki
  • Peter Letmathe

Abstract

Current protests of the young generation emphasize that interests of future generations should be taken more into account by policy makers and in corporate decision processes. As organizations contribute to enduring environmental and social problems, they are required to promote sustainability in order to preserve options for the well‐being of future generations. However, organizational decision makers often take a short‐term perspective and neglect investments in intergenerational justice. Previous theoretical work has acknowledged the importance of representing future generations in today's decision‐making processes to adopt a long‐term perspective in order to promote intergenerational justice. In a laboratory experiment, we show that appointing representatives of future generations at the organizational level can foster investments in intergenerational justice. Although this outcome is more pronounced when aligned with the representatives' individual incentives, it even persists for a representative who is monetarily penalized for advocating the interests of future generations.

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  • Julia Bogacki & Peter Letmathe, 2021. "Representatives of future generations as promoters of sustainability in corporate decision processes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 237-251, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:30:y:2021:i:1:p:237-251
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2618
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    2. Nurlan Orazalin & Monowar Mahmood, 2021. "Toward sustainable development: Board characteristics, country governance quality, and environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3569-3588, December.

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