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Making Sustainability Tensions Salient: Changing Information or People?

Author

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  • Siarhei Manzhynski
  • Frank Figge
  • Andrea Stevenson Thorpe

Abstract

Sustainability issues are associated with numerous tensions. These tensions are sometimes being referred to as wicked or even paradoxical. As long as tensions stay latent for organizational members, they will not be perceived and, thus, will not be adequately managed. The question of how tensions become salient is therefore of particular interest. Prior research suggests that contextual and cognitive factors render latent tensions salient and argues that advanced cognition is required to recognize sustainability tensions. In this paper, we show that developing cognition is only one possible strategy. We argue that information links a situation with actors' cognition and is therefore vital for rendering latent sustainability tensions salient. We show that simplifying information and making information more complex are two additional ways to recognize sustainability tensions. The situation–information–cognition (SIC) rule we develop in this article shows when and under which conditions the three strategies apply interchangeably or in combination.

Suggested Citation

  • Siarhei Manzhynski & Frank Figge & Andrea Stevenson Thorpe, 2025. "Making Sustainability Tensions Salient: Changing Information or People?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 2702-2717, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:34:y:2025:i:2:p:2702-2717
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.4123
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mauricio Marrone & Frank Figge, 2026. "Words That Mean Change: Paradoxical Thinking and Eco‐Efficiency in the Automotive Sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 1239-1254, January.

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