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Social Sustainability Work in Product Development Organizations: An Empirical Study of Three Sweden-Based Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Patricia Lagun Mesquita

    (Department of Strategic Sustainable Development, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-37179 Karlskrona, Sweden)

  • Merlina Missimer

    (Department of Strategic Sustainable Development, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-37179 Karlskrona, Sweden)

Abstract

Companies responsible for product development (PD) and manufacturing play an important role in supporting society in achieving sustainability, and yet they do not always include full sustainability considerations in PD decisions. The social dimension of sustainability has been largely neglected in the PD field and there is very little empirical evidence of social sustainability implementation in general. The aim of this paper is to investigate how social sustainability is currently included in PD organizations and what their motivations are to do so. Results from a comparative case study approach with three organizations include rich descriptions across four dimensions: The scope of the work and their view of interdependencies with other social systems, their definition of social sustainability and the issues they work with, what guides strategic decisions, and how this internal work is structured. The results reveal that the three product development organizations are heterogenous in their approaches to social sustainability and that the more advanced approach shows a better understanding of the complexity of social sustainability and a broader perspective of its interdependencies, which goes hand-in-hand with a way of organizing that overcomes traditional hierarchies and allows for more collaborative and strategic work in this area. This systems perspective also drives what issues are included in an organization’s work; scope and definition of social sustainability become more encompassing and aligned. Finally, our study shows that social sustainability impacts connected to products’ lifecycles, when addressed, are done so by functions outside design activities, as opposed to product developers. A greater understanding of how companies currently approach social sustainability and what challenges they might face in integrating it in organizational and design related practices has been called for; our paper contributes to this but acknowledges that more work is needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Patricia Lagun Mesquita & Merlina Missimer, 2021. "Social Sustainability Work in Product Development Organizations: An Empirical Study of Three Sweden-Based Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1986-:d:498160
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lisa Wälitalo & Merlina Missimer, 2022. "The Organization of Social Sustainability Work in Swedish Eco-Municipalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-24, February.
    2. Merlina Missimer & Patricia Lagun Mesquita, 2022. "Social Sustainability in Business Organizations: A Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-13, February.
    3. M. Ángeles López-Cabarcos & Ydriss Ziane & M. Luisa López-Pérez & Juan Piñeiro-Chousa, 2025. "The Ethical Commitment of Business Strategy: ESG-Related Factors as Drivers of the SDGs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 202(4), pages 805-821, December.
    4. Osarodion Ogiemwonyi & Bilal Eneizan, 2025. "Environmental ethics and green practices in the manufacturing sector: The role of green innovation and environmental policy," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(2), pages 1257-1283, May.

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