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The ‘Biophilic Organization’: An Integrative Metaphor for Corporate Sustainability

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  • David R. Jones

    (Robert Gordon University)

Abstract

This paper proposes a new organizational metaphor, the ‘Biophilic Organization’, which aims to counter the bio-cultural disconnection of many organizations despite their espoused commitment to sustainability. This conceptual research draws on multiple disciplines such as evolutionary psychology and architecture to not only develop a diverse bio-cultural connection but to show how this connection tackles sustainability, in a holistic and systemic sense. Moreover, the paper takes an integrative view of sustainability, which effectively means that it embraces the different emergent tensions. Three specific tensions are explored: efficiency versus resilience, organizational versus personal agendas and isomorphism versus institutional change. In order to illustrate how the Biophilic Organization could potentially provide a synthesis strategy for such tensions, healthcare examples are drawn from the emerging fields of Biophilic Design in Singapore and Generative Design in the U.S.A. Finally, an example is provided which highlights how a Taoist cultural context has impacted on a business leader in China, to illustrative the significance of a transcendent belief system to such a bio-cultural narrative.

Suggested Citation

  • David R. Jones, 2016. "The ‘Biophilic Organization’: An Integrative Metaphor for Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 401-416, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:138:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2640-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2640-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Ivan Montiel & Peter Jack Gallo & Raquel Antolin-Lopez, 2020. "What on Earth Should Managers Learn About Corporate Sustainability? A Threshold Concept Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 857-880, April.
    3. Luca Carollo & Marco Guerci, 2018. "‘Activists in a Suit’: Paradoxes and Metaphors in Sustainability Managers’ Identity Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 249-268, March.

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