IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v185y2023i2d10.1007_s10551-022-05180-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accounting for Plural Cognitive Framings of Growth and Sustainability: Rethinking Management Education in Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Jose Murcia

    (U. Austral)

  • Pilar Acosta

    (U. Icesi
    i3-CRG, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, IP Paris)

Abstract

This paper surveys future managers’ cognitive framings of interconnected concerns for economic growth, social prosperity, and the natural environment across six countries in Latin America, and elaborates on implications for sustainability management education. Our cluster analysis unveils three cognitive types. Our findings show that whereas some future managers exhibit a ‘business case’ cognitive frame, prioritizing economic growth over the environment, the other two clusters of participants show signs of cognitive dissonance with some of the tenets of the current growth paradigm while still not neatly fitting the definition of a paradoxical cognitive frame. In particular, individuals within the latter two groups do not visualize links among economic, social, and environmental dimensions that make up sustainable development. Following calls to enhance our understanding of sustainability micro-foundations, our study offers a more nuanced picture of the cognitive plurality beyond dichotomous characterizations of managerial cognitive frames as either business case or paradoxical. Moreover, results elucidate the cultural mediation that operates in the reproduction of business stances vis-à-vis nature, opening up possibilities for management education programs to engage with cognitive plurality to effect paradigmatic change.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Jose Murcia & Pilar Acosta, 2023. "Accounting for Plural Cognitive Framings of Growth and Sustainability: Rethinking Management Education in Latin America," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 299-313, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:185:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05180-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05180-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-022-05180-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-022-05180-4?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. Garima Sharma & Anand Kumar Jaiswal, 2018. "Unsustainability of Sustainability: Cognitive Frames and Tensions in Bottom of the Pyramid Projects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 291-307, March.
    2. Kai Hockerts, 2015. "A Cognitive Perspective on the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 102-122, February.
    3. Stephen Allen & Ann L. Cunliffe & Mark Easterby-Smith, 2019. "Understanding Sustainability Through the Lens of Ecocentric Radical-Reflexivity: Implications for Management Education," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 781-795, February.
    4. Castaño, Nathalie & Sully de Luque, Mary F. & Wernsing, Tara & Ogliastri, Enrique & Shemueli, Rachel Gabel & Fuchs, Rosa María & Robles-Flores, José Antonio, 2015. "El Jefe: Differences in expected leadership behaviors across Latin American countries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 584-597.
    5. Wilms, Rafael & Winnen, Lothar A. & Lanwehr, Ralf, 2019. "Top Managers' cognition facilitates organisational ambidexterity: The mediating role of cognitive processes," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 589-600.
    6. Duygu Turker & Y. Serkan Ozmen, 2018. "Grounding managerial values towards social responsibility on an ideological framework," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 516-526, September.
    7. Defeng Yang & Aric Xu Wang & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Wei Jiang, 2019. "Environmental Strategy, Institutional Force, and Innovation Capability: A Managerial Cognition Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1147-1161, November.
    8. Ashish Kothari & Federico Demaria & Alberto Acosta, 2014. "Buen Vivir, Degrowth and Ecological Swaraj: Alternatives to sustainable development and the Green Economy," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 57(3-4), pages 362-375, December.
    9. M. Argüelles & C. Benavides & I. Fernᮤez, 2014. "A new approach to the identification of regional clusters: hierarchical clustering on principal components," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(21), pages 2511-2519, July.
    10. David A. Jones & Alexander Newman & Ruodan Shao & Fang Lee Cooke, 2019. "Advances in Employee-Focused Micro-Level Research on Corporate Social Responsibility: Situating New Contributions Within the Current State of the Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 293-302, June.
    11. Miska, Christof & Szőcs, Ilona & Schiffinger, Michael, 2018. "Culture’s effects on corporate sustainability practices: A multi-domain and multi-level view," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 263-279.
    12. Asit Bhattacharyya & Mohammed Lutfur Rahman, 2020. "Values, gender and attitudes towards environmental policy: A study of future managers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2514-2527, September.
    13. Stefan Drews & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2016. "What explains public support for climate policies? A review of empirical and experimental studies," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(7), pages 855-876, October.
    14. 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.
    15. Anoop Menon, 2018. "Bringing cognition into strategic interactions: Strategic mental models and open questions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 168-192, January.
    16. Stefan Gröschl & Patricia Gabaldon, 2018. "Business Schools and the Development of Responsible Leaders: A Proposition of Edgar Morin’s Transdisciplinarity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 185-195, November.
    17. Maria Jose Murcia & Hector O. Rocha & Julian Birkinshaw, 2018. "Business Schools at the Crossroads? A Trip Back from Sparta to Athens," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 579-591, June.
    18. Stefan Gröschl & Patricia Gabaldón & Tobias Hahn, 2019. "The Co-evolution of Leaders’ Cognitive Complexity and Corporate Sustainability: The Case of the CEO of Puma," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 741-762, March.
    19. Alejandro Lopez Feldman & Carlos Chavez, Maria Velez, Hernan Bejarano, Ariaster Chimeli, Jose Feres, Juan Robalino, 2020. "Environmental impacts and policy responses to Covid-19: A view from Latin America," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2020_11, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP), revised 14 Jul 2020.
    20. Weiss, Martin & Cattaneo, Claudio, 2017. "Degrowth – Taking Stock and Reviewing an Emerging Academic Paradigm," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 220-230.
    21. Joel Marcus & Heather MacDonald & Lorne Sulsky, 2015. "Do Personal Values Influence the Propensity for Sustainability Actions? A Policy-Capturing Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 459-478, March.
    22. Pratima Bansal, 2003. "From Issues to Actions: The Importance of Individual Concerns and Organizational Values in Responding to Natural Environmental Issues," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(5), pages 510-527, October.
    23. Andrea M. Prado & Ronald Arce & Luis E. Lopez & Jaime García & Andy A. Pearson, 2020. "Simulations Versus Case Studies: Effectively Teaching the Premises of Sustainable Development in the Classroom," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 303-327, January.
    24. Drews, Stefan & Savin, Ivan & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2019. "Opinion Clusters in Academic and Public Debates on Growth-vs-Environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 141-155.
    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. Danilo Boffa & Antonio Prencipe & Armando Papa & Christian Corsi & Mario Sorrentino, 2023. "Boosting circular economy via the b-corporation roads. The effect of the entrepreneurial culture and exogenous factors on sustainability performance," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 523-561, June.
    2. Akbulut, Bengi & Demaria, Federico & Gerber, Julien-François & Martínez-Alier, Joan, 2019. "Who promotes sustainability? Five theses on the relationships between the degrowth and the environmental justice movements," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    3. 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.
    4. Anna M. Hansson & Eja Pedersen & Niklas P. E. Karlsson & Stefan E. B. Weisner, 2023. "Barriers and drivers for sustainable business model innovation based on a radical farmland change scenario," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(8), pages 8083-8106, August.
    5. García-García, Pablo & Buendía, Luis & Carpintero, Óscar, 2022. "Welfare regimes as enablers of just energy transitions: Revisiting and testing the hypothesis of synergy for Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    6. Hang Wu & Yiying Qu & Yong Ye, 2022. "The Effect of International Diversification on Sustainable Development: The Mediating Role of Dynamic Capabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-16, July.
    7. Timo Busch & Marcel Richert & Matthew Johnson & Sven Lundie, 2020. "Climate inaction and managerial sensemaking: The case of renewable energy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2502-2514, November.
    8. David Littlewood & Rachel Decelis & Carola Hillenbrand & Diane Holt, 2018. "Examining the drivers and outcomes of corporate commitment to climate change action in European high emitting industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1437-1449, December.
    9. Heidi Rapp Nilsen, 2024. "Code Red for Humanity: The Role of Business Ethics as We Transgress Planetary Thresholds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 1-7, January.
    10. Hans Jaich, 2022. "Linking environmental management and employees' organizational identification: The mediating role of environmental attitude," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 305-315, March.
    11. Frank Wijen & Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, 2019. "Controversy Over Voluntary Environmental Standards: A Socioeconomic Analysis of the Marine Stewardship Council," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-02071504, HAL.
    12. Jean‐Pierre Imbrogiano & Elizabeth Nichols, 2021. "How to serve sustainability performance in businesses? An appetizing recipe to link practices to performance in business sustainability research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1610-1622, May.
    13. 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.
    14. Zhou, Min & Govindan, Kannan & Xie, Xiongbiao & Yan, Liang, 2021. "How to drive green innovation in China's mining enterprises? Under the perspective of environmental legitimacy and green absorptive capacity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. Enes Ünal & Vikash Kumar Sinha, 2023. "Sustainability trade‐offs in the circular economy: A maturity‐based framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4662-4682, November.
    16. Mortimer, Genevieve & Tura, Nina & Mortimer, Bruce & Busch, Timo, 2019. "Positioning sustainability to deal with complex systemsː From sustainability identity to sustainability outlook," WiSo-HH Working Paper Series 49, University of Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, WISO Research Laboratory.
    17. Sarah Birrell Ivory & R. Bradley MacKay, 2020. "Scaling sustainability from the organizational periphery to the strategic core: Towards a practice‐based framework of what practitioners “do”," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 2058-2077, July.
    18. Linan Lei & Xiaobo Wu, 2022. "Thinking like a specialist or a generalist? Evidence from hidden champions in China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 25-57, February.
    19. Belinda Wade & Andrew Griffiths, 2022. "Exploring the Cognitive Foundations of Managerial (Climate) Change Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 15-40, November.
    20. Julia Prömpeler & Dennis B. Veltrop & Janka I. Stoker & Floor A. Rink, 2023. "Striving for sustainable development at the top: Exploring the interplay of director and CEO values on environmental sustainability focus," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 5068-5082, November.

    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:185:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05180-4. 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.