Post-growth policies and business transformation: A mixed-methods expert assessment of perceived relevance

This article examines how different policies are perceived by researchers regarding their relevance in supporting the transformation of traditional businesses toward reducing ecological footprints, securing well-being, and increasing social equity. While post-growth scholarship has discussed a wide range of policy proposals, their implications for business transformations remain underexplored. To address this gap, the study combines a quantitative survey of 1,734 sustainability policy researchers with qualitative focus group discussions with post-growth business scholars. The survey results indicate that the majority of policy instruments are perceived as at least moderately relevant for supporting a business transformation towards post-growth. Descriptive analyses show that respondents with a degrowth work-orientation tend to perceive the instruments as more relevant than growth-indifferent or green growth-oriented respondents, with differences particularly pronounced for more structurally disruptive interventions. The qualitative analysis explores how post-growth business scholars perceive key tensions, barriers, and enabling conditions associated with three previously highly ranked policies: transitioning ownership structures, banning planned obsolescence, and introducing declining resource caps. Two central topics emerge from these discussions: the role of businesses’ profit orientation as a structural factor that may shape responses to policy interventions, and the importance of combining policies in order to address anticipated tensions and wider societal implications. The article bridges post-growth policy and business research by suggesting how different policy instruments and mixes may support business transformations in line with post-growth objectives.