As a multi‐speed recovery from the downturn accelerates progress towards a multi‐polar world in which economic power is more widely dispersed, the emerging markets will play a…
Abstract
Purpose
As a multi‐speed recovery from the downturn accelerates progress towards a multi‐polar world in which economic power is more widely dispersed, the emerging markets will play a critical role in the future success of multinational companies. The imperatives faced by companies seeking to secure their future competitiveness can be better appreciated through an understanding of the sustainability landscape, and this paper seeks to examine perspectives on environmental, social and governance issues from CEOs in the emerging markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on extensive conversations with business leaders, both through the authors' work with leading multinational companies and their survey of over 800 global CEOs conducted in partnership with the United Nations Global Compact – the largest CEO study on sustainability to date. In the spirit of contributing to the debate on corporate sustainability, the paper presents the findings not as an academic submission, but rather as a reflective practitioner paper based on the authors' applied research. Their intention throughout is to faithfully report the views of the CEOs interviewed and surveyed, offering in places the beginnings of their own explanation of their results, and highlighting areas for future research and engagement by academics and educators.
Findings
As one looks towards the next decade, and new waves of growth, it is clear that CEOs are beginning to recognize the scale of the challenge they face in aligning sustainability with core business. They also recognize, however, that this transition will depend on the economy's most powerful force, business – and that, with immediate and sustained action, individual companies can play a critical role in building the foundations of a more sustainable economy. From the wide‐ranging set of interviews and survey responses, it seems that nowhere does this seem to be more keenly felt than in the emerging markets, and it is hoped that this is a timely and useful contribution to advancing the debate, with a unique insight into the views of CEOs and global leaders on what it will take to reach a new era of sustainability.
Originality/value
This paper, based on extensive conversations with an unprecedented set of leading global CEOs, presents perspectives of leading CEOs in the emerging markets. By examining the forces shaping businesses' response to societal demands and the challenges of corporate sustainability, the authors set out some of the ways in which business is responding – and some of the capabilities that will be required to secure companies' competitiveness on the journey to a new era of sustainability.
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Peter Lacy, Arnaud Haines and Rob Hayward
The purpose of this paper is to identify leading CEOs’ views on sustainability and how they believe it is impacting the business environment, with a particular focus on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify leading CEOs’ views on sustainability and how they believe it is impacting the business environment, with a particular focus on the importance of education (formal and informal) in developing future business leaders who can effectively manage sustainability issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Results and findings are based on research conducted by Accenture and the United Nations Global Compact, with 100 one‐to‐one interviews and an online survey with a further 766 CEOs.
Findings
CEOs see sustainability as more important than ever. It is growing in strategic importance, driving new business models, and is essential for long‐term success. CEOs see education as the most critical development issue for the future success of their business. They believe that developing new skills, knowledge and mindsets for the next generation of business leaders as key enabling conditions to accelerate a tipping point in the integration of sustainability into core business.
Originality/value
This paper is based on research from the largest CEO study on sustainability of its kind to date. One facet of the research was an online survey of 766 Global Compact member CEOs. Survey respondents were drawn from nearly 100 countries, across more than 25 industry sectors. The other principal research stream was a series of in‐depth, one‐to‐one interviews with 50 CEOs and over 50 board‐level business executives, civil society leaders and academic experts across 27 countries.
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This article aims to review some of the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to review some of the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach:
The article is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
In 2010, Accenture and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) published A New Era of Sustainability, the world's largest CEO study on sustainability to date. Through conversations with 50 CEOs, 50 further board executives, academic experts and civil society leaders, supported by a survey of 766 CEOs from over 100 countries and 25 industries it uncovered a picture of corporate sustainability much changed since the previous study in 2007.
Practical implications
The article provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Social implications
The article provides strategic insights and practical thinking that can have a broader social impact.
Originality/value
The article saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.
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Mark Lewis, Scott Hayward and Rob Hornyak
The purpose of this paper is to show how design thinking can be a useful approach for helping interorganizational partnerships create higher levels of value creation for both…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how design thinking can be a useful approach for helping interorganizational partnerships create higher levels of value creation for both parties. By integrating concepts related to human cognition, contracts and performance, the authors show how interorganizational relationships often hit a brick wall. The authors show how they can break through such obstacles in a systematic way using design thinking.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors anchor their conceptual and prescriptive advice in a real-life case study between a large logistics company and a global technology firm. The case study was conducted over a multiyear period with many sources of data collected: interview data, observational, participant observation, archival presentations, etc.
Findings
The authors show the factors that lead to rigidity in interorganizational relationships over time, and the cycle of confirmation and exploitation that truly squeezes the life out of relationships if firms are not careful. They offer a prescriptive approach for addressing this issue that should be valuable for many firms across the globe.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on a single-case study, so generalizability is always an issue. However, we think that most practicing managers who have been involved (in any way) with managing an interorganizational relationship will attest to the fact that they often experience the patterns that the authors illuminate in their study.
Practical implications
By applying the design thinking methodology within the context of interorganizational relationships, managers will help their firms break fixation and enter entirely new plateaus of value creation for both firms.
Social implications
The world of work occurs through partnerships and relationships, companies rarely “go it alone”. Thus, developing the capacities in managers to continuously assess relationship efficacy, break from inertia and discover new ways of creating value will lead to positive social implications. Additionally, the design thinking methodology is based on developing empathy for others, and the authors would argue that such capabilities are sorely needed in this world.
Originality/value
There is a lot of work on interorganizational partnerships, but an absence of help for practicing managers on how to make such relationships great. Grounded in a real-life case study, this paper provides practical contributions to those currently managing such relationships.
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This paper seeks to make a contribution to debate regarding the place of sustainability in the management education curriculum with data regarding the opinions on this question of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to make a contribution to debate regarding the place of sustainability in the management education curriculum with data regarding the opinions on this question of business leaders across both developed and emerging markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis in this paper was conducted at the invitation of the secretariat of the UN PRME, led by a team from Ashridge and EABIS, supported by Accenture, and presented for the first time at the 2nd Global Forum for Responsible Management Education convened by the UN in New York in June 2010. The analysis draws on data collected by Accenture as part of the UN Global Compact‐Accenture CEO Study 2010, which included in‐depth interviews with 50 CEOs, Chairpersons and Presidents of UN Global Compact member companies and an online survey of 766 Global Compact member CEOs.
Findings
Among CEOs of those organizations that have begun thinking in a sophisticated way about trends relating to sustainability, there is a growing consensus across both developed and emerging markets, and across different industries and organization type, that management education is one of the most important elements in stimulating the kind of organizational change required to effectively address those trends.
Practical implications
The data suggest that debate in business schools about whether or not sustainability is a real issue deserving of their consideration is becoming less relevant. Questions that become more important include: how to do management education for sustainability well? And how can we effectively stimulate the kind of organizational change that needs to occur in business schools for sustainability to be embraced across the faculty?
Research limitations/implications
Areas for further research include empirical research on both the most effective pedagogical approaches for management education for sustainability, and the most effective strategies for organizational change for sustainability within business schools themselves.
Originality/value
This paper presents a snapshot of business leader opinion from the first part of 2010, and thus complements earlier similar surveys of business leader opinion on the question of the place of sustainability in the management education curricula. This will be of particular interest to administrators and teaching faculty within business schools across both developed and emerging markets.
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In this chapter, the post-disaster handling of the British Petroleum Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is analyzed according to the concept of “Public Reserve.” Public Reserve…
Abstract
In this chapter, the post-disaster handling of the British Petroleum Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is analyzed according to the concept of “Public Reserve.” Public Reserve extends the theory of privacy from the individual into the context of corporate behavior and environmental regulation and management by government. Secrecy is viewed as a form of privacy.
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This chapter is a transcript of an informal conversation between Jack Katz and Keith Hayward that took place in Rome in August 2019. It covers a number of subjects linked to…
Abstract
This chapter is a transcript of an informal conversation between Jack Katz and Keith Hayward that took place in Rome in August 2019. It covers a number of subjects linked to Professor Katz’s academic career, as well as some personal biographical reflections on how his upbringing shaped his sociological thinking about the ‘seductive’ nature of crime and transgression. The chapter also discusses Professor Katz’s various contributions to qualitative research methodology (specifically ‘analytic induction’ and ‘social ontology’), before concluding with a summary of his latest research for the ‘Hollywood neighborhoods’ project and some brief thoughts about future research trajectories.
Three senior International Paint executives have been appointed to the board of International Paint‐Industrial Coatings. They are Mr. R. C. Williamson, chief executive, Ladywood…
Abstract
Three senior International Paint executives have been appointed to the board of International Paint‐Industrial Coatings. They are Mr. R. C. Williamson, chief executive, Ladywood Site, Birmingham; Mr. K. C. Hayward, general manager. Vehicle Finishes Divn, and Mr. K. Gilchrist, site chief executive, Minerva Works, Silvertown.
Innovation is widely considered critical for organization’s success. We know that innovation happens in the presence of certain values and behaviors, hence it is a question of…
Abstract
Innovation is widely considered critical for organization’s success. We know that innovation happens in the presence of certain values and behaviors, hence it is a question of culture. Culture in turn has one critical influence: the leaders of an organization. That is why understanding how to design leadership for innovation should be of interest to anyone who wants to improve their organization’s innovation performance.
While leading by example is generally the best way to establish the desired values and behaviors, it is not in every leader's ability and comfort zone to exhibit the kind of leadership that emulates innovation. Therefore, I have started to differentiate between “leadership of” and “leadership for” innovation. Each has a different skill and mindset, and a different role to play in making innovation happen.
This chapter starts by looking at the drivers behind the context of the twenty-first century to answer the question: “Why innovation matters more in the twenty-first century than ever before?” This is followed by an introduction of a framework that focuses on areas where innovative companies do something different from their less innovative counterparts. The chapter continues with some insights on why organizations and their leaders struggle with embracing innovation before taking a look at “leading of” and “leading for” innovation and introducing the concept of “ARTISTIC Leadership.”