A Call for Activist Scholarship in Organizational Theorizing

Gray, Barbara

doi:10.1177/10564926231169160

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Researchers must focus on the scale, scope and urgency needed and focus on reconfiguring the role of business in society to enable the elimination of harm and the restoration of nature’s vital infrastructure. We wholeheartedly support Gray (2023) in her call for activist scholarship to address the grand challenges of our time substantially and meaningfully.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Explorations in organized hypocrisy and a proposed direction for a sustainable future

Farias,

Landrum,

Farias

et al. 2023

SAMPJ

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Purpose Since the Brundtland report’s call for sustainability, planetary conditions have deteriorated. This paper suggests that corporate hypocrisy is a major barrier toward the adoption of sustainability and offers a typology of business behavior that can move closer toward the adoption of true and strong sustainability. Design/methodology/approach This article uses a normative lens to build upon prior literature and anecdotal evidence from the field to present a typology of business archetypes that represent a variety of responses toward sustainability. Findings The authors propose five typologies of business behavior that represent responses toward sustainability: business-as-usual, hypocritical pretender, hypocritical co-opter, responsible enterprise and purposeful enterprise. The first three typologies represent existing hypocritical approaches using weak sustainability. The last two typologies decrease corporate hypocrisy; improve alignment of talk, decisions and action; and help an organization adopt true and strong sustainability. Research limitations/implications This is a normative paper that critiques existing literature and practices in corporate sustainability and proposes new directions. It necessitates further research in the form of case studies and empirical cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. It implies assessing firm impact in non-traditional ways and will call for the development of new measures and indicators of firm performance from a social and environmental perspective. Practical implications The typology can provide practitioners and researchers with one possible solution to eliminate or decrease corporate hypocrisy in relation to sustainability, reporting and communications. Social implications Planetary conditions have worsened, and business activity continues to contribute to deteriorating conditions. This research attempts to help businesses move away from hypocritical and destructive practices and to adopt true and strong sustainability practices for a flourishing planet. Furthermore, the authors articulate policy and practice recommendations in this context. Originality/value After decades of failure to make progress in achieving planetary sustainability, this research offers a model for practitioners and researchers to use in defining the actions necessary to achieve the elusive concept of sustainability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Explorations in organized hypocrisy and a proposed direction for a sustainable future

Farias,

Landrum,

Farias

et al. 2023

SAMPJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: What We Are Missingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To not stay stagnant in the current HRD research and contribute to HRD practice, journal editors and senior scholars in HRD are called on to set the stage for the missed research topics by asking the right questions: who and what is research for (Davis, 2015;Hoffman, 2021;Tsui, 2022)? Why do we need theory (Gray, 2023;Reinecke et al, 2022) This positive trajectory of the journal's impact factor has been made possible by the quality articles published, which were developed in the extended review process by our outstanding editorial team of three Associate Editors (AEs): Meera Alagaraja from the University of Louisville, Julie Davies from University College London, UK, and Hyung Joon Yoon from Penn State University, along with Managing Editors (MEs) Zandra Boise (Year 1) and Beth Hyatt (Years 2 and 3) and Media Editor Ryan Riojas from the University of Texas at Tyler. My daily working partner, Beth Hyatt, reflects: I recall the time when the Editor-in-Chief (EIC), Yonjoo Cho, approached me with an opportunity to fill the role of ME for HRDR in August of 2021 while I was about to start my second year as a doctoral student.…”

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confidence: 99%

Reflection on the Past Three Years (2020-2023)

Cho,

Hyatt

2023

Human Resource Development Review

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“…It doesn't help to just get vaccinated in the developed world and just let Africa somehow manage the crisis on its own. Barbara Gray was mentioning this morning in her distinguished speech and the respective article published out of it in this journal that we have to think beyond the self and get to "we-thinking" which is a commons approach (Gray, 2023). Even in the strategy area, they're calling for a more eco-centric rather than an ego-centric approach.…”

Section: ) Addressing Poverty and Climate Change Surface Temporalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategizing Together for a Better World: Institutional, Paradox and Practice Theories in Conversation

Albertsen,

Ansari,

Heucher

et al. 2023

Journal of Management Inquiry

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In this article, based on a Symposium held at the 2022 Academy of Management Meeting, we present a moderated discussion between established scholars in the field of grand challenges—Shahzad (Shaz) Ansari, Natalie Slawinski, and Eero Vaara—focusing on the role of institutional, paradox, and practice theories in research on grand challenges. Our goal for the symposium was to bring these theoretical perspectives into conversation, reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the lenses, and discuss potential intersections for future research on grand challenges. We present the panelists’ prepared remarks as well as the interactive discussion covering four topics: the limitations of existing concepts and theories, materiality, impact, and relations between theory and practice. As part of these four discussion topics, we also present questions and reflections from the audience. We conclude by summarizing insights gleaned from the symposium about critical gaps and avenues for future research.

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A Call for Activist Scholarship in Organizational Theorizing

Cited by 10 publications

References 33 publications

Explorations in organized hypocrisy and a proposed direction for a sustainable future

Explorations in organized hypocrisy and a proposed direction for a sustainable future

Reflection on the Past Three Years (2020-2023)

Strategizing Together for a Better World: Institutional, Paradox and Practice Theories in Conversation

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