Presentation of the research group

The overall aim of the research group is to developing knowledge for practical action on the area of corporate responsibility and sustainability. This is done through developing a conceptual framework or instrumental model for implementation of environmental and social issues in organizations. An instrumental model on the area of corporate responsibility and sustainability requires:

• Developing of theoretical knowledge about concepts like Corporate Sustainability (CS), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Corporate Environmental Management, further conceptualization, and clarifying of the theoretical relationship between the concepts.

Examples of research questions: What is the theoretical relationship between the concepts of Sustainable Development and Corporate Sustainability? What is the difference between Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Sustainability? Is CSR only the voluntary action organizations do above legal compliance, or does CSR also involves integration of environmental and social issues demanded by mandatory regulations? What do corporate responsibility and sustainability imply for the managerial role and leadership behaviour (from corporate managers to social and moral leaders)?

• Developing of knowledge about how organizations and managers interpret and adopt to corporate responsibility and sustainability.

Examples of research questions: How do managers interpret and understand corporate responsibility and sustainability? How do organizations integrate environmental and social issues in decision-making and actions?

• Developing of knowledge about how contextual factors like public policy, voluntary standards and guidelines, consumer behaviour, media attention, and others affect corporate responsibility and sustainability, both understood as leadership, manager’s roles and attitudes, organizational structures and policies, and actual decision-making and action.
Examples of research questions: How does public policy affect the integration of environmental and social issues in decision-making and action? How does the institutional environment (e.g. NGO-pressure, media attention, new voluntary standards and guidelines like the ISO 26000) affect leadership, organizational structures and procedures (e.g., the adoption of corporate environmental management systems)?

• Developing of knowledge about how instrumental variables like leadership, organizational structures, policies and processes, and organizational demography affect decision-making and action in organizations, that is, the integration of environmental and social issues in the core activity of the organization.

Examples of research questions: How may management promote the integration of environmental and social issues in decision-making and action? How do different codes of conduct affect decision-making and behaviour in organizations? How may ethical issues be integrated in decision-making and action? How do different organizational structures and processes affect corporate environmental and social performance?

• Developing of knowledge about the normative “core” of the conceptual model constituting the foundation for practical action and implementation of corporate responsibility and sustainability. The foundational question is perhaps if it is some common values the professional organizational or corporate managers may adopt, constituting the proper criteria for judging about decision-making and action. On the area of corporate responsibility and sustainability, the concept of Sustainable development – and the political interpretations of it – may constitute a possible foundation for aligning economizing with values like environmental protection and human rights.

Developing knowledge in these areas would make foundation for answering the following important questions.

1. What is corporate responsibility and sustainability?
2. How do organizations and managers interpret and adapt to sustainable development and Corporate Sustainability?
3. What may explain organizational adoption of organizational and managerial concepts like CSR, Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Environmental Management, and others?
4. What may explain the actual integration of environmental and social issues in decision-making and activity?
5. How may organizations implement environmental and social issues in decision-making and action?
6. What are the proper criteria for judging about organizations environmental and social performance?

The main research question is how organizations may implement environmental and social issues in decision-making and action. This question brings attention to how instrumental variables like leadership, strategy, and organizations structures and processes may be designed to promote organizational responsibility and sustainability. However, an instrumental model also requires knowledge and understanding of the core concepts constituting the model, the relationship between them, what external factors influencing and explaining organizational responses to for example climate challenges, and the proper criteria for judging about organizations environmental and social performance.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS

The research group is deeply involved in international R&D projects and networks, not only pertaining to Europe, but also globally. We have research collaborations with a wide range of institutions in Norway and in other countries. Here are some of our partners:
• NHH, (business school), Norway
• Ethical Trade Initiative Norway
• Green Business Network Norway
• Warwick Business School, United Kingdom
• Copenhagen Business School, Denmark