Planned or Emergent Strategy Making? Exploring the Formation of Corporate Sustainability Strategies

Business Strategy and the Environment, DOI: 10.1002/bse.1875, Forthcoming

29 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2014 Last revised: 17 Sep 2014

See all articles by Friederike Neugebauer

Friederike Neugebauer

University of Kassel

Frank Figge

ESCP Business School

Tobias Hahn

KEDGE Business School

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

In strategy research, there is a consensus that strategy making resides on a continuum from planned to emergent where most strategies are made in a mixed way. Different contingency factors have been suggested to explain the factors that influence strategy making. Sustainability research seems to overlook most of this development and assumes instead that sustainability strategies are made in a purely planned way. We contribute to a better understanding of the role of different strategy making modes for sustainability in three ways. First, we point to the bias towards planned strategy formation in sustainability research. Second, we propose a new contingency factor to help explain sustainability strategy making based on the nature of the problem addressed. Third, we discuss strategy making for different types of sustainability problems. We argue that planned strategy making is expected for salient and non-wicked problems while emergent strategy making is likely for non-salient and wicked problems.

Keywords: sustainability strategy, corporate sustainability, strategy making, strategic planning, emergent strategy

Suggested Citation

Neugebauer, Friederike and Figge, Frank and Hahn, Tobias, Planned or Emergent Strategy Making? Exploring the Formation of Corporate Sustainability Strategies (2014). Business Strategy and the Environment, DOI: 10.1002/bse.1875, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2490879

Friederike Neugebauer

University of Kassel

Germany

Frank Figge

ESCP Business School ( email )

79 avenue de la République
75011
France

Tobias Hahn (Contact Author)

KEDGE Business School ( email )

Domaine de Luminy - BP 921
BP 921
Marseille, PACA 13288
France
+33491827313 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.kedgebs.com

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