Kerstin Neumann

Beyond What and Why Understanding Organizational Evolution Towards Sustainable Enterprise Models

In this article, we strive to contribute to the ongoing shift in the sustainability debate from its historical focus on definitional (“what”) and motivational (“why”) questions to the understanding of change and learning process questions (“how”) connected to the efforts some firms are making to evolve toward “sustainable enterprise” models. A conceptual framework to study these evolutionary processes is thus developed, and the complexities and research design trade-offs facing the related empirical inquiry highlighted. The main message advanced herein is that shifting the focus of analysis to the level of the initiatives undertaken to change the various elements in the enterprise model could prove the best way to frame the conceptual and empirical challenge before us. In a way, to make progress on the “what,” research should focus on the “how.”

The effect of interorganizational trust on make-or-cooperate decisions: Disentangling opportunism-dependent and opportunism-independent effects of trust

This paper seeks to analyze the effects of interorganizational trust on the decision to vertically integrate a strategically important activity (‘make’) or sign a long-term agreement with an external exchange partner to perform such an activity in collaboration (‘cooperate’). On the basis of the literature available on interorganizational trust in economics and sociology, we aim at theoretically and empirically disentangling opportunism-based and opportunism-independent effects of trust on governance choices. We develop a set of hypotheses on the moderating and direct roles of trust, which are tested using a sample of integration/collaboration decisions made by Austrian and German automotive suppliers. The results confirm both an opportunism-mitigating effect of trust that lowers the transaction costs of a collaborative exchange and an opportunism-independent effect that increases the transaction value of a collaborative exchange and also encompasses non-economic motives for collaboration.

Introduction to the special issue: integrating sustainability in business models

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue, conceptualized and realized by a group of scholars engaged in the Global Organizational Learning and Development Network (GOLDEN) for Sustainability programme. It aims to adopt the overarching research question of the GOLDEN research programme “How do firms learn to integrate and manage sustainability in their business models, including their organizational purpose, strategy, processes, systems and culture?” as the guiding principle for case selection.Design/methodology/approach – The paper first presents the key ideas underpinning the previous research question and illustrates the research approach and agenda of GOLDEN for Sustainability. Second, it introduces the eight case studies presented in this special issue.Findings – The cases offer good illustrations of the ongoing transition by both medium‐sized and multinational corporations dealing with learning and change challenges posed by the identification and management of sustainab...