Instructions for session I - Tensions in organizing in the Anthropocene

Zoom-link: https://gu-se.zoom.us/j/64252440227?pwd=ZEFyanRYTEk0WGlXdGZzY0N6a09jUT09

(Meeting ID: 642 5244 0227. Passcode: 866881)

Tensions between economic and social-ecological systems are apparent - when aiming for increasing financial outcomes, environmental and social aspects have taken a toll. Yet, even if we would set aside this most prevailing tension, other tensions keep mushrooming. There is tension between quick energy transitions and socially fair transitions, tension between technological salvation and more traditional ways of knowing, and tension between bespoke solutions and scalability. Tensions arise also from temporalities: where should our attention be, focusing on working within the current economic system or concentrating our effort on forming alternative futures? As seen from these examples, tensions hunger dualities, without them they could not exist. In this seminar we wish to dive deeper to the layers of tensions and how to deal with them.

We have divided you into four groups. All groups will read one shared article, and two additional articles which reflect the topic of each group (see further down how this has been divided). The groups are divided as follows:

Group 1

Annabell Merkel, annabell.merkel@ism.lu.se

Juho Aalto, juho.j.aalto@utu.fi

Svetlana Gross, svetlana.gross@phdstudent.hhs.se

Heta Leinonen, heta.leinonen@tuni.fi

Group 2

Faculty (Nina Tynkkynen)

Jolanda Linsén, jolanda.linsen@abo.fi

Helen Barbosa, helen.barbosa@sh.se

Miriam Czarski, miriam.czarski@helsinki.fi

Group 3

Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen, aulikki.laitinen-tolonen@lapinamk.fi

Bartira Silva Fortes, bartira.fortes@sh.se

Fatemeh Jouzi, fatemeh.jouzi@lut.fi

Nuppu Mielonen, nuppu.mielonen@uef.fi

Group 4

Teresa filipa de Assis Caldeira Cruz Corais, filipa.corais@cm-braga.pt

Laila Hiromi Mendy, laila.mendy@geo.uu.se

Oldouz Nejadibabadaei, oldouz.nejadibabadaei@sh.se

Faculty (Emma Ek Österberg)

Readings
When you read the articles, we want you to think about the following questions when you read:
What do we mean when we talk about tensions?
How do tensions relate to your own research project?
What does organizing mean to you?

Besides these questions, we have also given each group a more specific question that relates to the assigned papers. These questions are posted in the first row of each group's readings. For example: Group 1: WHAT (What do we mean when we talk about tensions in organizing)

All groups should read the paper by: Hahn, T., Pinkse, J., Preuss, L., & Figge, F. (2015). Tensions in corporate sustainability: Towards an integrative framework. Journal of business ethics, 127, 297-316.

Group 1: WHAT (What do we mean when we talk about tensions in organizing)

Heikkurinen, P., Ruuska, T., Wilén, K., & Ulvila, M. (2019). The Anthropocene exit: Reconciling discursive tensions on the new geological epoch. Ecological Economics, 164, 106369. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106369

Hagens, N. J. (2020). Economics for the future – Beyond the superorganism. Ecological Economics, 169, 106520. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106520

Group 2: WHY (Why do tensions matter in theorizing and what are the contemporary narratives on organizing in the Anthropocene)

Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management learning & education, 4(1), 75-91.

Haack, P., Schoeneborn, D., & Wickert, C. (2012). Talking the talk, moral entrapment, creeping commitment? Exploring narrative dynamics in CSR communication. Journal of Business Ethics, 111(1), 43-62.

Group 3: WHO (Who are the key actors and what are their roles in organizing for the Anthropocene)

Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2011). The new political role of business in a globalized world: A review of a new perspective on CSR and its implications for the firm, governance, and democracy. Journal of Management Studies, 48(4), 899-931.

Slawinski, N., Winsor, B., Mazutis, D., Schouten, J. W., & Smith, W. K. (2021). Managing the paradoxes of place to foster regeneration. Organization & Environment, 34(4), 595-618.

Group 4: HOW (How can scholars and practitioners go about these tensions)

Van der Byl, C. A., & Slawinski, N. (2015). Embracing Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: A Review of Research From Win-Wins and Trade-Offs to Paradoxes and Beyond. Organization & Environment, 28(1), 54–79.

Smith, Wendy & Lewis, Marianne. (2011). Toward A Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing. The Academy of Management Review. 36. 10.5465/AMR.2011.59330958

Additional readings (optional):

Smith et al. (2013): Managing social-business tensions: A review and research agenda for social enterprise. Business Ethics Quarterly

Besharov & Smith (2014): Multiple institutional logics in organizations: Explaining their varied nature and implications

Smith, W. K., Erez, M., Jarvenpaa, S., Lewis, M. W., & Tracey, P. (2017). Adding Complexity to Theories of Paradox, Tensions, and Dualities of Innovation and Change: Introduction to Organization Studies Special Issue on Paradox, Tensions, and Dualities of Innovation and Change. Organization Studies, 38(3–4), 303–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840617693560

Hahn, T., Figge, F., Pinkse, J., & Preuss, L. (2018). A Paradox Perspective on Corporate Sustainability: Descriptive, Instrumental, and Normative Aspects. J Bus Ethics 148, 235–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3587-2

Best of luck with your preparations

The green group

Link to Padlet (for the group discussions): https://kau.padlet.org/annecharlottepaas/tensions-in-organizing-in-the-anthropocene-80dehbpjsss3fwg5

Document / PDF-files

Anthropocene Materiality and Society – Green Group Session I Presentation.pdf

padlet-80dehbpjsss3fwg5.pdf