Understanding sustainability through the lens of ecocentric radical-reflexivity : implications for management education

Allen, Stephen; Cunliffe, Ann L.; Easterby-Smith, Mark

Abstract

This paper seeks to contribute to the debate around sustainability by proposing the need for an ecocentric stance to sustainability that reflexively embeds humans in—rather than detached from—nature. We argue that this requires a different way of thinking about our relationship with our world, necessitating a (re)engagement with the sociomaterial world in which we live. We develop the notion of ecocentrism by drawing on insights from sociomateriality studies, and show how radical-reflexivity enables us to appreciate our embeddedness and responsibility for sustainability by bringing attention to the interrelationship between values, actions and our social and material world. We examine the implications of an ecocentric radically reflexive approach to sustainability for management education.

Citation

Allen, S., Cunliffe, A. L., & Easterby-Smith, M. (2019). Understanding sustainability through the lens of ecocentric radical-reflexivity : implications for management education. Journal of Business Ethics, 154(3), 781–795. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3420-3

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 19, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jan 13, 2017
• Publication Date: 2019-02
• Deposit Date: Jan 17, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 17, 2017
• Journal: Journal of business ethics
• Print ISSN: 0167-4544
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-0697
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 154
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 781–795
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3420-3
• Keywords: Ecocentrism , Radical-reflexivity, Reflexivity, Sociomateriality, Sustainability
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/472317
• Publisher URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-016-3420-3
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in: Journal of business ethics, 2017
• Contract Date: Jan 13, 2017