Routledge Business Transformation for a Sustainable Future (The Principles for Responsible Management Education Series)

Interconnecting the concepts of sustainability, innovation and transformation, this book explains how organizations have successfully transformed themselves and wider society to foster a more sustainable future, and identifies the difficulties and challenges along the way. Part of the Principle of Responsible Management Education (PRME) series, the book promotes a strong voice for meeting sustainability challenges for transformative change in a globalized world through business education and practice. A transition to a more sustainable way of doing business can only be attained by combining technology with profound system innovations and lifestyle changes. The chapters in the book, each written by a strong and well-recognized team of researchers in the field, open up the discussion about a new partnership between sustainability, innovation, and transformation that includes the global society (big world), the biosphere (small planet), and also requires a deep mind shift. The book presents cases from business (including Ikea and Eataly) and other service networks including the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), and illustrates how these organizations have transformed themselves for a sustainable future. The research perspectives are macro (policies and legislation), meso (institutional practices) and micro (business practices and individual behavior). This book is where research meets real-world business and societal practice. The chapters are grounded in business research, specifically the interdependencies between sustainability, innovation, and transformation, which makes for a robust basis for describing, explaining, and understanding the complex challenges faced by business and society in the 21st century. The book is intended for graduate- and postgraduate-level students and executive education with implications for practitioners. Furthermore, it contributes to multidisciplinary research in the field of interaction between business and society with a view to extending the firm-centric view to encompass a broader, systemic, and dynamic understanding of business and societal transformation. Review "The perfect blend of theory and practice is hard to achieve - especially at the intersection of sustainability, innovation, and transformation of business and society! Nevertheless, these authors have done it well - check out Sebhatu, Enquist, and Edvardsson Business Transformation for a Sustainable Future and start taking well-informed action today. Also, the book provides a solid roadmap to go from smarter to wiser service systems for the 'wicked problems' in business and society."  Jim Spohrer, IBM Director Cognitive Open Technologies "Business Transformation for a Sustainable Future is a key contribution to the PRME initiative and represents a powerful voice to draw attention to the sustainability challenges of our world. This book provides important lessons for businesses to transform from a strictly firm-centric and profit-driven approach toward a societal approach to achieve an inclusive and sustainable future. Onward!!!" Robert Strand, Ph.D, Executive Director & Lecturer, Center for Responsible Business, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley "This book thrives from the blended and well-integrated contributions of 16 thought leaders in sustainability, innovation and transformative thinking. The perspective is based on research related to the ‘new social contract’ that supports a more sustainable and people-centered world. At a time when so much is being rethought, this work is important to graduate and postgraduate students as well as practitioners seeking to strive for a better world."  O.C. Ferrell, James T. Pursell, Sr. Eminent Scholar in Ethics, Harbert College of Business, Auburn University and Linda Ferrell, Roth Family Professor of Marketing & Business Ethics, Harbert College of Business, Auburn University "The quest for transforming our world, making peace with nature