Degrowth by means of technology? A treatise for an ethos of releasement

The large-scale ecological damage caused by growth societies calls for economic degrowth in terms of a radical decrease in matter/energy throughput. This article examines the role of modern technology in degrowth with a focus on the question of agency and its ethical implications. After conceptualising technology as practice, the paper finds that while technological practice encompasses an agency for social change, it is restricted to transforming the non-human world to human-made objects. This is because in technological practice the world and its objects unfold as a standing-reserve for human use. Due to this calculative and anthropocentric thinking, technological practice does not and cannot support the emergence of a kind of agency that either does or can let things be. Moreover, the more technological the practice, the more objects are utilised. The paper concludes that technological practice does not support the transition to degrowth, because it directs its agents towards the continuous transformation of non-human-made objects into human-made objects resulting in an increase in cumulative throughput. The paper thus suggests that an ethos of releasement is needed to attain, as well as to live in, a degrowth society. The rationale provided for refraining from the technological practice in order to contribute to ecologically sensible social change is the chief contribution of this paper

Strategic Positioning with an Environmentally Responsible Image

Companies are increasingly becoming interested in responsible business due to external pressures and possibilities of enhancing competitiveness. The purpose of this study is to explore and analyze the strategic implications of corporate responsibility (CR) with a model building approach – how can a firm position itself with corporate responsibility (CR) and in particular with environmental responsibility? The findings of this single case study in the Nordic hospitality industry provide evidence that corporate responsibility (CR) can be a strategic issue and a source of competitive position. A firm can position itself with an environmentally responsible image. The image is reflected from a responsible identity that is built upon the values of the firm – and communicated to the key stakeholders. The perception in the key stakeholders leads to differentiation from competitors, however with an approximated time delay of 3 to 4 years. Thus the firm becomes a more preferred employer, partner and supplier; results as enchanced employees’ motivation, cost savings, better reputation, and greater guest loylty. Since stakeholder oriented firms modify their values according to their stakeholders’ values, the success of strategic positioning with CR depends on managerial capabilities to adjust the amount of CR to correspond with their key stakeholders’ values. In addition to this micro-level analysis, it is important that firms take into consideration the drivers, or lack of them, also on the meso-, macro-, and global-levels.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Strategic corporate responsibility : a theory review and synthesis

Purpose This article examines how responsibility and strategy can and should be connected in a business organization. Design/methodology/approach The article offers a review of the field by mapping previous studies according to their strategy and responsibility orientations and, consequently, identifies the classic perspective, as well as the major deficiencies and prevailing research gaps in the literature. Findings The article contributes to the field of strategic corporate responsibility by reframing the field with a contender perspective that challenges the classic view of strategy and responsibility amalgamation. Together, the classic and the contender perspectives are synthesized to form an integrative perspective that is more holistic than those currently available. Originality/value The article ends by calling for a reimagining of the relationship between corporate responsibility and strategy to find promising future research avenues and effective business practices suitable to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.Peer reviewe

Strategic Positioning with an Environmentally Responsible Image

Companies are increasingly becoming interested in responsible business due to external pressures and possibilities of enhancing competitiveness. The purpose of this study is to explore and analyze the strategic implications of corporate responsibility (CR) with a model building approach – how can a firm position itself with corporate responsibility (CR) and in particular with environmental responsibility? The findings of this single case study in the Nordic hospitality industry provide evidence that corporate responsibility (CR) can be a strategic issue and a source of competitive position. A firm can position itself with an environmentally responsible image. The image is reflected from a responsible identity that is built upon the values of the firm – and communicated to the key stakeholders. The perception in the key stakeholders leads to differentiation from competitors, however with an approximated time delay of 3 to 4 years. Thus the firm becomes a more preferred employer, partner and supplier; results as enchanced employees’ motivation, cost savings, better reputation, and greater guest loylty. Since stakeholder oriented firms modify their values according to their stakeholders’ values, the success of strategic positioning with CR depends on managerial capabilities to adjust the amount of CR to correspond with their key stakeholders’ values. In addition to this micro-level analysis, it is important that firms take into consideration the drivers, or lack of them, also on the meso-, macro-, and global-levels.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

The Strategy of the Commons: Modelling the Annual Cost of Successful ICT Services for European Research

The provision of ICT services for research is increasingly using Cloud services to complement the traditional federation of computing centres. Due to the complex funding structure and differences in the basic business model, comparing the cost-effectiveness of these options requires a new approach to cost assessment. This paper presents a cost assessment method addressing the limitations of the standard methods and some of the initial results of the study. This acts as an illustration of the kind of cost assessment issues high-utilisation rate ICT services should consider when choosing between different infrastructure options. The research is co-funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme through the e-FISCAL project (contract number RI-283449)

Integrative stakeholder engagement : A review and synthesis of economic, critical, and politico-ethical perspectives

Peer reviewe

Sufficiency and Sustainability : Conceptual Analysis and Ethical Considerations for Sustainable Organisation

This article analyses the concept of sufficiency in relation to sustainability and discusses ethical implications for sustainable organisation in time and place. We identify three foundational conceptualisations of sufficiency related to sustainability: (1) a limits model that starts with objective boundaries imposed by the biosphere and basic human needs; (2) a preference model that treats sufficiency as a subjective inclination for moderation defined situationally; and (3) a balancing model that seeks to integrate the objective limits and subjective preferences by focussing on action embedded in the socio-ecological context. This includes balancing the needs of humans with those of non-humans. The limits model builds on universal duty, the preference model on preference utilitarianism and the balancing model on action-oriented virtue ethics. The balancing model of sufficiency is well suited to meeting the needs of present and future generations as well as delivering intra- and inter-generational justice not limited to humans.©2022 White Horse Press. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced version of an article accepted November 19, 2021 following peer review for publication in Environmental Values, Volume 31, Number 5, pp. 599-618. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online, doi: 10.3197/096327121X16328186623878fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Sufficiency: A systematic literature review

The making of sustainable economies calls for sufficiency in production and consumption. The discussion, however, lacks a shared understanding on what it means to operationalize sufficiency. In this article, we review and analyze the concept of sufficiency with a focus on its linkages to different economic scales (with a focus on micro- and macroeconomics) and economic actors (particularly consumers and producers). Altogether 307 articles were screened, resulting in a final data set of 94 peer-reviewed articles. In addition to the core assumption of ‘enoughness’, we found three premises describing the concept: (1) complementarity of capitals, (2) social metabolism, and (3) altruism. In the reviewed literature, sufficiency is understood as both an end in itself and a means for bringing consumption and production within ecological limits. By conducting the first systematic literature review on sufficiency, the study explicates a more integrated understanding of sufficiency and highlights the need to treat sufficiency across economic scales and actors. In future research, empirical work should be emphasized to grasp the contextual varieties in the operationalization of sufficiency.Peer reviewe

Domination, Power, Supremacy: Confronting Anthropolitics with Ecological Realism

In this article, we study politics as domination. From our point of view, domination, especially in the Anthropocene, has had two vital components—power and supremacy. In order to dominate, one has to have power over others. In addition, the politics of domination, such as colonial oppression of Latin America, has required reasoning, justification, and legitimation, often connected to superiority (because of religion, society, or civilization) from the oppressor’s end. Past and present political ideologies and programs, such as colonialism, imperialism, but also welfare state capitalism, neoliberalism and increasingly popular Green New Deal are examples of what we call “anthropolitics”, an anthropocentric approach to politics based on domination, power, and supremacist exploitation. In contrast to the prevailing anthropolitics, this article discusses post-Anthropocene politics, characterized by localization and decentralization, as well as a steep reduction of matter–energy throughput by introducing a theoretical frame called ecological realism

Domination, Power, Supremacy : Confronting Anthropolitics with Ecological Realism

In this article, we study politics as domination. From our point of view, domination, especially in the Anthropocene, has had two vital components-power and supremacy. In order to dominate, one has to have power over others. In addition, the politics of domination, such as colonial oppression of Latin America, has required reasoning, justification, and legitimation, often connected to superiority (because of religion, society, or civilization) from the oppressor's end. Past and present political ideologies and programs, such as colonialism, imperialism, but also welfare state capitalism, neoliberalism and increasingly popular Green New Deal are examples of what we call "anthropolitics", an anthropocentric approach to politics based on domination, power, and supremacist exploitation. In contrast to the prevailing anthropolitics, this article discusses post-Anthropocene politics, characterized by localization and decentralization, as well as a steep reduction of matter-energy throughput by introducing a theoretical frame called ecological realism.Peer reviewe