Research Summary
Research Summary
Overview
Description
My research is at the intersection of organizational strategy, global sustainability governance, and social change. It explores the diffusion of sustainability standards to non-traditional sectors (e.g. jewelry, cannabis, plastics, pets) and the relationship between consumer behavior, ethics, and product types (e.g. utilitarian, luxury, and illicit goods). Will a complete parallel economy of ethical products one day emerge, or are there limits to the products and problems that market-based initiatives are well-suited to address? Are ethics and luxury at odds, or can ethical hedonism in the realm of consumption be realized? Overall, I study how individuals and organizations create social change, and why some types of change are more attractive and successful than others.
Interviews, surveys, and experiments inform my engagement with theories of institutional entrepreneurship, organizational change, and business and society more generally. Field sites have ranged from corporate headquarters in Europe to urban communities in Zambia.
My research has been published in Extractive Industries and Society, and Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, with new articles submitted or under review at Organization Science, Global Environmental Politics, and Ecological Economics. My work is also published in practitioner journals such as The Conversation and Harvard Law School’s Negotiation Briefings.
Interviews, surveys, and experiments inform my engagement with theories of institutional entrepreneurship, organizational change, and business and society more generally. Field sites have ranged from corporate headquarters in Europe to urban communities in Zambia.
My research has been published in Extractive Industries and Society, and Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, with new articles submitted or under review at Organization Science, Global Environmental Politics, and Ecological Economics. My work is also published in practitioner journals such as The Conversation and Harvard Law School’s Negotiation Briefings.
Keywords
Sustainability Standards; Extractive Industries; Luxury; Gold; Institutional Change; Institutional Entrepreneurship; Hybrid Organizations; Governance; Policy; Consumer Behavior; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Pollution and Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Poverty; Diversification; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Tourism Industry; Africa; Latin America; Europe