Organisational Behaviour

Parts of the answer 4: Strategy and Behaviour


Some mix of public policy, markets, and innovation may well incentivise business to accelerate its rate of transformation, even if no single one of them will work on its own, and we don't know what combination is the right one to develop.

But even assuming these hurdles can overcome, are companies able to make the kind of changes required?  One stumbling block might be the attitude of the investment community, and there are doubts about whether financial markets can provide sufficient 'patient capital' to fund the long-term investments in infrastructure, technology, and construction that tackling climate change demands.  But supposing the apparent contradiction between investor short-termism and the long-term solutions that climate change implies is not a problem (something that requires more space to discuss than I have here), what are the implications of climate change for strategy and organisational behaviour?

Systems change theory such as Lewin's or Kotter's models of the stages of change, emphasise the gradual nature of lasting change if it is to be properly embedded within an organisation.  Sensemaking models of change such as those building on the work of Weick emphasise the role of the individual leader, and sustainability thinkers such as John Elkington and Jeffrey Hollender have put great store on the role of the CEO as champion.  CEO commitment will play an important role if we are to implement the kind of Green New Deal supported by the Obama administration in the US, but it is only a part of the story.  Some of the most significant organisational changes in companies such as Wholefoods or Marks & Spencer have happened because of individuals and teams inside the company, and even when there is a clear strategy with senior management buy-in, the well-known problems of embedding strategy into operations, and making it stick are if anything even harder in the climate change context, not least because of the need to change quickly and without too much trial and error.

Put simply, climate change defies important conventions of organisational change.  Convention says that change should be gradual and not rushed, but climate change requires quite rapid yet thoughtful and effective transformation.  Convention says transformational change is most likely once there is a sense of crisis, but if we wait for the real signs of crisis to hit us before responding, then companies risk having to deal with unprecedented uncertainty jeopardising shareholder value, jobs, and production.  It raises questions about whether our current ideas are fit for purpose given the challenges at hand, whether they can be adapted, or whether we need new theories.


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