Living with paradoxical tensions in corporate sustainability

We are living in times of immense challenges for our society and planet. While the number of sustainability initiatives is rising, studies capturing their intended impact is lacking, making the organization a “black box” which requires further research. This thesis lifts the lid on this black box through empirical research based on an 18-month organizational ethnography at ChemCo . By turning to the paradox literature that has established the occurrence of tensions such as conflicting economic, environmental, and social concerns, I extend the idea of ‘managing paradox’ and introduce the central notion of ‘living with paradox’. I do so by using a multilevel perspective and a process view. By differentiating the organizational level into the individual, team, top management, and board level, I first identify the tensions and paradoxes present in the field. Secondly, I show how the responsibility for dealing with tensions is shifted across levels by various actors over time and is effectively passed around like a hot potato. Thirdly, through an issue selling lens, I capture individual approaches to paradox and unveil the dynamics of unintended consequences. Finally, by acknowledging the important role of a team setting, I use an identity work lens to extend our knowledge of how paradoxes influence teams and how they repair and grow their team identity over time. As the paradox perspective speaks of the persistence of paradoxes, ‘living with paradox’ is a natural, yet so far overlooked phenomenon. By lifting the lid on this black box, I contribute a conceptualisation of four areas that illuminate ‘living with paradoxical tensions in corporate sustainability’ by capturing multiple levels and dynamics which enriches our scholarly knowledge of corporate sustainability and paradox, which has significant implications for practice and invites further empirical research.