The relationship between a sustainable mindset and organizational performance : A multiple case study in the Dutch and Swedish organic food sector
Background The world is facing difficulties in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability. Sustainability in the food industry is especially important, as food production exceeds planetary limits, resulting in a need for the food industry to embrace sustainable business practices and face the growing pressure to account for externalities. However, what drives leaders to embrace sustainability? Scholars have only just started to emphasize the importance of the mindset of leaders. A sustainable mindset strongly influences an organization and its strategy, and could thus potential... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | Student thesis |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2020 |
Verlag/Hrsg.: |
Jönköping University
Internationella Handelshögskolan |
Schlagwörter: | Business Administration / Företagsekonomi |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28994719 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-49253 |
Background The world is facing difficulties in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability. Sustainability in the food industry is especially important, as food production exceeds planetary limits, resulting in a need for the food industry to embrace sustainable business practices and face the growing pressure to account for externalities. However, what drives leaders to embrace sustainability? Scholars have only just started to emphasize the importance of the mindset of leaders. A sustainable mindset strongly influences an organization and its strategy, and could thus potentially contribute to organizational performance. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to identify whether the mindset behind a sustainability strategy supports organizational performance. With this thesis, we hope to contribute to the body of knowledge on a sustainable mindset in an organizational setting. Method This thesis adopted a qualitative exploratory research approach. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with both sustainable entrepreneurs and employees at organic food stores in order to gain an understanding of the mindset, strategy and organizational performance. Conclusion This study has found that the sustainable mindset does support organizational performance. The research participants all indicate that their sustainable mindsets are deeply ingrained into the organizations’ core missions. The mindset urges individuals to act sustainable in every respect, both on an individual and on an organizational level. The sustainability movement shaped by the study participants does therefore support organizational performance in various ways, as it directly influences the triple bottom line.