The Dilemma of Incumbents in Sustainability Transitions: A Narrative Approach
Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy, Döppersberg 19, Wuppertal 42103, Germany
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Academic Editor: Jacob Hörisch
Adm. Sci. 2016, 6(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci6010001
Received: 13 August 2015 / Revised: 15 December 2015 / Accepted: 17 December 2015 / Published: 25 December 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Entrepreneurship)
In the context of the larger sustainability discourse, “sufficiency” is beginning to emerge as a new value throughout Western societies, and the question asked in this article is: Can we observe and conceptually identify opportunities to link successful business strategies of incumbents to principles of sufficiency? Thus, how feasible is sustainable entrepreneurship for incumbents? In this paper, a conceptual approach is developed combining insights from sociology, transition research, management and sustainable entrepreneurship research with a focus on narratives as a translation mechanism in situations where tensions emerge between corporate narratives and unexpected societal trends, e.g., the emergence of sufficient lifestyles. It will be shown that even though these are still a niche phenomenon, a focus on corporate narratives is an important element in understanding the role of incumbents in transitions to sustainability.
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Keywords:
incumbents and sufficiency; corporate narratives; dilemma management; sustainability transitions
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MDPI and ACS Style
Augenstein, K.; Palzkill, A. The Dilemma of Incumbents in Sustainability Transitions: A Narrative Approach. Adm. Sci. 2016, 6, 1.
AMA Style
Augenstein K, Palzkill A. The Dilemma of Incumbents in Sustainability Transitions: A Narrative Approach. Administrative Sciences. 2016; 6(1):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAugenstein, Karoline; Palzkill, Alexandra. 2016. "The Dilemma of Incumbents in Sustainability Transitions: A Narrative Approach" Adm. Sci. 6, no. 1: 1.
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