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Organization & Environment (O&E), vol. 27, issue 2, June 2014. Table of Contents

*** Collaborative Guest Editorial

** Frances Bowen and J. Alberto Aragon-Correa: "Greenwashing inCorporate Environmentalism Research and Practice: The Importance of What We Say and Do", Organization & Environment, June 2014, 27: 107-112.

Full paper:  http://oae.sagepub.com/content/27/2/107

*** Articles

** Ivan Montiel and Javier Delgado-Ceballos: Defining and Measuring Corporate Sustainability: Are We There Yet? Organization & Environment, June 2014, 27: 113-139.

Abstract: This literature review article aims to bring a better understanding to the field of corporate sustainability (CS) as studied by management scholars. The first part of this review quantifies the amount of research devoted to CS and related topics such as corporate social responsibility, corporate social performance, environmental strategies and environmental performance from 1995 through 2013. The authors then summarize the different definitions, organizational theories, and measures that have been adopted by management scholars working in the CS field in both academic and practitioner management journals. The results show that the CSfield is still evolving and different approaches to define, theorize, and measure CS have been used. Differences are also found between the literature that targets scholars versus the one targeting practitioners. The authors also provide a set of recommendations on how to advance the CS field.

Full paper:  http://oae.sagepub.com/content/27/2/113

** Tobias Hahn and Jonatan Pinkse: Private Environmental Governance Through Cross-Sector Partnerships: Tensions Between Competition and Effectiveness, Organization & Environment, June 2014, 27: 140-160.

Abstract: We analyze the suitability of cross-sector partnerships as an effective mechanism for private environmental governance. By focusing on the interaction between firms within cross-sector partnerships, we analyze how competition between firms affectspartnership effectiveness. Marrying insights from the private governance literature with institutional theory and the resource-based view, we identify under which conditions firm-level competition for legitimacy and capabilities, respectively, undermines or enhances effectiveness of cross-sector partnerships to address environmental issues. In doing so, our argument develops the various factors that moderate the relationship between competition and effectiveness for different types of partnerships. We contend that the effectiveness of cross-sector partnerships for governing global environmental issues dependsconsiderably on whether competitive forces at the firm level are aligned with the collective benefits of partnerships. We discuss the consequences for designing effective cross-sector partnerships as well as the implications of a firm perspective on private governance.

Full paper:  http://oae.sagepub.com/content/27/2/140

** Briony M. Lalor and Gordon M. Hickey: Strengthening the Role of Science in the Environmental Decision-Making Processes of Executive Government, Organization & Environment, June 2014, 27: 161-180.

Abstract: Internationally, there is a growing call to embrace more participatory and democratic approaches to environmental science and policy to improve sustainability outcomes. This presents a particular challenge in Westminster-based systems of government,where participatory and inclusive structures for policy making are considered inherently difficult due, in part, to the high concentration of power in the executive and political elite. To better understand this challenge, we conducted exploratory research into the science–policy experiences of former environment ministers (politicians) and senior bureaucrats who have held executive roles in provincial/ state and federal governments across Canada and Australia and the national governments of New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Our results suggest that government organizations could further strengthen a culture of policy-relevant research and evidence-based policy on environment issues by fostering more decentralized approaches to policy andmore democratic approaches to scientific knowledge production that better accounts for the complexity of environmental decision making.

Full paper:  http://oae.sagepub.com/content/27/2/161

** Filip Alexandrescu, Stanislav Martinát, Petr Klusáček, and Stephan Bartke: The Path From Passivity TowardEntrepreneurship: Public Sector Actors in Brownfield Regeneration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe, Organization & Environment, June 2014, 27: 181-201.

Abstract: Europeanization research dealing with the environmental transition in Eastern Europe has focused on the roles of state actors in adopting European regulations. Less well understood are theframings and roles of public administration actors when European Union regulations do not prescribe specific institutional changes. This article offers a micro perspective on the framings and roles of such actors in several cases of brownfield regeneration. Actors can play a proactive role, thereby fostering change, or they can play a moderately active or a passive role. We identifythree moments-defining brownfield problems, mobilizing networks, and leading by example-which together define an entrepreneurial path. Along this path, actors can evolve from passivity toward entrepreneurship, but stasis and regression are also possible. Using qualitative data from the project TIMBRE (TailoredImprovement of Brownfield Regeneration in Europe), we illustrate different moments along this path for public sector actors in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania.

Full paper:  http://oae.sagepub.com/content/27/2/181

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