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Support for Sustainability:

Vision or or Janet Spitz

The College of Saint Rose School of Business,

spitzj@strose.edu 518 454 2032CREST Presentation November 2, 2010

The Author would like to thank The College of Saint Rose, and the University of Queensland, for generous research support

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This work focuses on Sustainability

- what is that?Pollution, Clean

Air, Clean WaterWe can also think about Sustainability as a “Sustainable Society” writ large

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A Sustainable Society might include Social Goals

A Healthy Economy workers earn a living

wage, medical careA Democratic system

of Governancewithout undue

interferenceA Sustainably sized

populationthat can reasonably

support itself

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This Vision of Sustainability has both

ideological and practical components –

Sustainability as a Goal, Theory

Practical Application, Enactment:

What does Sustainability mean

in the Real World?

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In particular, I ask

What does Sustainability mean to those in powerfully determinant decision-making positions? In a Market-Driven World,

People in Business

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Business Managers seek to satisfy goals and

groups:- stockholders- stakeholders- employees- customers- other Business Managers- External Requirements – political, legal, and so forth.

Managers use Tools and Strategies Learned

on the job, and

from Schools of Business

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The premise I follow in this investigation is, Students Learn More

Than what is in the Books.

Culture, an Ideologya Pattern of Shared Values and Beliefs

held by any organization or

strongly-identified group

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This research investigates Values and Beliefs

about Sustainability held by Academics

- in Business Schools- in other Academic

FieldsTo gain insight into general patterns of outcomes relating

to various Sustainability dimensions

emergent in economically active global locales

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Five Dimensions of Sustainability we Explore:

1. Abstract Sustainability – theory or goal2. The Pollution Aspect – Hazardous Materials3. Healthy Economy – Living Wage, Med. Care

70-75% GDP = Consumer purchases4. Democratic Governance5. Sustainable Population Strategies

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Hypotheses

1. Academics in the field of Business will hold more negative Values and Beliefs about Sustainability.

2. Academic Women will support Sustainability to a greater extent than will equivalent academic men.

[3. National identity (AU vs EU vs US vs Indonesia) will matter to Sustainability Views - has not yet been tested.]

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Sample, Data:

Survey Results from 2008-2009, paper and online

Academics in U.S., Australia/NZ, E.U., a few S. Africa

All Academic FieldsAll Academic Ranks

Compare Business Academics who teach Business Decision Makers

to Academics in Other Fields

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Sampling Details:

• 2008-2009 Academic Year, hardcopy anonymous surveys were sent with return envelopes to academics in three waves – To several thousand academics in all departments in seven major U.S.

universities (5.8% response)– To a purchased mailing list from the Academy of Management, International

Business and Strategy divisions, to oversample of business academics (12.8% response rate)

– To academics in two major Australian universities, sent through campus mail, with return envelopes (18.7% response rate)

• Response Rate: 12.55% overall; no reminders except in my dept at UQ (34% response rate).

• 1,290 AU & US responses sufficiently complete to be used in this run.

• Several hundred emailed requests for survey participation to Academics in the EU, AU, NZ, various African states, to an identical online survey

(2% response rate)

1843 cases was the total Academics sample size

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Social Goals NOT a

Concern of Business

HazMat Unavoidable in

Business Prod'n

Healthy Economy:

Good Wages & Med. Care

Democratic Society: no Bus

Military or Election Influence

Birth Control Be Easily Avail. World-Wide

1 2 3 4 5

constant -0.939 -1.085 2.591 2.365 1.605

Business -0.216** -.034 -.738** -.514** -.190**

Male .117* .387** -.402** -.327** -.184**

Years Int'l .022 -.004 .017** .018** .002

F 7.526** 14.246** 49.138 25.258** 14.676**R-sq .012 .023 .076 .041 .024

** p<.01*p<.05

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Results -

1.Business Faculty support the idea

of Sustainability more than non-Business Faculty,

…but…

Bus Fac oppose its enactment in 3 of 4 measures:

2. Healthy Economy3. Democratic Society4.Sustainable Population

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2. Men Academics oppose the idea of Sustainability more than Women Academics, and

Men Academics oppose its enactment in 4 of 4 measures:

1.Avoiding Pollution2.Healthy Economy3.Democratic Society4.Sustainable Population

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These Results are Preliminary -- Still to do:

a) Segment the sample by Nationality: US vs EU vs AU vs Indonesia (Indonesian sample still in data collection)

b) Control for Income, Publications, RankConsiderable missing data on these variables

c)Further segment by Academic Field- Hard Sciences vs Social Sciences- Education, Medicine- Art, Music

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Nontheless…these results make Clear- Business Faculty Values & Beliefs, and- Male Faculty Values & Beliefs

about Sustainability,

theory and practice, are “different” than

other people’s Sustainability Views:

The theory is a Vision, the Practice a Mirage

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By contrast,

•Women Academics consistently support Sustainability (vision and practice) as do

•Academics in Other Fields

[vision but no mirage]

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So, what can we learn from this?

1. There is a contest of identities, of what type of humanity will prevail – differences in views.

2. In that contest, the social & institutional construction of reality, or of a milieu within which culture is reproduced, matters.

3. That milieu has multiple factors:

Gender identity emerges powerfully and consistently Field identity emerges powerfully and consistently

in particular, the Business School culture as it pertains to Sustainability “is different.”

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One way in which Business Values and Beliefs are different is that often,

Business Academics focus narrowly on one aspect of Business activity:

Short Run ProfitAnd when Business considers Improvement or

Innovation, we seek Incremental Innovation, using existing technologies and skills, adjusted.

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Sustainability is seen through the

Larger Pictureit needs a Wider Lens, a Holistic View

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Today’s Business Community opposes full employment, good wages,

medical care, to get higher profit … but then we’re confused:

Why has the economy not recovered?

In the U.S. over 70% of GDP is Consumer Purchases:- 10% unemployment = 10% of households not buying.- 10% under-employed (working Part Time, wanting Full Time) buy

very little- 10% have Given Up finding work (no longer counted as

unemployed); they don’t make many purchases, either.

add ‘em up: 30% of the 70% of GDP not happening robustly or sustainably

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Creating a Sustainably Healthy Economy requires both

a Vision of the Sustainability Idea, and

a Tangible Practice of Sustainability Acts:- Avoiding Haz Mat Production

- Paying Wages for a Healthy Economy- Democratic Governance - Sustainable Population Practices (World Bank)

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Some years ago, Henry Ford actually thought about this:

Model T Factory paying a $5/day was subject to enormous ridicule:

- why pay so much? (2-3 times the going average)Ford’s answer:a) Because these people will work diligently to produce a complex product that reliably worksb) Because then they will Buy One.

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Looking forward from Today…

we need Forms & Methods of Production that are

Entirely Different from the forms of production

and the types of products we all use today

Path Breaking Research in a Partnership of

Science and Industry will get us thereCreating literally Millions of Good-Paying Jobs en route

as a Sustainable economic engine

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That is a Vision

we can Make a Reality

Thank you. Questions / Comments /

Thoughts?