Digital Commons Network^™

Logistics Sustainability?: Long Term Technology Investments And Integration, Jack E. Tucci, Seungjae Shin, Mike Benefield

Faculty Publications - The LeMoyne Smith School of Business

This study examines the investment in technology over time in an effort to achieve sustainability and secondarily to support green initiatives by minimizing environmental impacts. The literature suggests integrated supply chain contractors emphasize efficiency and flexibility which leads to organizational performance improvements. This study compares productivity changes in the logistics industry measures after significant RFID investments over time. Productivity ratios collected for the fiscal years of 2000-2013 from financial statements are used to investigate technology investments effects.Since 2003, many end users (Wal-Mart specifically) mandated the implementation of RFID technology as one part of a larger system in reaching long term …

Technological Factors For The Sustainability Of The Small Business Entrepreneur, Noghor Pessu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technical innovation creates challenges for the small business entrepreneur who uses global activities in the marketplace. Information technology and the technological innovations of the World Wide Web are driving competitiveness in the marketplace with a loss of market share for the individual business owner. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of a purposive sample of 20 small business owners in the metropolitan Atlanta area regarding the effect of technology, technological insertion, and application for long-term sustainability. Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory served as the conceptual framework of this study. Data were gathered …

University Food Gardens: A Unifying Place For Higher Education Sustainability, Leslie A. Duram, Sydney K. Klein

Publications

This research describes the key characteristics of campus food gardens and investigates their contribution to overall campus sustainability. An email-survey of fifty-two campus garden managers in North America provided quantitative and qualitative data for this analysis. It was found that gardens are often student initiated and managed, but also bring together diverse stakeholders from the campus and community. These sites increase sustainability awareness as well as overall institutional sustainability. University food gardens provide formal education that overcomes many institutional barriers to interdisciplinary programs. Informal education also occurs at these sites through experiential learning which leads to greater environmental awareness among …

Insights Into Perspectives On Environmental Sustainability, Amber R. Shobe

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

As scientists become more aware of the imposing threats associated with climate change, university leaders are encouraged to become familiar with the principles of sustainability. Abundant research already supports the relevance of environmental sustainability in higher education; however, there exists a gap in the literature which investigates an understanding of environmental sustainability and the implementation of its practices. By examining colleges at the University of Kentucky, this study identifies organizational barriers to recognizing a thorough understanding of environmental sustainability at the departmental level. The results indicate that out of the eight colleges selected, two have no existing environmental sustainability programs …

Leadership For Social Change: Illuminating The Life Of Dr. Helen Caldicott, Leah Hanes

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is a biographical study of the life of Dr. Helen Caldicott that details her life and work over the years from 1997 to 2014. The history of her significant role in the end of the Cold War and her influence in public opinion regarding nuclear power and nuclear arms has been well-documented through many books, films, and articles as well as her own autobiography up to this twenty-year-period. My study will help to fill the gap in her most recent life. In particular, I will explore the impact of her activism on society and her personal life in …

Documenting Perceived Effectiveness Of Community-Based Health Promotion Coalitions: A Grounded Theory Approach, Alyssa Brooke Mayer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Community coalitions with public health-related missions are formal, semi-permanent, action-oriented partnerships comprised of community members, representatives of government agencies, policymakers, and academic partners. Despite their potential to promote sustainable change, coalitions have had mixed success in effecting long-term improvements in community health. There is a need to assist them in developing strategies for improving and sustaining their functionality. The purpose of this study was to improve understanding of the elements of coalition success and sustainability that are vital to health-related community-based participatory research.

Methods: Although the literature describes coalition functions for effecting sustainable programs and policies, most research reports …

The Institution Of Green: The Interaction Of Green Strategies And Key Stakeholders, Jennifer Martinez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

By empirically connecting the legitimization process with individual stakeholder groups, this research enhances our understanding of the impact of the institutional environment on organizational efforts toward sustainability, and suggests a new approach to examining the influence of stakeholders on green strategies.This dissertation consists of two papers. In the first paper, the role of consumers and the process of legitimization of the green organization is examined. Hypotheses are tested experimentally, wherein subjects consider a range of green organizational behaviors. Analysis reveals that all green behaviors result in the organization earning some legitimacy. Further, there is no significant difference in consumers' attitudes …

Can A University’S Public Affairs Mission Move The Institution Beyond Sustainability?, Alexander Wait

eJournal of Public Affairs

Institutions of higher learning spend considerable time linking their mission to every facet of the institution. More recently, considerable attention to sustainability has been a focus of almost every higher learning institution in the United States and many abroad. This paper is a case study exploring whether an institution with a strong, state-mandated mission in public affairs has infused sustainability into its mission or developed sustainability independent of its mission. Surveys of sustainability and public affairs curricula illustrate that curriculum based on the public affairs mission is dictated from the top, but that curriculum based on sustainability is a choice …

Sustainability In Is Projects: A Case Study, A.J. Gilbert Silvius, Snezana Nedeski

Communications of the IIMA

Sustainability is without doubt one of the most important challenges of our time. How can we develop prosperity, without compromising the life of future generations? Information systems (IS) provide organizations with the ability to change and improve business processes to better support sustainable practices. Therefore, IS can make a contribution to the sustainable development of organizations. However, the organizational change aspects of Green IS are covered only marginally in the emerging literature. This paper aims to contribute the debate on Green IS, by highlighting the role of sustainability in the projects developing or implementing IS. The paper therefore explores the …

Difference In Degrees: Ceo Characteristics And Firm Environmental Disclosure, Ben W. Lewis, Judith L. Walls, Glen W. S. Dowell

Faculty Publications

We contribute to the literature on firms’ responses to institutional pressures and environmental information disclosure. We hypothesize that CEO characteristics such as education and tenure will influence firms’ likelihood to voluntarily disclose environmental information. We test our hypotheses by examining firms’ responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and find that firms led by newly appointed CEOs and CEOs with MBA degrees are more likely to respond to the CDP, while those led by lawyers are less likely to respond. Our results have implications for research on strategic responses to institutional pressures and corporate environmental performance.

The Incorporation Of Sustainability In Higher Education: A Research Synthesis, Catherine M. Bartolini

Higher Education Student Work

In the past decade, sustainability efforts in higher education have become more prevalent across the nation and the world. However, some institutions lack the resources and information on how to successfully create a campus-wide culture that is dedicated to environmentally friendly practices. This study was designed to help direct institutions on the actions they can take to create a sustainably focused campus. Six participants from the offices of sustainability at Babson College and Bryant University were interviewed for this qualitative study. Findings included the significance of incorporating sustainability into the foundation of the institution through signing specific documents that outline …

The Triple Bottom Line: Portable Applications And Best Practices For Sustainability In Academic Libraries, Anne M. Casey, Jon E. Cawthorne, Kathleen Delong, Irene M.H. Herold, Adriene Lim

Staff Works - Hunt Library

Triple Bottom Line Accounting (TBLA) refers to a method of measuring the economic, environmental, and community service impacts of an organization rather than the traditional practice of measuring just the financial bottom line. This chapter explores TBLA from a historical point-of-view; offers examples in higher education and discusses the implications for academic libraries. It concludes with ideas for the implementation of TBLA in libraries.

Manager Influence On Collaborative Change Initiatives, Ron Milam

Theses and Dissertations

Ensuring all residents in Southern California have access to healthy food is one of many examples of an issue too complex and challenging for any one organization to change on its own. More and more, organizations work in collaboration and designate individuals to manage these collaborative change initiatives. This research uncovers the specific influence managers of collaborative change initiatives have in shaping positive outcomes for the collaborations they serve. Based on interviewing 11 managers and funders from six leading collaborative change initiatives, there are two contextual ways in which managers influence collaboration: their position itself carries influence and their ability …

Professional Dialogue, Reflective Practice And Teacher Research: Engaging Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers In Collegial Dialogue About Curriculum Innovation, Kym M. Simoncini, Michelle Lasen, Sharn Rocco

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While embedded in teacher professional standards and assumed aspects of teacher professionalism, willingness and ability to engage in professional dialogue about practice and curriculum initiatives are rarely examined or explicitly taught in teacher education programs. With this in mind, the authors designed an assessment task for pre-service teachers that required them to interview their supervising teachers about the implementation of sustainability as cross-curriculum priority in the Australian national curriculum, and to write a reflective account of the process. Forty-seven early childhood pre-service teachers and their supervising teachers consented to the interview transcripts and reflective accounts being used as research data. …

The Use Of Management Control Systems To Formulate And Implement Csr Strategy: A Levers Of Control Perspective, Diane-Laure Arjaliès, Julia Mundy

Business Publications

Little is known about the role of management control systems (MCS) in managing the strategic processes that underpin Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). To enhance our understanding of this phenomenon, this study employs Simons’ (1995) levers of control framework to explore how organizations leverage MCS in different ways in order to drive strategic renewal and trigger organizational change while simultaneously supporting society’s broader sustainability agenda. Drawing on data gathered from France’s largest listed companies – members of the CAC 40 – we provide insights into the structures and processes that companies employ to design, implement and monitor their CSR strategy. In …

A Values-Based And Integral Perspective On Strategic Management, Nancy E. Landrum, Carolyn L. Gardner, David M. Boje

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Landrum, Gardner, and Boje apply a Model for Integral Strategy which uses internal, competitive, and external tiers of strategic planning to combine economic, social, and environmental organizational imperatives with values, social responsibility, and sustainability. Their approach seeks to balance short-term with long-term objectives and economic with non-economic concerns all while addressing the sustainability challenges facing organizations today.

Nature Is Prior To Us: Applying Catholic Social Thought And Anabaptist-Mennonite Theology To The Ethics Of Stakeholder Prioritization For The Natural Environment, Cathy A. Driscoll, Elden Wiebe, Bruno Dyck

Journal of Religion and Business Ethics

We develop a spiritual and ethical based understanding of stakeholder theory that treats the natural environment as a primary stakeholder. We consider how Catholic social thought and Anabaptist-Mennonite theology can be seen as important resources for stakeholder thought and management, especially as they pertain to the natural environment as a primary stakeholder. We provide a discussion and implications for academics and practitioners in terms of dignifying both ecology and humanity, and creating solidarity between them. We also discuss how managers can become more attuned to the environment as a primary stakeholder through the development of relationships with the land and …

Understanding It Enabled Social Action Networks: Construction, Sustainability, And User Participation, Michael Shane Banks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

IT Enabled Social Action Networks (ITSAN) are networks of actors, connected via an IT platform, working together to improve social conditions and the lives of others. ITSANs allow users to effectively collaborate, share information, and pool resources in pursuit of a common social mission. IT value can manifest itself in important ways that have not been adequately addressed in the information systems literature. To address this gap, this dissertation employs a qualitative, interpretive multi-case study approach that seeks to understand ITSAN construction, sustainability, and user participation through the lived experiences of key actors. First, a theoretically derived conceptual framework is …

Sustainability In The Plastics Industry: Concerns, Issues, And Strategies, Bonnie Bachman, Shristy Bashyal, Margaret Baumann

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

An increased corporate emphasis on sustainability can be seen in such areas as: annual reports with published sustainability goals, sustainability management systems with balanced scorecards and dashboards, websites using increased screen area and space for sustainability communications, internal and external stakeholder opinion gathering, development of sustainable supply chain plans, and marketing strategies focusing on green or sustainable consumers. To address this ever increasing attention to sustainability, a research project to understand sustainability in the plastics industry was initiated with the membership of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). This paper focuses on the results of the research (global survey) and …

The Sustainability Of Middle And Elementary School Professional Learning Communities In A Mobile School District, Phillys Hill

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This purpose of this applied dissertation was to provide school leaders with information to guide decisions about professional learning communities (PLCs) in elementary and middle schools. A sample group of secondary and elementary teachers and principals provided their perceptions of the implementation and subsequent sustainability of PLCs in an urban school district challenged with teacher and principal mobility. Sixteen of 45 schools in the large, southern school district gained new principals within 3 years of learning community implementation. In addition, the teacher mobility rate of 13.7% exceeded the state average of 11.8% (Texas Education Agency, 2010). Although it had been …

The Japanese Multinational Enterprise Influence On Sustainability Reporting Practices Of Philippine Subsidiaries: A Theoretical Review, Michael Angelo A. Cortez

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Sustainability reporting has been standardized in Japanese non-financial reporting, taking into consideration its business environment, legal framework, and cultural values. Particular to environmental management, Japanese manufacturers have institutionalized sustainability reporting in their mode of governance in the past decade. On the other hand, there are no reporting guidelines yet on sustainability reporting in the Philippines, not withstanding the current greening of global economies.

This study aims to describe how Japanese multinational companies influence sustainability reporting practices of their Philippine subsidiaires by: (1) annotating significant theories and literature on organizations, institutions and networks; (2) deriving the most relevant theory; (3) and …

An Integral Theory Perspective On The Firm, Nancy E. Landrum, Carolyn L. Gardner

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

We propose that Ken Wilber’s (2000) integral theory can serve as a new paradigm by which to view the organization and present a broader view of the roles and responsibilities of business. Through an integral theory of the firm, we see individual desires, capabilities and limitations, economic profit and humanitarian interest working in synergy to maximize firm performance. This holistic approach is innovative and is presented as a way to redefine the existence, boundaries, and organization of the firm and to show how organizations can become more ecologically sustainable, socially responsible, and economically competitive. An integral theory of the firm …

The Merit Of Intensive Leadership Development Programs On Building-Level Administrators' Sustainability, Sonja Jean Robertson

Dissertations

With recent research identifying the propensity and ability of principals to lead as a key culprit of school and district failure, it would seem that one of the most reasonable steps should be to better determine how effective specially designed leadership development programs in the area of educational leadership are at not only equipping principals and school-based leaders, but at creating a foundation and a prevailing culture for longevity or sustainability in those positions. If the development of principals and other school-based leaders is vital to the improvement of schools, the effectiveness of the measures implemented to bring about that …

The District-Wide Sustainability Of A Professionallearning Community During Leadership Changesat The Superintendency Level, Chuey Abrego, Anita Pankake

Administrative Issues Journal

The purpose of this mixed methods follow-up single case study was two-fold: to determine if a school district was able to sustain a professional learning community (PLC) and to identify factors that enhanced, inhibited, or promoted the sustainability of a PLC from a district-wide perspective, with particular focus on how a change in leadership, i.e. a new superintendent, affected the sustainability of PLC attributes. In addition, the role of trust in influencing the sustainability of a professional learning community will be discussed in this paper.

The New Digital [St]Age: Barriers To The Adoption And Adaptation Of New Technologies To Deliver Extension Programming And How To Address Them, Jamie Seger

Journal of Extension

With the rise of social media and the need for statewide program cohesiveness, The Ohio State University Extension has the opportunity to position itself as a catalyst for technology adoption and adaptation nationwide. Unfortunately, many barriers exist to the successful use and implementation of technology, including an organizational structure that does not cater to the short turn-around new technologies demand and ideological generational divides among all who are affected by the organization. In order to allow new technologies to positively affect Extension programming, we must first break through such barriers with a powerful combination of enlightened knowledge and hands-on training.

The District-Wide Sustainability Of A Professionallearning Community During Leadership Changes At The Superintendency Level, Jesus Abrego, Anita Pankake

Organization and School Leadership Faculty Publications

The purpose of this mixed methods follow-up single case study was two-fold: to determine if a school district was able to sustain a professional learning community (PLC) and to identify factors that enhanced, inhibited, or promoted the sustainability of a PLC from a district-wide perspective, with particular focus on how a change in leadership, i.e. a new superintendent, affected the sustainability of PLC attributes. In addition, the role of trust in influencing the sustainability of a professional learning community will be discussed in this paper.

The Myth Of Endless Accumulation: A Feminist Inquiry Into Globalization, Growth, And Social Change, Martha Freymann Miser

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical dissertation examines the concept of growth and its core assumption—that the continual accumulation of wealth is both socially wise and ecologically sustainable. The study challenges and offers alternatives to the myth of endless accumulation, suggesting new directions for leadership and social change. The central question posed in this inquiry: Can we craft a more ethical form of capitalism? To answer this question, the study examines conventional and critical globalization studies; feminist scholarship on standpoint, political economy, and power; and the Enlightenment notions of progress and modernism, drawing on a number of works, including Aristotle on the three intelligences, …

Plastic Packaging: A Current Perspective On Sustainability, Shristy Bashyal, Bonnie Bachman, Margaret H. Baumann

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Packaging producers, machine manufacturers, and/or resin manufacturers are studied to conduct case study research to assess the issues they are facing with regard to “sustainability”. This industry viewpoint is conducted to generate information regarding environmental pressures facing these companies and the resulting strategies employed to be competitive and sustainable. To collect the necessary information about these selected companies and the overall industry point of view they represent, direct interview techniques are used.

Sustainable Event Management Of Music Festivals: An Event Organizer Perspective, Stephanie L. Stettler

Dissertations and Theses

Sustainably managed music festivals have significant value and can provide a multitude of benefits to a healthy, sustainable and desirable society if their negative impacts are mitigated and positive impacts cultivated. To reach this great potential, sustainable event management of music festivals must become widely adopted and expanded as common practice. To drive this improvement of sustainable event management, there is a need to first understand the barriers and success factors event organizers face moving their music festivals toward sustainability. This study uses a research design of mixed quantitative-qualitative methods: a survey of thirty diverse music festival organizers across the …

The Greening Of Strategic Hrm Scholarship, Susan E. Jackson, Janghoon Seo

Organization Management Journal

The topic of environmental sustainability is attracting increased attention among management scholars. Despite its importance to managers, employees, customers and other stakeholders, however, there is very little scholarship that considers the role of human resource management systems in organizations striving to achieve environmental sustainability. In this article, we propose several specific questions that such scholarship could address. By seeking answers to these questions, HRM scholars could contribute to improved organizational effectiveness and at the same time develop new theoretical models that more adequately reflect the complexity of organizational phenomena.