Faith in the future: On a mission to integrate sustainability into management theory and practice

Fabien Martinez (1) , Ken Peattie (2) , Diego Vazquez-Brust (3, 4)

1 Métis Lab EM Normandie
2 Cardiff Business School
3 Portsmouth Business School [Portsmouth]
4 UFSC - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina = Federal University of Santa Catarina [Florianópolis]

We challenge existing corporate sustainability theory by exploring how the concept of syncretism contributes new insights that may help us to reconsider the role of business agents in driving society towards a more sustainable future. The theoretical model distinguishes between 'syncretic missionaries' who preach a faith and 'syncretic believers' who are preached to. We draw upon the (hitherto disconnected) literatures on syncretism and corporate sustainability to define the critical role of missionaries and believers in business. Using analogical reasoning, we argue that business missionaries and believers are characterised by varying levels of (1) sensibility to sustainability issues and (2) capacity to open themselves to 'external' idea systems and viewpoints. The type of relationships that are developed amongst and between themselves is alleged to critically shape a firm's sustainability performance. The article ends with an outline of implications for the future of corporate sustainability theory, referring to theories and concepts recently developed in the field (i.e., organisational and institutional logics multiplicity, paradox perspective).

Mots clés: Corporate sustainability; missionaries; believers; syncretism; management paradigms

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Fabien Martinez, Ken Peattie, Diego Vazquez-Brust. Faith in the future: On a mission to integrate sustainability into management theory and practice. Futures, 2021, 125, pp.102654. ⟨10.1016/j.futures.2020.102654⟩. ⟨hal-02979338⟩