Organizational culture and leadership: Preconditions for the development of a sustainable corporation

The relationship between corporate sustainability and organizational culture seems to be underestimated within the discussion of sustainable development. The research presented in this paper is based on a case study conducted in the mining industry. The hypothesis is that ambitious corporate sustainability activities and strategies have to be embedded in the organizational culture in order to be successful. If aspects of sustainable development are not part of the mindset of leaders and members of the organization, corporate sustainability activities will not affect the core business efficiently and are more likely to fail. The model of Schein for organizational culture is used to characterize corporate sustainability strategies: introverted, extroverted, conservative and visionary strategies are distinguished. Each strategy is assessed regarding the relation and the integration in the levels of organizational culture according to the model of Schein. The model consists of three levels, i.e. artifacts, values and basic assumptions. This framework is used for a case-study to identify the organizational culture of a global leading mining company. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

[1]  R. Baumgartner,et al.  Corporate sustainability strategies: sustainability profiles and maturity levels , 2010 .

[2]  J.A.G. van Kleef,et al.  Developing capabilities and competence for sustainable business management as innovation: a research agenda , 2007 .

[3]  A. Brent,et al.  Assessing the sustainability performances of industries , 2005 .

[4]  Ruediger Kuehr,et al.  Strategic sustainable development — selection, design and synergies of applied tools , 2002 .

[5]  Thomas Dyllick,et al.  Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability , 2002 .

[6]  S. Schaltegger,et al.  Nachhaltig managen mit der Balanced Scorecard , 2002 .

[7]  Alan Wilson,et al.  Understanding organisational culture and the implications for corporate marketing , 2001 .

[8]  A. Hardtke,et al.  Perspektiven der Nachhaltigkeit , 2001 .

[9]  T. Dyllick.  Strategischer Einsatz von Umweltmanagementsystemen , 2000 .

[10]  R. Welford.  Hijacking Environmentalism: Corporate Responses to Sustainable Development , 1997 .

[11]  J. Kotter,et al.  Corporate Culture and Performance , 1992 .

[12]  E. Schoenberger.  THE CORPORATE INTERVIEW AS A RESEARCH METHOD IN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY , 1991 .

[13]  E. Schein.  Organisational culture and leadership , 1991 .

[14]  C. Scholz.  Corporate culture and strategy— The problem of strategic fit , 1987 .

[15]  N. Tichy.  Managing strategic change: Technical, political, and cultural dynamics , 1985 .

[16]  Leadership and Corporate Culture: Harmony and Disharmony , 1984 .

[17]  Alan L. Wilkins,et al.  Efficient Cultures: Exploring the Relationship between Culture and Organizational Performance. , 1983 .

[18]  L. Smircich.  Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis. , 1983 .

[19]  T. Deal,et al.  Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. , 1982 .

[20]  J. Pfeffer.  Management as symbolic action: the creation and maintenance of organizational paradigms , 1981 .