Proposal for the formation and initiation of a Research Club on:
Driving Culture Change for Sustainable Success
Introduction to Research Clubs
Cranfield School of Management has a long history of successful Research Clubs across
topics such as Agile Supply Chain, Business Performance, and Programme Management
Best Practice. Our long-standing research clubs provide opportunities for organisations to
meet with non-competitors, academics and partners to debate and problem-solve, as well as
to network with other industry professionals and business leaders. A research club is
typically set up because of a specific issue that needs addressing where Cranfield has
expertise and organisations are looking for research, insight and often specific tools to help
with operational deliverables. A specific topic is set by the group, and a set of objectives is
agreed upon by members. Research clubs run between 1-4 years depending on the
complexity of the topic (especially if very little research exists and therefore needs to be
generated) and if the club agree on extensions of the agenda. The relationships are work by
sharing the unique expertise and experience of academia, each organisation and partners –
the conversations are confidential and open sharing is important. However, specific outputs
–such as Decision Papers or Policy Documents – are encouraged. By meeting regularly and
discussing issues of importance to club members, our research agenda is directly influenced
by the preoccupations of managers.
Research Club: Driving culture change for sustainable success
The Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility wish to create its first Research Club with
a specific agenda on understanding how to drive culture change into an organisation in a
way that enables sustainable business to flourish. Ongoing research with a consultancy
partner is helping us to identify how to diagnose a company’s culture and understand its
state of readiness for embedding sustainability. For example, uncovering are the embedded
cultural enablers and barriers that manifest via policies and processes, expectations and
mindsets, motivations and behaviours, structures and power systems, and how employees
are engaged in corporate sustainability.
We are hoping to work with companies to develop a change-management matrix or
management tool that firstly identifies the embedded cultural enablers and barriers to one’s
strategy, and secondly a way to build from that to drive the culture change needed for
sustainable business success.
The Club would be coordinated and driven by a small team lead by Cranfield, with key
people from each member organisation supporting the Club success. Cranfield provides the
research (management and specialist), a cross-industry and sector view, a neutral place for
meeting and knowledge sharing, and coordinates the club to achieve its objectives. Each
corporate member nominates a person/small team who give time to contribute to the
development of agreed shared objectives of the Club; input, read and comment on research;
provide their expertise and open their doors for relevant Club research (that Cranfield would
do, confidentially, such as interviews, testing of models); attend meetings to discuss
research, progress and action points with other corporate members; and will occasionally
have specific action points to do as well.
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A fee is charged for each corporate member to cover the time and expenses of the Cranfield
team. However, the Club’s agreed objectives align with a specific need that each
organisation has that can be met through participation in the Research Club. The focus is
co-creation of an agreed solution that meets members’ needs.
Objectives:
•
To create a specialised research club that researches and develops theoretical and
practical approaches to driving culture change in organisations for sustainable success.
•
The key output would be a thoroughly researched and tested management model for
driving culture change for sustainable success.
•
However, other outputs such as learning for members will occur, for example
identification of key enablers and barriers within their organisations for embedding
sustainability, other management models of use to them in their work, and networking
and sharing of best practice.
•
Dissemination of the model is not included in this proposal, such as in the form of a
paper or article, but this is something the group can consider.
Case for Support
Corporate sustainability (CS) is regularly seen as one of the most significant challenges
CEOs and organisations face. The recent CEOs of the FTSE 100 survey by Accenture found
that 93% of CEOs believe sustainability issues are critical to the future success of their
business and that the question was not the relevance of CS, but how to better incorporate it
into daily business life.1
However, many organisations still struggle to create the change required in being a
responsible and sustainable business. Organisations cannot rely on processes and
procedures alone2 as the behaviours necessary (especially new or voluntary behaviours i.e.
tactic knowledge, personal motivation) for achieving CS targets significantly contribute to
overall success.3 One could argue that to date research and management practice still has
not yet produced a specific approach to driving culture change into organisation for
sustainable success, such as a clear and robust management framework (backed by
empirical research) that is adaptable enough for all organisations to use, in all contexts.
Some change programmes with the objective of embedding sustainability fail because they
do not address the underlying culture of an organisation, which affects how employees are
engaged, the values that are enacted, their reputation, and how things are done and
achieved. However, programmes that understand the importance of, and address, the
embedded context of the organisation have a better chance of embedding sustainability so
that it endures.
A change management approach to driving culture change is needed, first identifying what
set of cultural characteristics enable sustainable success (which can manifest differently in
different organisational contexts) and then what can act as a proxy for these so that culture
can be responsibly managed (behaviour and mindset, by utilising a change management
approach) so that deep embedding of sustainable business occurs.
For further information, please contact Nadine Exter: Nadine.Exter@cranfield.ac.uk
1 UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO study 2010: A new era of sustainability
2 Boiral, O. Tactic knowledge and environmental management. Long Range Planning 2002: 35 (3); 291317/Corporate greening through ISO 14001: A rationale myth? Organisational Science 2007: 18(1); 127-146.
And: Jiang & Bansal. Seeing the need for ISO 14001. Journal of Management Science 2003: 40(4);1047-1067.
3 Parker S, Bindle U & Strauss K. Making things happen: A model of proactive motivation. Journal of
Management 2010 in press. published on May 14, 2010 as doi:10.1177/0149206310363732.
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