Reimagining the Scales, Dimensions and Fields of Socio‐ecological Sustainability

Date01 April 2018
Published date01 April 2018
AuthorStephen Allen,Patrick Reedy,Dermot O'Reilly
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12278
British Journal of Management, Vol. 29, 220–234 (2018)
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.12278
Reimagining the Scales, Dimensions and
Fields of Socio-ecological Sustainability
Dermot O’Reilly , Stephen Allen1and Patrick Reedy1
Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YX, UK, and 1Hull
University Business School, University of Hull, Kingston upon Hull HU6 7RX, UK
Corresponding author email: d.oreilly@lancaster.ac.uk
This paper critiques the two-dimensional (hierarchical–spatial) focus on scales evident
in management and organizational studies, and the capitalist ecological modernization
(CEM) paradigm that dominates current corporate and governmentalapproaches to sus-
tainability.Our contribution is to propose a more complex and nuanced understanding of
scale, which incorporates social, political, temporal and material dimensions. We pro-
pose a heuristic framework from Harvey, in order to evaluate dierent paradigms of
socio-ecological organizing: specifically, the dominant paradigm of CEM against a so-
cial ecology (SE) alternative. We explore the divergent conceptions of, and relative im-
portance placed upon, concepts of scale, grain, level and field in these two contrasting
paradigms. Our analysis highlights the limitations and contradictions of the CEM ex-
pression of scale, namely its predominant focus on measurement and expansion through
‘economies of scale’. By oering an alternative conception of the links between scales,
grains, levels and social fields, we show howthis enriches the conceptualization of poten-
tial forms of socio-ecological organizing and opens up the potential for alternative modes
of organizing socio-ecological sustainability.
Introduction
Here at the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD), we are strongly engaged
in translating the SDGs’ [the Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals established by the United Nations] am-
bitions and words into business action underpinned
by business solutions. Wedefine solutions as business-
led ventures that are impactful, scalable,measurable,
replicable and go beyond business as usual. These
solutions enable companies to better manage their
risks, anticipate consumers’ demands,build positions
in growth markets,secure access to needed resources
and strengthen their supply chains (italics in original,
bold added; WBCSD, 2016a).
Early versions of parts of this paper were presented at
the LAEMOS Conference in Cuba, April 2014 and at the
Critical Management Studies Conference, Leicester Uni-
versity, July 2015, from which many helpful comments
helped develop the paper.
Mainstream corporate and governmental ap-
proaches to sustainability are often identified as
adhering to the ideals of ‘ecological moderni-
sation’ (Mol, Sonnenfeld and Spaargaren, 2009;
Moore, 2011, 2014; Nyberg and Wright, 2013;
Schlosberg and Rinfret, 2008), which ‘refers to a
restructuring of the capitalist political economy
along more environmentally sound lines’ (Dryzek,
2005, p. 167), as reflected in our opening quote. In
this paper,we reframe the concept of scale to high-
light the unacknowledged contradictions within
the underpinning logics and rationales of ecologi-
cal modernization. The principal unacknowledged
contradiction is that sustainability may be com-
bined with perpetual growth in human consump-
tion of products and services, because innovation
will suciently reduce the material and energy
inputs involved in production and distribution
(e.g. Nidumolu, Prahalad and Rangaswami, 2009;
Porter and van der Linde, 1995). Concomitantly,
sustainability initiatives to support the greening
C2018 British Academy of Management. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4
2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, USA.

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