Mechanisms for embedding sustainability into organisational strategic decision-making: technology as an enabling mechanism

Jaffit, Danielle

Mechanisms for embedding sustainability into organisational strategic decision-making: technology as an enabling mechanism

Master Thesis

2016

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Research of GSB

Faculty

Faculty of Commerce

Abstract

There is a growing need for businesses to shift toward a more sustainable strategic focus if they are to positively impact the societies within which they operate and remain viable businesses in the future. This is becoming increasingly acknowledged amongst South African organisations, however the challenge they face is in refocusing their strategic goals to be sustainably oriented. In order to tackle this challenge many organisations internationally and locally are starting to utilise information technology based tools and technological platforms as a mechanism for embedding sustainability into their business – tracking their impact and linking sustainability goals to their performance management structures using dashboards to visually represent this data. The intention of this research has been to explore the drivers of this organisational shift towards sustainability, internally and externally, the changes that are being implemented (the content of these strategic changes) and the processes organisations are implementing to become more sustainable. The specific focus is on the tools and technology they are utilising to enable this shift towards sustainability. This research takes the form of a qualitative cross case analysis of six organisations and utilises Pettigrew's framework for strategic change that looks at three parts of a change process: the context, content and process, to attempt to answer the question: How do technology platforms, and the ability for organisations to gather, monitor and manage organisational data relating to sustainability indicators result in more sustainable strategic decision-making within South African organisations? The results of this research demonstrate the link between quantifying activities and deeper integration of sustainable activities within the organisation. The role technology plays, based on the analysis of six South African companies, is frequently dependent on the driver of the quantifying activity and the degree to which the data has an effect on the broader business targets.

Keywords

Inclusive Innovation

Reference:

Collections

Masters

Full item page