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Mental Models of Sustainability: Unearthing and Analyzing the Mental Images of Corporate Sustainability with Qualitative Empirical Research
Author(s) -
Hielscher Stefan,
Will Matthias Georg
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.2305
Subject(s) - sustainability , empirical research , scrutiny , qualitative research , process (computing) , social sustainability , corporate sustainability , corporate social responsibility , empirical evidence , sociology , business , knowledge management , management science , social science , economics , political science , public relations , computer science , ecology , epistemology , law , biology , operating system , philosophy
This paper demonstrates the potential of a qualitative empirical research method [ Ga nzheitliche B ewältigung von K omplexität (GABEK®)] for systemic sustainability research. We interpret systemic corporate sustainability as a research programme that views the company and its environment as an ongoing process of social construction. Furthermore, we argue that the mental models of relevant actors are crucial within the process of social construction. We then present GABEK® as a unique method for qualitative empirical content analysis and highlight that GABEK® can contribute substantially to systemic sustainability research because it holds the potential to unearth and analyze the mental models of diverse actors with the scrutiny of empirical research. We illustrate this potential with a case study of a major German company's sustainability management (BASF AG), and we outline avenues for future research for an empirically oriented approach to systemic sustainability research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.