Architect, Catalyst, Advocate, and Prophet: A Four-Lens View of Companies to Support Ecodesign Integration

Raphaëlle Stewart, Faheem Ali, Casper Boks and Niki Bey
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Raphaëlle Stewart: Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Diplomvej, Bygning 371, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Faheem Ali: Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Diplomvej, Bygning 371, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Casper Boks: Department of Design, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kolbjørn Hejes Vei 2b, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Niki Bey: Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Diplomvej, Bygning 371, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-27

Abstract: Companies are increasingly expected to develop products with better environmental performance throughout their life cycle. Academic literature on ecodesign integration, which investigates firms’ practices of dealing with environmental concerns associated with their products, indicates a need for more focus on formal and informal organizational aspects. From the general management literature, the four-lens view of organizations provides a rich understanding of organizations by embracing their formal (structural lens) and informal (human, political and symbolic lenses) functioning. This article aims to explore the extent to which the four-lens view may support ecodesign integration in companies. This exploratory study builds on fifteen interviews about ecodesign integration at seven manufacturing companies in Denmark and Norway. The main results are threefold: (i) the different lenses of organizations could be found in measures mentioned at the case companies; (ii) measures from the architect’s perspective seemed necessary to provide an official scene for ecodesign and help prioritizing it in organizations; and (iii) the catalyst’s, advocate’s, and prophet’s perspectives seemed necessary to facilitate or complement the architect’s perspective. In the light of these findings, the four-lens view seems relevant to strengthen ecodesign integration, and its potential use as a reflective tool is an avenue for future work.

Keywords: sustainability; ecodesign; product development; product innovation; change; organization; industry; case study; interview; Nordic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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