Learning from the Anthropocene: Adaptive Epistemology and Complexity in Strategic Managerial Thinking

Andrew S. Mitchell, Mark Lemon and Wim Lambrechts
Additional contact information
Andrew S. Mitchell: Institute of Energy & Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
Mark Lemon: Institute of Energy & Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
Wim Lambrechts: Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management, Open University of the Netherlands, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Turbulence experienced in the business and social realms resonates with turbulence unfolding throughout the biosphere, as a process of accelerating change at the stratigraphic scale termed the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is understood as a multi-dimensional limit point, one dimension of which concerns the limits to the lineal epistemology prevalent since the Age of the Enlightenment. This paper argues that future conditions necessitate the updating of a lineal epistemology through a transition towards resilience thinking that is both adaptive and ecosystemic. A management paradigm informed by the recognition of multiple equilibria states distinguished by thresholds, and incorporating adaptive and resilience thinking is considered. This paradigm is thought to enhance flexibility and the capacity to absorb influences without crossing thresholds into alternate stable, but less desirable, states. One consequence is that evaluations of success may change, and these changes are considered and explored as likely on-going challenges businesses must grapple with into the future.

Keywords: epistemology; resilience thinking; adaptive management; anthropocene (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4427/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4427/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4427-:d:364588

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().