Understanding Sustainability Innovations Through Positive Ethical Networks

Zahir Dossa () and Katrin Kaeufer ()

Journal of Business Ethics, 2014, vol. 119, issue 4, 543-559

Abstract: In this paper, a positive organizational ethics (POE)-based framework is informed by the microfinance and socially responsible investing movements to capture the process of sustainable financial innovations. Both of these movements are uniquely characterized by the formation of positive ethical networks (PENs) to develop sustainability innovations in response to external crises. The crisis–PEN–innovation framework proposed makes four contributions to the POE literature: (1) positions corporate sustainability through a POE lens; (2) formalizes the PEN construction through POE theory; (3) proposes PENs are mobilized to respond to external crises; and (4) demonstrates how PENs facilitate sustainability innovations. The theoretical framework is tested using theory-guided process tracing in the sustainable banking sector to understand how sustainability innovations were realized. The findings are consistent with the crisis–PEN–innovation framework proposed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Keywords: Sustainability innovation; Positive organizational ethics; Positive ethical network; Corporate sustainability; Sustainable banking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:119:y:2014:i:4:p:543-559

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1834-8

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