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2023/2024 KAN-CPHIO2016U Sustainable Business: Critical and Constructive Approaches
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| Sustainable Business: Critical and Constructive Approaches |
Course information |
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| Language | English |
| Course ECTS | 7.5 ECTS |
| Type | Mandatory (also offered as elective) |
| Level | Full Degree Master |
| Duration | One Quarter |
| Start time of the course | Third Quarter |
| Timetable | Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk |
| Study board |
Study Board for BSc/MSc in Business Administration and
Philosophy, MSc
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| Last updated on 14-02-2023 | |
Relevant links |
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After following the course, students are expected
to:
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The aim of the course is to provide students with in-depth knowledge about current developments in the broad field of CSR and corporate sustainability. It is an advanced course that familiarizes students with the research frontiers as well as the most recent practical developments in the field, ranging from corporate practices to new forms of regulation.
The course stresses the need for a critical and reflective (as opposed to instrumental) approach to matters of responsibility and sustainability. It combines philosophical and political insight with business and communication studies in order to provide a nuanced and multi-faceted understanding of the lay of the land – opportunities, threats and barriers to development in an era of climate crisis and Global Goals. On the empirical side of things, it makes use of a variety of cases in order to ensure that the theoretical reflections are rooted in practice.
The first two sessions set the scene for the course, the first by providing an overview and discussion of the most recent developments in sustainability, the second by reflecting on the question of what it means to approach sustainability from a philosophical point of view. Lecture 3 focuses on the transition from CSR to corporate sustainable and developments in the realm of stakeholder governance. Lecture 4 provides a critical take on the ideological underpinnings of the modern responsibility debate. Lecture 5 explores the paradox perspective on sustainability. Lecture 6 focuses on notions of circular economy and new sustainable business models. Lecture 7 explores the most recent developments in non-financial reporting and new sustainability regulation, particular within the EU. Lecture 8 zooms in on sustainability issues concerning finance in general and ESG and corporate taxation in particular. Lecture 9 focuses on the communicative aspects of responsibility and theoretical and practical implications of ‘aspirational talk’. Finally, lecture 10 wraps up the course, reflects on future developments and looks forward to the exam. |
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| Description of the teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class time will include lectures, occasional presentations by the students and discussion groups in which students will explore theoretical perspectives and apply them to specific cases. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Feedback during the teaching period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Students will be asked to develop a short case,
individually or in groups. They can choose to focus on a particular
company or a particular event that they find interesting. They then
have to pick four readings to underpin their analysis of the case -
two from the course curriculum and two of their own choosing. They
will present their case and design for the analysis in the plenary
and get feedback from faculty and fellow students. They will also
have opportunity to get feedback from faculty on their case
analysis before presenting it.
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Indicative literature (incomplete):
Sjåfjell, B. (2018). Redefining the Corporation for a Sustainable New Economy. Journal of Law and Society, 45(1), 29-45.
Adler, P.S. (2019). Six Crises. Ch. 1 in: The 99 Percent Econ%my. How Democractic Socialism Can Overcome the Crises of Capitali$m (pp. 9-20). USA: Oxford University Press.
Jones, C. (2003). As if Business Ethics were possible, ‘within such limits’ …. Organization, 10(2), 223-248. Link
Painter-Morland, M. & ten Bos, R. (2016). Should Environmental Concern Pay Off? A Heideggerian Perspective. Organization Studies, 37(4), 547-564.
Barnett, M.L. (2019). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A critique and an indirect path forward. Business & Society, 58(1), 167-190.
Valente, M. (2017). Corporate Responsibility Strategies for Sustainability. Ch. 4 in: Rasche, A., Morsing, M. & Moon, J. (Eds.). Corporate Social Responsibility – Strategy, Communication, Governance (pp. 86-109). St Ives: Cambridge University.
Vallentin, S. & Murillo, D. 2021. Ideologies of Corporate Responsibility. From Neoliberalism to ‘Varieties of Liberalism’. Business Ethics Quarterly, online first, 1-37. Fine, B. & Saad-Filho, A. (2017). Thirteen Things You Need to Know About Neoliberalism. Critical Sociology, 43(4-5), 685-706.
Hahn, T. et al. (2015). Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(2), 297–316.
Kirchherr; J. et al. (2018). Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence from the European Union (EU). Ecological Economics, 150, 264-272.
Boons. F. & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9-19.
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