Sustainable Business Strategy

In the twenty-first century, there is no single prescription for business strategy development, choice and implementation. The challenges facing firms, not-for-profit organizations and the public sector are significant and call for creativity, inclusivity, diversity and responsibility. The looming and deepening crisis of climate change, imperatives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and global pandemics, have exposed the risks associated with an exclusive market worldview and the indicators that drive it such as GDP, stock market values, return on investment, executive remuneration, etc.

Sustainable Business Strategy augments and challenges existing texts to offer a progressive, challenging, decolonized and plural business strategy curriculum. Andrew Grantham presents existing business strategy theories, tools and techniques, introduces contemporary critiques, and offers fresh thinking about the application of the models and outcomes. The book takes the position that what we know about strategic analysis, choice and implementation needs updating and revision; while there remains a significant role for the market in a healthy, sustainable and future-oriented economy, strategic decisions will be mediated by regulation, broad stakeholder engagement and planetary boundaries.

This book is written to be used as a core text for students studying business or corporate strategy at undergraduate and master’s levels. The author uses contemporary examples by way of illustration but seeks to guide readers to investigate the case in greater detail for themselves using references and hyperlinks. Questions and exercise sections in each chapter can be utilized in seminar classes and/or assessments.　

Events around the book

Link to a De Gruyter Online Event in which the author Andrew Grantham together with Patricia Prado, Newcastle Business School discuss topics such as: How can businesses implement strategies that enable competitive growth and create shared value in a way that is truly sustainable during this era of climate change? What tools can analysts and strategists use to ensure sustainability is at the very core of business strategy?
The event will be moderated by Richard Freeman, founder and CEO of always possible:
https://youtu.be/0y6n93-6axw

• Fuses strategy, sustainability and responsible enterprise into a single definitive book.
• Builds on traditional theory and frameworks whilst offering new options for strategic analysis, choice and implementation

Dr Andrew Grantham is a Senior Lecturer in strategy and Course Leader for UG Business Management at Brighton Business School. Additionally, he has 15 years’ experience of leading research at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management at the University of Brighton. His research studies are wide ranging in terms of sectors and firms. He has undertaken micro-level analyses in firms using interventionist methodologies such as investigating change initiatives; implementing continuous improvement; and intellectual property-searching and acquisition. At the macro level studies include scenario building for telecommunications/e-commerce policy makers at the European Commission. Consultancy projects include: investigation into clustering of videogames development companies for South East England Development Agency. His PhD was a comparison of the privatization of the UK rail industry in the 1990s and the industry’s rationalization in the 1960s.

He is published in top-rated journals including Research Policy, Public Administration, Technovation and Design Studies.

"This book that rethinks strategy for challenges of sustainability and responsible business in the 21^st century is very important and desperately needed. We have to develop business strategies that truly create value for society. This book does this job very well and therefore it is a must-read for responsible business managers, but indeed also for business students and future leaders of global companies, firms and corporations".

Professor Jacob Dahl Rendtorff, Roskilde, Denmark

"This is a very timely and relevant contribution to the wider debate on the role of strategy to business organisations. Its positioning and niche are well thought-through and clearly articulated. A textbook of this sort would be of great value in its intended market(s). The sustainability angle is a clear selling point".

Professor Stephen Flowers, Emeritus Professor of Kent Business School, University of Kent, UK

"The main strength of this book is exactly this pluralistic perspective that provides different ways of resolving business strategy dilemmas vis-à-vis challenges such as climate change, global economic sustainability and pandemics. In this sense the book is timely and will help students of business and management to develop their holistic approaches to change in the 21^st century".

Prof Theo Papaioannou, Open University, UK