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Change of strategy for a sustainable development: processes, influencing factors and practical examples

Sustainability-related business activities and strategic changes are increasingly gaining in importance. Nevertheless, sustainable changes of strategy have so far been under-exposed in the context of scientific analyses. In order to elaborate sustainability potentials and business options for strategic change processes, this work seeks interdisciplinary access. The respective approaches and methods are based on evolutionary and systemic paradigms. This book therefore both reflects the state of the art of sustainability in the evolutionary-systemic debate and makes a contribution to the integration of process-oriented and content-related currents of strategic management. The theoretical background is provided by resource-theory approaches as well as models of dynamic capabilities and strategic flexibility. These offer a good reference framework for highlighting business opportunities and limits for sustainable strategy changes. Business culture approaches are also drawn upon to incorporate the contribution of cultural elements to sustainable strategy changes and to identify options for sustainability-related intervention. The author also takes a practical look at sustainability-related strategy changes. Fundamental patterns of business activities geared to sustainability as well as factors which effectively support a sustainable strategy change are elaborated on the basis of three company case studies. Essentially it emerges that different factors are required for the initiation of proactive sustainable strategy changes and those which display a high sustainability-related intensity. As a synthesis of the theoretical reflections and the case study analysis on sustainable strategy changes, the work aims at developing a process model of strategic action. This builds a bridge between the strategy content and process research as well as the topic of sustainable development.