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Practicing degrowth as a business?: Transcending binaries

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Titel: Practicing degrowth as a business?: Transcending binaries
Autoren: Nesterova, Iana, Rennstam, Jens
Weitere Verfasser: Lund University, Lund University School of Economics and Management, LUSEM, Department of Business Administration, Organizational Studies, Lunds universitet, Ekonomihögskolan, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, Organisation, Originator
Quelle: Understanding Human-Nature Practices for Environmental Management. (1):183-201
Schlagwörter: Social Sciences, Economics and Business, Business Administration, Samhällsvetenskap, Ekonomi och näringsliv, Företagsekonomi
Beschreibung: With the world facing severe ecological degradation, we hear calls for radical change more and more often. One of these calls is for degrowth in materially wealthy nations, including the Nordics. Degrowth fundamentally challenges the modern assumption that economic growth is good for humanity and the planet, and therefore necessitates change in civil society, state and production. In the contemporary growth-oriented society, business is a common mode of organising production and a powerful driving force. Businesses pursue profit and growth and are therefore often portrayed as incompatible with degrowth. However, for a degrowth society to come about, everyone needs to do their part; this includes businesses and businesspersons. In this chapter, we explore ways in which business can participate in degrowth transformations and be part of a degrowth society. Rather than assuming that business is either incompatible or compatible with degrowth, we suggest that there is a need for a more nuanced approach to understanding radical change in modes of production and consumption, an approach that acknowledges and transcends the multiple binaries. To illustrate our argument, we offer an example of a business that produces craft wild berry wine in northern Sweden. We conclude that, for genuine change to take place, businesses’ actions need to be combined with appropriate policies and cultural change.
Zugangs-URL: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003481041-10
Datenbank: SwePub
Beschreibung
Abstract:With the world facing severe ecological degradation, we hear calls for radical change more and more often. One of these calls is for degrowth in materially wealthy nations, including the Nordics. Degrowth fundamentally challenges the modern assumption that economic growth is good for humanity and the planet, and therefore necessitates change in civil society, state and production. In the contemporary growth-oriented society, business is a common mode of organising production and a powerful driving force. Businesses pursue profit and growth and are therefore often portrayed as incompatible with degrowth. However, for a degrowth society to come about, everyone needs to do their part; this includes businesses and businesspersons. In this chapter, we explore ways in which business can participate in degrowth transformations and be part of a degrowth society. Rather than assuming that business is either incompatible or compatible with degrowth, we suggest that there is a need for a more nuanced approach to understanding radical change in modes of production and consumption, an approach that acknowledges and transcends the multiple binaries. To illustrate our argument, we offer an example of a business that produces craft wild berry wine in northern Sweden. We conclude that, for genuine change to take place, businesses’ actions need to be combined with appropriate policies and cultural change.
DOI:10.4324/9781003481041-10