Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Action Logics of Environmental Leadership: A Developmental Perspective

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article examines how the action logics associated with the stages of consciousness development of organizational leaders can influence the meaning, which these leaders give to corporate greening and their capacity to consider the specific complexities, values, and demands of environmental issues. The article explores how the seven principal action logics identified by Rooke and Torbert (2005, Harvard Business Review 83(4), 66–76; Opportunist, Diplomat, Expert, Achiever, Individualist, Strategist and Alchemist) can affect environmental leadership. An examination of the strengths and limitations of these action logics reveals the relevance of the so-called post-conventional stages of consciousness to the recognition and effective management of complex environmental issues. Suggestions are also made for promoting organizational contexts conducive to the development of a post-conventional environmental leadership.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersson L., T. Bateman: 2000. Individual Environmental Initiative: Championing Natural Environmental Issues in U.S. Business Organizations. Academy of Management Journal 43(4), 548–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aragón-Correa J. A.: 1998. Strategic Proactivity and the Firm Approach to the Natural Environment. Academy of Management Journal 41(5), 556–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal P.: 2003. From Issues to Actions: The Importance of Individual Concerns and Organizational Values in Responding to Natural Environmental Issues. Organizational Science 14(5), 510–527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal P., K. Roth: 2000. Why Companies Go Green: A Model of Ecological Responsiveness. Academy of Management Journal 43(4), 717–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, D. and C. Cowan: 1996, Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change (Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA)

  • Boiral O.: 2005. The Impact of Operator Involvement in Pollution Reduction: Case Studies in Canadian Chemical Companies. Business Strategy and the Environment 14(6), 339–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boiral O.: 2006. Global Warming: Should Companies Adopt a Proactive Strategy?. Long Range Planning 39(3), 315–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boiral O.: 2007. Corporate Greening Through ISO 14001: a Rational Myth?. Organization Science 18(1), 127–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulding K. E.: 1969. Beyond Economics, Essays on Society, Religion and Ethics. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor

    Google Scholar 

  • Bushe G., B. Gibbs: 1990. Predicting Organization Development Consulting Competence from a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Stage of Ego Development. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 26 (3), 337–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branzei O, T. J. Ursacki-Bryant, I. Vertinsky, W. Zhang: 2004. The Formation of Green Strategies in Chinese Firms: Matching Corporate Environmental Responses and Individual Principles. Strategic Management Journal 25, 1075–1095

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catton W. R., R. E. Dunlap: 1980. A New Ecological Paradigm for Post-Exuberant Sociology. American Behavioral Scientist 24(1), 15–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cayer M., C. Baron: 2006. Developing Post-Conventional Leadership Through a Mindfulness Training Program. Revue Québécoise de Psychologie 27(1), 257–271

    Google Scholar 

  • Christmann P.: 2000. Effects of “Best Practices” of Environmental Management on Cost Advantage: The Role of Complementary Assets. Academy of Management Journal 43(4), 663–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christmann P.: 2004. Multinational Companies and the Natural Environment: Determinants of Global Environmental Policy Standardization. Academy of Management Journal 47(5), 747–760

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christmann P., G. Taylor: 2006. Firm Self-Regulation Through International Certifiable Standards: Determinants of Symbolic Versus Substantive Implementation. Journal of International Business Studies 37(4), 863–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook-Greuter S.: 1990. ‹Maps for Living: Ego-Development Stages from Symbiosis to Conscious Universal Embeddedness’, in: M. L. Commons, C. Armon, L. Kohlberg, F. A. Richards, T. A. Grotzer and J. D. Sinnott (Eds), Adult Development, Models and Methods in the Study of Adolescent and Adult Thought. (Praeger, New York), pp. 79–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook-Greuter, S.: 1994, ‹Rare Forms of Self-Understanding in Mature Adults’, in M. Miller and S. Cook-Greuter (eds.), Transcendence and Mature Thought in Adulthood (Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD), pp. 119–146

  • Cook-Greuter, S.: 1999, ‹Postautonomous Ego Development: A Study of Its Nature and Measurement’, Unpublished dissertation, Harvard, Boston.

  • Cook-Greuter, S.: 2000, ‹Mature Ego Development: A Gateway to Ego Transcendence’, Journal of Adult Development 7(4), 227–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook-Greuter. S.: 2004, Making the Case for a Developmental Perspective Industrial and Commercial Training 36(7), 275–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cordano M., H. Frieze: 2000. Pollution Reduction Preferences of U.S. Environmental Managers: Applying Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior. Academy of Management Journal 43(4), 627–641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crane A.: 2000. Corporate Greening as Amoralization. Organization Studies 21(4), 673–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dechant K., B. Altman: 1994, Environmental Leadership: From Compliance to Competitive Advantage. Academy of Management Executive 8(3), 7–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Delmas M.: 2001, Stakeholders and Competitive Advantage: The Case of ISO 14001. Production and Operations Management 10(3), 343–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Dispensa J. M., R. J. Brulle: 2003. Media’s Social Construction of Environmental Issues: Focus on Global Warming. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 23(10), 74–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunlap R. E., K. D. Van Liere: 1978. The New Environmental Paradigm: A Proposed Measuring Instrument and Preliminary Results. Journal of Environmental Education 9, 10–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebreo A., J. Hershey, J. Vining: 1999. Reducing Solid Waste: Linking Recycling to Environmentally Responsible Consumerism. Environment and Behavior 31(1), 107–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egri C. P., P. J. Frost: 1994. Leadership for Environmental and Social Change. Leadership Quarterly 5(3–4), 195–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egri C., S. Herman: 2000. Leadership in the North American Environmental Sector: Values, Leadership Styles and Contexts of Environmental Leaders and Their Organizations. Academy of Management Journal 43(4), 571–604

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher D., W. Torbert: 1991. Transforming Managerial Practice: Beyond the Achiever Stage. Research in Organizational Change Development, 5, 143–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez E., B. Junquera, M. Ordiz: 2006. Managers’ Profile in Environmental Strategy: A Review of the Literature. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 13(5), 261–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery B. L., D. R. May: 2000. Environmental Ethical Decision Making in the U.S. Metal-Finishing Industry. Academy of Management Journal 43(4), 642–662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forte A.: 2004. Business Ethics: A Study of the Moral Reasoning of Selected Business Managers and the Influence of Organizational Climate. Journal of Business Ethics 51, 167–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fowler S. J., C. Hope: 2007. Incorporating Sustainable Business Practices into Company Strategy. Business Strategy and the Environment 16, 26–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzàlez-Benito J., O. Gonzàlez-Benito: 2006. A Review of Determinant Factors of Environmental Proactivity. Business Strategy and the Environment 15(2), 87–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gladwin T. M., J. J. Kennelly, T. S. Krause: 1995. Shifting Paradigms for Sustainable Development: Implications for Management Theory and Research. Academy of Management Review 20(4), 874–907

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guerette R. H.: 1986. Environmental Integrity and Corporate Responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics 5, 409–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris L. C., A. Crane: 2002. The Greening of Organizational Culture: Managers’ Views on the Depth, Degree and Diffusion of Change. Journal of Organizational Change Management 15(3), 214–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart S.: 1995. A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm. Academy of Management Review 20(4), 986–1014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawken P., A. Lovins, L. H. Lovins: 1999. Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. Little Brown, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Henriques A., J. Richardson: 2004. The Triple Bottom Line: Does It All Add Up? Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Henriques I., P. Sadorsky: 1999. The Relationship Between Environmental Commitment and Managerial Perceptions of Stakeholder Importance. Academy of Management Journal 42(1), 87–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman A. J.: 1999. Institutional Evolution and Change: Environmentalism and the U.S. Chemical Industry. Academy of Management Journal 42(4), 351–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard-Grenville J. A.: 2006. Inside the Black Box: How Organizational Culture and Subcultures Inform Interpretations and Actions on Environmental Issues. Organization and Environment 19(1), 46–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Immordino G.: 2003. Looking for a Guide to Protect the Environment: The Development of the Precautionary Principle. Journal of Economic Surveys 17(5), 629–644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr I. R.: 2006. Leadership Strategies for Sustainable SME Operations. Business Strategy and the Environment 15, 30–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg L.: 1969. Stage and Sequence: The Cognitive Developmental Approach to Socialization. In: D. Goslin (ed), Handbook of Socialization: Theory and Research. Rand McNally, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Loevinger J.: 1976. Ego Development: Conceptions and Theories. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Loevinger J., Wessler, R.: 1970, Measuring Ego Development: Volume I. Construction and Use of a Sentence Completion Test. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Manners J., K. Durkin, A. Nesdale.: 2004. Promoting Advanced Ego Development Among Adults. Journal of Adult Development 11(1), 19–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marrewijk M. V.: 2003. Concepts and Definitions of CSR and Corporate Sustainability: Between Agency and Communion. Journal of Business Ethics 44(2/3), 95–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marrewijk M. V.: 2004. A Value Based Approach to Organization Types: Towards a Coherent Set of Stakeholder-Oriented Management Tools. Journal of Business Ethics 55(2), 147–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marrewijk M. V., M. Were: 2003. Multiple Levels of Corporate Sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics 44(2/3), 107–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mccauley C. D., W. H. Drath, C. J. Palus, P. M. G. O’Connor, B. A. Baker: 2006. The Use of Constructive-Developmental Theory to Advance the Understanding of Leadership. The Leadership Quarterly 17, 634–653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meehan Souvaine, E.: 1999, ‹Developmentally Constructive Action: A Case for the Mutually Informing Potential of Action Science and Constructive-Developmental Theory’, Unpublished dissertation, Harvard, Boston

  • Organ D., P. Podsakoff, S. MacKenzie: 2006, Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Its Nature, Antecedents, and Consequences. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Painter-Morland, M.: 2006. Redefining Accountability as Relational Responsiveness. Journal of Business Ethics 66(1), 89–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker L. D.: 2005. Social and Environmental Accountability Research: A View from the Commentary Box. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 18(6), 842–860

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter M., C. van der Linde: 1995. Green and Competitive: Ending the Stalemate. Harvard Business Review 73(5), 120–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Purser R. E., C. Park, A. Montuori: 1995. Limits to Anthropocentrism: Toward an Ecocentric Organization Paradigm?. Academy of Management Review 20(4), 1053–1089

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasche A., D. E. Esser: 2006. From Stakeholder Management to Stakeholder Accountability. Journal of Business Ethics 65(3), 251–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rooke D.: 1997. Organisational Transformation Requires the Presence of Leaders who are Strategists and Magicians. Organisations and People 4(3), 16–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Rooke D., W. R. Torbert: 1998. Organisational Transformation as a Function of the CEO’s Developmental Stage. Organizational Development Journal 16(1), 11–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Rooke D., W. Torbert: 2005. Seven Transformations of Leadership. Harvard Business Review 83(4), 66–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Rugman A. M., A. Verbeke: 1998. Corporate Strategies and Environmental Regulations: An Organizing Framework. Strategic Management Journal 19(4), 363–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz-Quintanilla, S. A., J. Bunge, A. Freeman-Gallant, E. Cohen-Rosenthal: 1996, Employee Participation in Pollution Reduction: A Socio-Technical Perspective. Business Strategy and the Environment 5(3), 137–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shafer W. E.: 2006. Social Paradigms and Attitudes Toward Environmental Accountability. Journal of Business Ethics 65, 121–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma S.: 2000. Managerial Interpretations and Organizational Context as Predictors of Corporate Choice of Environmental Strategy. Academy of Management Journal 43(4), 681–697

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma S., H. Vredenburg: 1998. Proactive Corporate Environmental Strategy and the Development of Competitively Valuable Organizational Capabilities. Strategic Management Journal 19(8), 729–753

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shrivastava P.: 1994. Voices on Change. Ecocentric Leadership in the 21st Century. Leadership Quarterly 5(3/4), 223–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shrivastava P.: 1995. The Role of Corporations in Achieving Ecological Sustainability. Academy of Management Review 20(4), 936–960

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Springett D.: 2003. Business Conceptions of Sustainable Development: A Perspective from Critical Theory. Business Strategy and the Environment 12(2), 71–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Standards Council of Canada: 2004. Environmental Management Systems: Requirements with Guidance for Use. CSA, Mississauga, Ontario.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stubbs, W. and C. Cocklin: 2006, ‹An Ecological Modernist Interpretation of Sustainability: the Case of Interface Inc.’, Business Strategy and the Environment, in press, published online July 20, 2006

  • Sweet S., N. Roome, P. Sweet: 2003. Corporate Environmental Management and Sustainable Enterprise: The Influence of Information Processing and Decision Styles. Business Strategy and the Environment 12, 265–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teal E. J., A. B. Carroll: 1999. Moral Reasoning Skills: Are Entrepreneurs Different?. Journal of Business Ethics 19, 229–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torbert W.: 1987. Managing the Corporate Dream: Restructuring for Long-Term Success. Dow Jones-Irwin, Homewood, IL

    Google Scholar 

  • Torbert W.: 1991, The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, Society and Scientific Inquiry. Sage, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Torbert W.: 2004, Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership. Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Torbert W., D. Fisher: 1992. Autobiographical Awareness as a Catalyst for Managerial and Organisational Development. Management Education and Development 23(3), 184–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter G.: 1995, Blueprint for Green Management. McGraw-Hill. Berkshire, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Young J. E.: 2002. A Spectrum of Consciousness for CEOS: A Business Application of Wilber’s Spectrum of Consciousness. International Journal of Organizational Analysis 10(1), 30–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Management, Laval University, Pavillon Palasis-Prince, 2325 rue de la Terrasse, Quebec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6

    Olivier Boiral, Mario Cayer & Charles M. Baron

Authors
  1. Olivier Boiral
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mario Cayer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Charles M. Baron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charles M. Baron.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Boiral, O., Cayer, M. & Baron, C.M. The Action Logics of Environmental Leadership: A Developmental Perspective. J Bus Ethics 85, 479–499 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9784-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9784-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation