Implementing sustainable strategy of a nation – Recognizing possible tensions arising from Finland’s sustainability strategy process

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Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

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Date

2024

Department

Johtamisen laitos

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Management and International Business (MIB)

Language

en

Pages

56

Series

Abstract

This master's thesis examines the potential challenges or tensions that could arise during the execution of Finland's sustainable development strategy, which will be implemented in the years 2022–2030. Finland is a particularly intriguing research topic because it has been named first place in the international country comparison of sustainable development two years in a row (2021, 2022) by the German Bertelsmann Foundation and the UN's SDSN network. The research on governmental sustainable development strategies and sustainable management is included in the literature review of the thesis to give the reader an overview of the main historical viewpoints from which the topics have been studied. A review of the literature reveals that, despite the abundance of material on the topic in sustainability management in business, there is little research on sustainable development work in the public sector. Organizations sustainability management research has traditionally been approached through a tripartite division into economic, environmental, and social dimensions. It is assumed that these categories coexist peacefully and that success in one category can even help to succeed in the other. However, current research has brought out more of an alternative view called the paradox approach to organizational sustainability, which also considers the existence of possible tensions and contradictions in the sustainability work of organizations. In my thesis, I utilize this theoretical paradox view and apply framework created by Hahn, Figge, Pinkse and Preuss (2015) to study trade- offs and tensions in business organizations. With the guidance of the framework I used, it is feasible to see the challenges—which I refer to as tensions—that could appear in the later stages of the sustainable development strategy process. Observation of The Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development meetings and two interviews served as the primary sources of data for this thesis. These commissions meetings were held in the fall and the remaining months of 2022. Along with using the reference framework, I also coded these findings for analysis. According to the findings of my research, there is a strong likelihood that tensions will arise when the strategy is initially implemented. With the framework I applied, the tensions between the person, state, and system levels together, as well as the tensions related to change and the context were apparent. My research suggests that we can better prepare for these tensions by accepting and identifying potential tensions in advance in the sustainable development strategy process.

Description

Thesis advisor

Halme, Minna

Keywords

sustainable development, strategy implementation, kestävä kehitys, strategian implementointi

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Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202404143102

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[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ