Organising urban sustainability transformations

Sustainability, and the systems transformations required to achieve it, can fundamentally be viewed as an organisational challenge. This thesis argues that mainstream organisational logics and practices can be considered a root cause of current socio-ecological problems and emphasises the need to transform both socio-ecological systems and organisations. New organisational forms and models are required not only to reduce the negative social and environmental impacts of organising human activities but also to help promote net-positive sustainability and restore global socio-ecological systems. Through deductive and inductive qualitative approaches, this thesis identifies, conceptualises, and investigates the roles, abilities, and potential of an emerging type of organisation, namely Sustainability-Oriented Hybrid Organisations (SOHOs) to contribute to transformations towards sustainability in urban environments.
Through a comprehensive multi-disciplinary literature review the thesis provides an overview of current knowledge and develops SOHOs as an umbrella category for organisations that use a mixture of market and mission-oriented practices, beliefs, and rationales to tackle social and ecological issues whilst generating a sufficient amount of their income from trading in goods or services, so as to make them economically viable and self-sustaining. Furthermore, the thesis explores nine SOHOs in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona and finds that they are well placed and have the ability to foster the development of foundational transformative capacities at local scales, namely: (1) reconnecting social and ecological systems dynamics in a way that is harmonious, healthy, and which regenerates life-support systems; (2) fostering healthy individual and political agency; and (3) contributing to building rich community relationships and enhancing social cohesion. However, the actions of SOHOs could have unintended negative effects on the development of transformative capacities at the urban scale, especially as the strategies they adopt can contribute to their missions and practices drifting towards profit or engagement in identity politics, and enemy narratives.
Next, the thesis asks how and what might make SOHOs able to support positive transformative change towards sustainable development and identifies two main factors, namely that they: (1) promote and apply complex socio-ecological worldviews where individuals and organisations are seen as integral components of socio-ecological systems; and (2) create enabling collaborative environments which include synergetic connections and substantive relationships ‘beyond’ the organisation. This study showcases that SOHOs can help transcend unsustainable dichotomies perpetuated in management theory and practice where rigid and fictitious dichotomies are imposed between what occurs internally within the organisation and what occurs ‘out there’ in biophysical systems, economies, and the broader social world. However, for the transformative potential of SOHOs to fully eventuate enabling environments are required, especially in the form of policy and institutional support.

Advisor: Thornton, TF
Tàbara, JD