Sustainability Management in large German companies : An analysis of the motives for conducting sustainability management and the roles of sustainability managers and experts

Abstract: Implementing and conducting sustainability management in businesses today presents an urgent but also complex challenge for large German companies. To react to the fast-changing regulations and demands on the market and to reduce the complexity of sustainability, organizations have introduced sustainability departments as well as sustainability experts and managers. However, the question remains as to what the motives of companies have to conduct sustainability management, and what roles sustainability managers and experts have in the process of sustainable development. The main research question therefore examines how large German companies can achieve sustainable organizational change. In 15 semi-structured interviews with sustainability experts and managers, the motives of companies for conducting sustainability management were analyzed, thereby further exploring the role and influence of sustainability managers and experts in the change process. The results demonstrate that companies pursue a variety of motives which combine economic, legal, ethical, social, environmental, as well as philanthropic and discretionary factors. In addition, the research outlines that sustainability managers and experts embody different roles in order to support the process of integrating sustainability into the organization. Moreover, through their personal involvement and enthusiasm they can partly influence sustainable organizational change. The key results also highlight the complexity of sustainability within large companies. Based on these key results of this study practical implications could be derived in the form of ten correlating factors for achieving sustainable organizational change.