Towards Greener Pastures: Management of Corporate Sustainability Tensions in Internal Investment Decision-Making Processes

Abstract: This qualitative study investigates the integration of corporate sustainability in the internal investment decision-making process and how potential corporate sustainability tensions are managed through the process. The two investment processes for capital investments and product developments were analyzed as the processes consider different Scope emissions and are both essential in organizations' endeavors towards a greener future. A single case study was conducted where 30 organizational members at different divisions and hierarchical levels were interviewed. The findings show that for capital investments, sustainability tensions are managed through spatial and temporal separation strategies, consequently splitting the two poles of the tension to accommodate them both. For product developments, the process manages the tensions by introducing a new element that has the potential to accommodate both poles of the tension. The diverging tension management strategies were a result of different strategic and structural contexts. The thesis thereby contributes to the literature on internal investment decision-making, corporate sustainability tension management and integration of corporate sustainability into organizational processes.