Identifying change agents for sustainability. Corporate sustainability integration at RIVM.

Abstract

Change agents can have a significant influence on corporate sustainability (CS) integration, however, their influence, specifically the influence of their worldview has not been thoroughly investigated yet. The purpose of this thesis was therefore to investigate this influence on the success of corporate sustainability integration. To substantiate this, other factors influencing the integration success (e.g. management commitment) were also taken into account. Three case studies were performed to see if there was a relationship between the involved change agent’s worldview, the other factors and the integration success. This analysis was done on the basis of secondary data, consulted documents, conversations with employees and by interviews with and questionnaires about the change agent worldviews. The research findings indicated that, overall, the identified change agents show different worldviews and that the specific cases were also influenced by factors other than the change agent worldview. Findings did not point to (a) specific worldview(s) contributing to the success of CS integration, but general assumptions could be made on which type of integration process and which part of the integration process requires which type of worldview in a change agent. This research was the first to link the concepts of worldviews, CS integration and other factors influencing the integration process and to develop and implement the method of this study.