Sustainable Business in a Global Context - ENV00118M

«Back to module search

Module summary

This module emphasises the global nature of sustainable grand business challenges, offering students a chance to focus empirically and conceptually on the relationships between local sites of production, exchange, consumption, and governance that constitute “the global.”

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2025-26

Module aims

Through lectures and problem-based learning with case study brief grounded with real-world industry partner collaborations, we bring together interdisciplinary conversations bridging political economy, environmental business and management, global value chain studies, innovation and change management theories and feminist theories of society and environment, this module will equip students with the art of critical thinking to understand how “sustainable business” mediates relationships between stakeholders, society, environment, economy and the political. Students will engage with these theories and approaches in problem-based learning seminars using case study briefs that build on topics discussed in the lecture, giving students a chance to apply what they’ve learned to real-world examples with industry partners, identifying new kinds of questions and – hopefully – new kinds of answers.

Module learning outcomes

At the end of the module students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of theories of sustainability, environment and society, and be able to apply them to sustainable business practices and sustainable grand challenges,

• Understand the relationship between sustainability challenges across different spatio-temporal sites and scales,

• Be able to critically assess, and extend this knowledge to case studies,

• Communicate their insights in different contexts and media.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Students receive feedback from the lecturer and GTA in weekly lectures and problem based learning using the Harvard Case Study Business methodology. Students receive verbal feedback on their case study briefs from our industry partners, classmates, the lecturer, and the GTA, as well as written feedback as part of the assessment. Students receive written feedback from the lecturer on the final essay.

Indicative reading

Carroll, A. B., & Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International journal of management reviews, 12(1), 85-105.

Ricciardi, F., Rossignoli, C., & Zardini, A. (2021). Grand challenges and entrepreneurship: Emerging issues, research streams, and theoretical landscape. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 17, 1673-1705.

Seelos, C., Mair, J., & Traeger, C. (2023). The future of grand challenges research: Retiring a hopeful concept and endorsing research principles. International Journal of Management Reviews, 25(2), 251-269.

Van der Byl, C., Slawinski, N., & Hahn, T. (2020). Responsible management of sustainability tensions: A paradoxical approach to grand challenges. In Research handbook of responsible management (pp. 438-452). Edward Elgar Publishing.