Article
Sustainable development in the Amazon: a case study on new forms of organizing
Fecha
2020Autor
Wood Junior, Thomaz
Oliveira, Dafne de
Institución
Resumen
Sustainable development has become a major topic for public policy makers and managers as the impact of human actions on the environment generate increasingly dramatic consequences for society, the economy and for business. In parallel, the debate about alternative business models is growing in academia. Our research is aligned with the above movements. This article describes and analyzes a case of organizing for sustainable development that involved multiple social actors. The research focuses on a project that aimed to define guidelines for carrying out large-scale construction projects in the Amazon. As theoretical lens, we used the concept of territorial governance, defined as the co-joint process of engaging, organizing and coordinating social actors to develop territorial capital and cohesion in a sustainable way. We found that: first, the social technology that was employed in the case, which was based on transparency, strategic communication and convergence construction, was vital to the success of the project; second, the project fostered territorial cohesion and relationships between social actors; and third, the notion of territorial governance can be applied even in areas where the population density is low. We believe that this study makes a contribution to studies on sustainable development and territorial governance, as well as to organizational studies in a broader fashion. The use of territory as the locus of analysis offers opportunities for researchers that are interested in expanding their knowledge of new ways of organizing, especially ways that can provide solutions to grand economic, social and environmental challenges.