Publications
Publications
- January 2021
- Business & Society
Institutional-Political Scenarios for Anthropocene Society
By: Andrew J. Hoffman and P. Devereaux Jennings
Abstract
Natural scientists have proposed that humankind has entered a new geologic epoch. Termed the “Anthropocene,” this new reality revolves around the central role of human activity in multiple Earth ecosystems. That challenge requires a rethinking of social science explanations of organization and environment relationships. In this article, we discuss the need to politicize institutional theory as a means understanding “Anthropocene Society,” and in turn what that resultant society means for the Anthropocene in the natural environment. We modify the constitutive elements of institutional orders and a set of main change mechanisms to explore three scenarios around which future Anthropocene Societies might be built—Collapsing Systems, Market Rules, and Cultural Re-Enlightenment. Simultaneously, we use observations from the Anthropocene to expose limitations in present institutional theory and propose extensions to remedy them. Overall, this article challenges organizational scholars to consider a new paradigm under which research in environmental sustainability and social sustainability takes place.
Keywords
Institutional Change; Institutional Theory; Natural Environment; Society; Environmental Sustainability
Citation
Hoffman, Andrew J., and P. Devereaux Jennings. "Institutional-Political Scenarios for Anthropocene Society." Business & Society 60, no. 1 (January 2021): 57–94.