Research challenges in sustainable strategic management: change and sustainability

Abstract

This paper examines some of the major challenges in performing research on Sustainable Strategic Management (SSM) with an emphasis on accurately assessing the extent to which strategies actually result in true organisational change. The concepts of alpha, beta and gamma change are introduced. Whereas change is a scale recalibration that occurs when a respondent recalibrate the measurement scale over the course of time of a study. Gamma change is a concept redefinition that occurs when a respondent redefines or alters his or her understanding of the concept of interest over the course of a measurement period. All three categories of change should be considered when conducting SSM research.