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Sarah Williams

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Research student

You can email Sarah Williams directly; but for media enquiries please contact a member of The Open University's Media Relations team.

Current research

Understanding the sensemaking of climate change by SME managers in the enactment of green business behaviours

Managers of small businesses are continually bombarded with messages, advice and demands. Amidst that noise is the fluctuating and confusing discourse of eco-efficiency, waste minimisation, green business - and climate change. SME’s have a decisive role to play in the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy so it is important to understand how their managers conceptualise climate change and its implications for their businesses. The main aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of managerial sensemaking (Weick, 1995) in the specific context of climate change and business greening. In this, managers describe a complex interplay of motivations and enactment linked with self-identity and values, along with a rapidly changing business environment. Using a qualitative research design, managers describe their own environmental behaviour in relation to various constructions of climate change in order to expose the different values and world views on which their sensemaking is based. Key questions include:

• What is the role of managers’ values and beliefs in their understanding of climate change?

• How are those values influenced by changing ideological discourses and narratives within society?

• How does manager sensemaking translate to business behaviour?
 

Supervisors

Publications

Journal papers
Williams, S, Schaefer, A  (2012)  'Small and medium sized enterprises and sustainability: managers' values and engagement with environmental and climate change issues', Business Strategy and the Environment, pp. (In press). Abstract
Conference papers
Williams, S, Schaefer, A, Blundel, R  (2012)  'Engaging SMEs with business greening: the role of manager values', Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) 2012 Conference, Dublin, Ireland (forthcoming). Abstract
Schaefer, A, Williams, S, Blundel, R  (2011)  'SMEs’ construction of climate change risks: the role of networks and values', SMEs: Moving Towards Sustainable Development, International Conference, Montreal, Canada. Abstract
Williams, S, Schaefer, A  (2010)  'SME managers' motivations to engage with climate change: the role of values and emotions', Corporate Responsibility Research Conference, Marseilles, France. Abstract