Bringing feedback and resilience of high-latitude ecosystems into the corporate boardroom.
This paper discusses the role of companies in high-latitude regions, which are conceptualized as socially and economically mediated ecosystems, and identifies a number of important social actors within the business environment. We present three examples of corporate activity at high latitudes and discuss a variety of common threads. Notably, we argue that business theory and practice needs to move beyond a narrow social or economic concept of organizational resilience and embrace the ecological resilience of high-latitude regions as a business management goal. We also suggest that regional ecosystem resilience needs to become a meaningful measure of sustainable corporate governance, one that corporate boards of directors can review and commit to. The paper concludes with a call for a detailed research agenda on the role of transnational and national companies within high-latitude regions.
Whiteman
Gail
G
Department of Business-Society Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. gwhiteman@fbk.eur.nl
Forbes
Bruce C
BC
Niemelä
Jari
J
Chapin
F Stuart
FS
D000531:Altitude; D003132:Commerce; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011050:Policy Making; D012924:Social Conditions