Business Culture for Sustainability and Innovation

The TITAN Project: An Overview

The overall aim of the TITAN project is to support small business ownermanagers, and their staff, to acquire appropriate sustainably responsible leadership and innovation skills which can implemented in a working context, as a way of achieving sustainable development goals alongside delivery of value to customers and other stakeholders

The TITAN project will achieve this aim through the development and delivery of a curriculum consisting of a set of complementary learning materials and resources including:

• A set of competence matrices, or modules, related to different aspects of sustainably responsible leadership and innovation

• A number of learning materials and resources (e.g. flipbooks, video guides)

• A set of assessment tools for small business owners managers and their staff

• An open educational video resource.

The TITAN curriculum will enable small businesses and organisations to:

• Identify different ways of introducing and embedding sustainability in their business models

• Assess strengths and areas for development within their business

• Explore processes and practices which can be used to implement and embed sustainability

• Learn from the experiences of different businesses and organisations who have introduced sustainability in their business models and processes and practices.

A number of themes, or modules, underpin the TITAN curriculum including:

• Sustainably responsible management

• Business culture for sustainability and innovation

• Business ethics in leadership and innovation

• Embedding sustainability in business processes

• Business responsible innovation

• Holistic approaches to innovation.

Sustainability leadership is defined as ‘a process of influence that delivers direction, alignment and commitment, and aims to address social, environmental and economic issues to create a better world’ (McCauley, 2014) and sustainable leaders are ‘individuals who are compelled to make a difference by deepening their awareness of themselves in relation to the world around them. In doing so, they adopt new ways of seeing, thinking and interacting that result in innovative, sustainable solutions’ (Sustainability Leadership Institute, 2011).

This Flipbook

Over the last five years or so, there has been an increasing number of articles, books and papers published on different aspects of how small businesses can embed sustainability into their business models and specific business processes and practices These come from academic institutions, research institutions, policy and professional bodies and business and entrepreneurship magazines. Whilst these articles, books and papers provide valuable insights into the case for introducing and embedding sustainability and generic tips and techniques, they can often be difficult to access and tease out the practical implications for introducing and embedding sustainability, particularly for small business owner-managers and their staff. There is a lack of tailored, or demand led resources which can assist small businesses in understanding current strengths and areas for development, making sense of the importance of different opportunities in their task environment to introduce sustainability and manage the journey from idea to action.

The flipbooks have been designed to address this gap. There are six flipbooks which relate to the key themes underpinning the TITAN curriculum, and they provide:

• An accessible overview of the state of current thinking

• Insights from other small businesses who reflect on what works well and less well in introducing and embedding sustainability into their business models

• Access to exercises to support reflection on own learning and skills development

• Access to useful resources on different aspects of introducing and embedding sustainably responsible leadership and innovation.

The flipbooks are complemented by:

• A series of TEDx type videos which reflect on different aspects of sustainably responsible leadership and innovation

• A range of micro-learning activities which provide you with an opportunity to assess your own understanding, behaviours and skills.

This flipbook explores different types of organizational cultures and the link between organizational culture and sustainability

Overview – Business Culture for Sustainability and Innovation

Nowadays, it is a matter of fact that, in a highly globalized world, more and more companies are seeking for sustainability and innovation. Many of the company leaders are trying to find out ways to make the company sustainable but what they are looking for is hidden on the business culture that can support sustainable development and innovation. Firstly, culture illustrates the accepted norms, values, and traditional behaviour of a group of people, and it affects the whole strategic direction of business as it influences management, decisions, and all business functions

Taking into consideration these, business culture can be defined as a set of values, goals, attitudes and practices that characterize a company including employee behaviours and attitudes, goals and code of conduct. To gain a competitive advantage while contributing to social good, many companies are trying to incorporate sustainability practices into their culture. The concept of a “sustainability culture” implies that sustainability principles are embedded at all levels of the organizational culture, including its values and underlying assumptions A culture of sustainability is one in which people working in an organization hold shared assumptions and beliefs about the importance of balancing economic efficiency, social equity, and environmental accountability.

Through the Flipbook, each organization will be able to depend on its culture and would likely be predisposed to certain types of sustainability strategies, to create a culture of sustainability in the workplace. Furthermore, by the case studies and activities, businesses will adopt new methods of management and development into their business and, that will be reflected into their employees.

Sustainability and Organizational Culture

Sustainability

Sustainability has become an increasingly important component of doing business in any industry over the previous decade Sustainability is one of the most important issues for an organization, through which companies manage their financial, social, and environmental risks, obligations, and capabilities. Business leaders are beginning to appreciate that organizational culture plays a critical role in the transition to sustainability as firms navigate through these transformations Even though many corporate sustainability reports refer to sustainability as "the way we conduct business," most business leaders are unsure how to incorporate sustainability into their daily choices and operations.

Companies that are leading the sustainability push around the world have instilled a sense of sustainability ownership in their employees and other stakeholders, implying that sustainability is everyone's responsibility, with no exceptions. CB Bhattacharya, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and author of Small Actions, Big Difference: Leveraging Corporate Sustainability to Drive Business and Societal Value has created a "Sustainability Ownership Model" to install a shared sense of responsibility for sustainable efforts across organizations.

Sustainability Plan

Firstly, a great sustainability plan begins with the leadership team's incubation. Answer key questions about the business's mission by contouring the sustainability domain: Who are we? And, what motivates us to do what we do? Describe how the company adds value to the world beyond the pockets of its owners. Then, by answering questions such, "How big is our ecological footprint?" you may set concrete goals. Who are the primary contributors? What are the expectations of our stakeholders? Make a list of material issues that affect the entire value chain and rank them according to their potential impact

Secondly, stakeholders must be educated on the links between business and sustainability goals, and they must be given the tools they need to succeed. Demonstrate to stakeholders that sustainability is an opportunity to contribute to the company's and the world's future well being. Put systems, processes, and training in place to enable ownership by lowering the costs and increasing the benefits of acting sustainably As well as providing stakeholders with the skills, confidence, and independence they require to contribute to long-term sustainability goals.

Manageability

To continue, leaders of the organization need to make manageability part of the ordinary daily schedule something individuals simply do Demystify partners' commitments to the accomplishment of manageability focuses by estimating key execution markers and giving continuous criticism on maintainability targets so they figure out how supportability functions and how they are adding to accomplishing objectives Creating occasions and practices will maintain the attention on manageability new and applicable, alongside focusing on "the three Cs": co-creation, correspondence, and festivity. In each stage, sustainability is given status, and partners have the chance to acquire a profound comprehension of, make imaginative commitments to and put themselves in sustainability. These endeavours, factors, will make the fundamental changes that our organizations need.

In contrast with that, the common issues in processing a sustainable culture in the organization are that every business has their own thoughts of what sustainability is and the way that it ought to be made do For example, in numerous different cases, sustainability initiatives are set up at the hierarchical level, in any case, these obligations fall inside few individuals who to a great extent work autonomously from the remainder of the association.

Sustainability is, therefore, very eliminated from the centre, from the core business and are not as significant or potentially as worth creating as they could be. The goal ought to be to have manageability installed across the association's centre including business methodology, individuals, and functional practices.

Organizational Culture

The impact that organizational culture can have on sustainability implementation is an important relationship between sustainability and organizational culture. M. K. Linnenluecke and A Griffiths (2010) investigated the relationship between culture types and the adoption of sustainability practices by using the Competing Values Framework. They hypothesized that sustainability meant various things to different cultures, and that culture influences how sustainability is implemented and the consequences it produces

Organizational culture influences critical decisions such as investment and resource allocation both directly and indirectly, allowing practices to reach their full potential. Culture, on the other hand, can be defined as a set of fundamental assumptions created, discovered, or developed by a group as it learns to deal with problems of external adaptation and internal integration, and which has proven to be valid enough to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel about those problems.

Competing Values Framework (CVF)

Businesses may be competent at adopting programs and modifying products and procedures but changing an organization's deep-seated values and assumptions is a completely other and more difficult undertaking. The Competing Values Framework can be used to determine organizational culture. The CVF is one of the most often utilized corporate culture indicators. It was developed empirically, has been validated in prior research, and it encompasses most organizational culture's dimensions. It has also been utilized in research on organizational culture and business sustainability, as well as research on culture change (Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2010).

While no single culture framework may encompass all relevant aspects, the CVF's four-factor structure has been confirmed in various research. The CVF is a threedimensional representation of basic values that are in conflict. Focus (internal capabilities and integration in contrast with, external direction and difference, structure, flexibility, and discretion in contrast with, stability and control, and meansends are the three dimensions to consider.

The third dimension, means-ends, is a theoretical explanation for the behaviors that emerge from values and beliefs, as well as the intended effectiveness standards to which they are linked (Hartnell et al., 2011).

CVF Categories

Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchy, and Market are the four culture categories identified by the CVF.

The ways that sustainability is implied and the categories of each.

Firstly, Clan culture. This type of business culture focuses more on interpersonal connections and rewards trust and commitment. The decision-making process is based on cooperation of all members.

Adhocracy culture, a development culture It values growth and there is a focus on innovation and external orientation. All employees are encouraged to participate.

Hierarchical culture, a more traditional one. Conformity, clear rules and regulations, stability and control are valued here So, we have a highly structured business where usually creativity or innovation seems to be unable to grow.

Additionally, Market culture. In that specific category, there is an emphasis on goals and outcomes. Productivity, goal setting, instructional communication and centralized decision-making are valued and the employees who stand out of the competition are rewarded.

Setting Sustainability Goals

Secondly, we need to know how we can create a culture of sustainability in the workplace, and by providing the flipbook we adopt some tips. Usually, to achieve something we need to set a goal and that is the first step To begin with, set sustainability goals for your business and yourself but first define what sustainability means to the business. Encourage all the employees to commit and gain common ground on sustainability. After all cooperation always helps.

Check in the corporation the equipment and replace it, if possible, with a more environmentally friendly one. Go digital and save the trees. Try not to print too many papers if it is not necessary.

Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR)

A case study that uses is the Corporate Sustainability Report is the most important document to examine (CSR). The research draws on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) database, which includes over 8,000 firms and 20,000 GRI reports from 38 industries. GRI reports, CSR reports, Annual Reports, and Integrated reports are among the reports submitted to the GRI database. Only large for-profit enterprises, including multinational corporations; only production/manufacturing firms; only businesses with GRI referenced reports; and only reports written in English were included in our sample. Following the application of these filters, 200 companies were chosen at random from the list.

The study makes use of codes created by other content analysis experts. Dueholm Müller and Axel Nielsen (2013) have developed codes based on the Competing Values Framework for organizational culture content analysis (CVF). In this study, we use their codes and enhance them by incorporating synonyms for the selected code words. Providing codes for SB practices based on the topics or categories of SB practices identified in the Business & Sustainability literature. A wide range of behaviours were discovered, ranging from pollution and waste prevention to fulfilling the poor's unmet needs.

Crawdad Text Analysis Tool

The presence, influence, and resonance of the code words are highlighted using the Crawdad Text Analysis tool. Crawdad is a piece of software designed to do centre resonance analysis (CRA) (Corman, Kuhn, McPhee, & Dooley, 2002; Tate et al., 2010). CRA analyzes text by generating networks of nouns and noun phrases that indicate important concepts, their effect, and their interactions using centering theory (Willis & Miertschin, 2010). When a word connects other words in a text network and promotes meaning, it is said to have influence (Canary & M., 2008; Willis & Miertschin, 2010). The CRA method is well suited to analyzing formal written communication, such as CSR reports (Corman et al., 2002; Tate et al., 2010).

To evaluate the data, they employ the hierarchical cluster analysis method. For each of the four culture categories, the data was structured in the same way as the practice data, with one influence value per organization. To account for the variations in the reports submitted, they normalized the culture data by utilizing the percentage of total influence for each cultural type. They initially visually examined the dendrogram for the best clustering solutions using hierarchical clustering approaches. After picking the best cluster solution, they employed K means clustering techniques

Because each of these factors influences corporate culture and SB practices, the controls include size, industry, and country. Due to their scale, larger, multi national companies may be less flexible, and greater revenue streams may lead to more investment in sustainability methods

Certain industries are subjected to stricter environmental laws and scrutiny from customers than others (for example the oil industry). Different countries will have different levels of environmental and social regulations, and customers will have different sustainability requirements. For example, European food additive restrictions are stricter than those in the United States.

Emotional Intelligence

Another important points, are business skills, analytical skills, experience, and vision are all characteristics that are frequently linked with the top executives and organizational leaders However, emotional intelligence is likely the most important attribute identified in the most successful leaders.

Emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) is the ability to recognize, control, and develop one's own feelings while also understanding and managing the feelings of others Emotional intelligence emphasizes how your emotions affect others and how you can use that knowledge to create positive outcomes both personally and with the people you manage. It goes beyond the administrative nuts and bolts of being a great leader and emphasizes how your emotions affect others and how you can use that knowledge to create positive outcomes both personally and with the people you manage.

"Emotional intelligence (EQ) combines self awareness (knowing oneself) with empathy," writes Raj Sisodia in his chapter of Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results (the ability to feel and understand what others are feeling). Because of the expanding complexity of society and the multitude of stakeholders who must be effectively communicated with, high emotional intelligence is increasingly being acknowledged as crucial in enterprises “

"I say 'jump,' you say 'how high?'" is a significant break from the typical leadership style of "I say 'jump,' you say "how high?" Leadership still necessitates power over the team's vision, but it must be balanced with a focus on the employees' needs This recognition from management leads to happier, more productive employees and more effective supervisors, as well as lower employee turnover.

Leadership & Emotional Intelligence

Leaders that demonstrate and cultivate great emotional intelligence become better leaders invariably. Consider the following advantages, firstly, internal awareness that means, making good judgments necessitates an understanding of how your emotions influence your judgment, productivity, attitudes, and other factors. The most effective leaders are aware of not only their emotions, but also their flaws and limitations, as well as their talents. For example, a manager who is not excellent at delegating but is aware of the problem can make a conscious effort to delegate more work and trust the people to whom those activities have been given. Internal awareness does not remove emotions from decisions; rather, it allows them to function alongside rationality so that they do not influence judgment subconsciously.

Secondly, self-control, leaders who make rash decisions or lose control of their emotions and lash out can swiftly lose their subordinates' respect. Any rapport you have developed might be ruined by those uncontrollable events, and regaining it is never easy Emotional intelligence fosters self control, preventing those moments you wish you could relive.

Thirdly, increased empathy, people with high emotional intelligence have a better knowledge of their own emotional states, which allows them to judge the emotions of others more correctly Empathy puts corporate executives in their employees' shoes, allowing them to make more thoughtful and deliberate decisions.

Additionally, emotionally intelligent leaders can rapidly pick up the tone of the room or group because they understand their co-workers, and then talk with honesty and sincerity to match that tone or alleviate unresolved tension.

While workplace stress is unavoidable, leaders with emotional intelligence are better at managing it and not allowing it to overtake them They also refuse to vent their frustrations on their family or employees. These leaders have a better work-life balance because they understand that job-related emotions must be kept at work.

Despite having a seemingly unlimited supply of technical know how and years of experience, many organizations continue to suffer due to a lack of emotional intelligence. These companies likewise have a hard time keeping their employees. Teams that have a negative attachment or no attachment at all to their team leaders or colleagues disengage and, as a result, miss out on the inherent benefits of working together Emotional intelligence recognizes the team dynamic and ensures that everyone is heard.

Company Culture

Company culture has improved. Organizations frequently extol the virtues of their corporate culture, but without emotional intelligence, your perception of your culture may differ from what your people experience "In our opinion, leadership is always a relationship, and genuinely successful leadership flourishes in a group culture of high openness and high trust," wrote Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein (2018) in Humble Leadership, The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust. Emotionally intelligent leaders foster better relationships and open communication, bringing you closer to the company's desired culture. Results that are based on high performance: Employees who are trusted, whose feelings are valued, and who aren't exposed to their superiors' negative, unfiltered emotions simply perform better, and increased productivity benefits the bottom line

All these advantages have one thing in common: the improved emotional intelligence that leaders have developed results in favourable outcomes for their staff. "If leaders are going to thrive in a future of extreme disruption, they must not only manage their own energy, but they must also encourage, model, and reward positive energy in others," writes Robert Johansen (2017) in The New Leadership Literacies, thriving in a Future of Extreme Disruption and Distributed Everything.

Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence has proven benefits for individuals and organizations. Two of the books mentioned in this flipbook are wonderful examples of how emotional intelligence can help good leaders become great leaders, and how great leaders can help their organizations adapt as well

Servant Leadership in Action, for starters, explains the servant leadership concept, which emphasizes leaders' responsibilities to serve people rather than the other way around. Emotionally intelligent leaders putting aside their egos and self-promotion to empathize with others, which fosters respect and prepares employees for success.

Second, Humble Leadership explains how humility and collaboration promote trust among leaders and subordinates, which benefits the entire organization. When leaders put out the effort to fully understand their staff, relationships flourish. Emotional intelligence can serve as the foundation for a deeper understanding that improves teamwork, production, and morale, among other things.

Whatever business model you use, emotional intelligence may help you develop better leaders and reduce staff turnover. After all, you have established an environment where employees feel respected, understood, and valued, and they won’t want to leave.

Reflection

How can business culture support sustainable development and innovation?

Can business culture really support sustainable development and innovation?

Is culture a key component in business?

Which business culture corresponds to your company? Is your workplace sustainable?

How would you describe the culture of your business to someone?

How can you improve your Emotional Intelligence in a way that will help you at your workplace? Take a piece of paper and describe or design ways to improve your emotional intelligence.

Case Study

A case that we did with our group is that we put into practice all the methodology we analyzed previously, the four culture categories identified by the CVF and the ways that sustainability is implied and the categories of each, to draw a conclusion about whether the company's tradition together with the staff psychology play an important role. In conjunction with this, we investigated whether the emotional intelligence is important for the company

So, we started to investigate which tradition the specific company followed, and we concluded that through all four categories, clan culture, adhocracy culture, Hierarchical culture, a more traditional one and, market culture.

The specific company had a Hierarchical culture, which is as we said a more traditional one. Conformity, clear rules and regulations, stability and control are valued in this specific culture So, we have a highly structured business where usually creativity or innovation seems to be unable to grow.

We found that since they had this hierarchical culture, and there were regulations that defined most issues, the creativity of this community was not so developed Apart from that, the people who worked in it did not seem to have the right attitude in the workplace this is the result of the culture of the company as internal communication is typically a determining factor in an organization's success.

Interdepartmental or inter-agency communication suffers because of hierarchical organizational structures' tendency to channel communication vertically. When there is no shared language that allows personnel of different departments to interact on the same level, departmental specialization can lead to communication hurdles Another disadvantage was that departments withhold information from one another on purpose.

Another fact that we discovered was that the company was slowly adapting the changing needs. For example, inside of the organization they did not have advancing technology that would help them to manage the company

In contrast, by having that specific culture the organization members are aware of who reports to them and who reports to them. This means that communication is funnelled through established and predictable pathways, allowing upper-level executives to address questions to the right parties. It also implies that people are more aware of who has the authority to assign or adjust duties and who does not. A well defined chain of command also results in well defined responsibilities.

Another interesting thing to notice was that, the business was large that would mean businesses must handle a wide range of responsibilities, from human resources to accounting to marketing and purchasing These areas of interest are divided into several department configurations that specialize, thanks to the hierarchical structure Specialization enables businesses to concentrate specific skill sets and resources to maximize efficiency.

Differentiate organizational behaviour by changing the underlying assumptions of the culture. Another point is, to recognise the four culture types that can coexist within a single firm. Identify ways in which the culture of an organisation shapes attitudes and action towards sustainability and innovation. Similarly, relate the different dimensions of responsible leadership with the different dimensions of intelligences.

To conclude, make use of emotional intelligence to encourage stronger relationships and open communication. Name leadership styles rooted in Emotional Intelligence. Emotionally intelligent leaders can rapidly pick up the tone of the group because they understand their co-workers. Finally, apply strategies to manage a Cross Cultural Team.

References and Resources

Behravesh, 2018: Differentiating Sustainably": Relating Organizational Culture to Corporate Sustainability Strategies, available in https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324900150_Differentiating_Sustainably_Relating_Organizat ional_Culture_to_Corporate_Sustainability_Strategies

Berrett Koehler, 2018: The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in a Leader, available in https://medium com/@BKpub/the importance of emotional intelligence in a leader d1ffc7fd753c

Bertels, Papania L and Papania D , 2010: Embedding sustainability in organizational culture A Systematic Review of the Body of Knowledge available in https://nbs net/wpcontent/uploads/2022/01/Systematic-Review-Sustainability-and-Corporate-Culture.pdf

Bhattacharya, Behravesh, Imbeault, Labrecque, 2018: How Workplace Culture Can Support Sustainable Business available in https://www.brinknews.com/how workplace culture can support sustainable business/

Canary & M , 2008: Principles and Influence in Codes of Ethics: A Centering Resonance Analysis Comparing Pre and Post Sarbanes Oxley Codes of Ethics available in https://link springer com/article/10 1007/s10551 007 9417 1

Corman, Kuhn, McPhee, & Dooley, 2002: Studying Complex Discursive Systems Centering Resonance Analysis of Communication available in https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2002.tb00802.x

Hartnell et al., 2011: Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness: A Meta Analytic Investigation of the Competing Values Framework's Theoretical Suppositions available in https://www researchgate net/publication/49764179_Organizational_Culture_and_Organizati onal_Effectiveness_A_Meta

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Johansen 2017: The New Leadership Literacies, thriving in a Future of Extreme Disruption and Distributed Everything

Linnenluecke and Griffiths, 2010: Corporate sustainability and organizational culture, available in https://econpapers repec org/article/eeeworbus/v_3a45 3ay_3a2010 3ai_3a4 3ap_3a357 -366.htm

McCauley, C. (2014) Making Leadership Happen, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensborough, North Carolina.

Müller and Nielsen, 2013: Competing values in software process improvement: A study of cultural profiles available in https://www researchgate net/publication/263729018_Competing_values_in_software_proc ess_improvement_A_study_of_cultural_profiles

Santhi 2021: A Systematic Review on The Relationship Between Organizational Sustainability, HR Analytics, And Organizational Culture available in https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353346024_A_Systematic_Review_on_The_Rela tionship_Between_Organizational_Sustainability_HR_Analytics_And_Organizational_Cultu re

Schein E and Schein P 2018: Humble Leadership, The Power of Relationships

Sustainability Leadership Institute (2011) Definition of Sustainability Leadership, cited in Visser, W and Courtice, P (2011) Sustainability Leadership: Linking Theory and Practice, Institute of Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge, Cambridge

Tianyuan Yu & Nengquan Wu, 2009: A Review of Study on the Competing Values Framework, available in https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cc06/a6988480a401fa64d9088ebee28a271aeb7f.pdf

Tate et al., 2010: Corporate Social Responsibility Reports: A Thematic Analysis Related to Supply Chain Management available in https://www researchgate net/publication/227802279_Corporate_Social_Responsibility_Re ports_A_Thematic_Analysis_Related_to_Supply_Chain_Management

Willis & Miertschin, 2010: Centering resonance analysis: a potential tool for IT program assessment available in https://www semanticscholar org/paper/Centering-resonanceanalysis%3A-a-potential-tool-for-WillisMiertschin/0b9f323b0227c1f848adcf52b9a10d599241581b

If you're interested in reading more about sustainable leadership and innovation, you can find additional learning materials from the TITAN project website.

Website: TITAN | Project Transformation Training to Empower https://titan leadership.eu/

The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project number: 2020 01 UK01 KA204 079163