Tesi etd-03272026-190659
Link copiato negli appunti
Tipo di tesi
Corso di Dottorato (D.M.226/2021)
Autore
CONDOMITTI, GIORGIA
URN
etd-03272026-190659
Titolo
Navigating Climate Change as a Management Grand Challenge
Settore scientifico disciplinare
SECS-P/08
Corso di studi
Istituto di Management - Ph.D. in Management Innovation, Sustainability and Healthcare
Relatori
relatore Prof. FREY, MARCO
Parole chiave
- Climate change management
- climate mitigation
- climate adaptation
- supply chain management
- sustainable corporate governance
Data inizio appello
08/06/2026;
Disponibilità
parziale
Riassunto analitico
This doctoral dissertation investigates climate change as a grand challenge within management research, adopting a multi-level and multi-actor perspective to explore how organizations, supply chains, and territorial governance systems respond to the increasing complexity of climate-related transitions. Positioned at the intersection of sustainability management and climate governance, the thesis addresses the need for integrative analytical approaches capable of capturing the systemic, interdependent, and context-specific nature of climate change mitigation and adaptation processes.
The research is grounded in the recognition that climate change cannot be effectively addressed through firm-centric approaches alone. Instead, it requires coordinated action across multiple levels of analysis, from inter-organizational networks to individual firms and local stakeholder ecosystems. In response to this complexity, the dissertation is structured around three empirical and conceptual studies, each focusing on a distinct but interconnected level: supply chains, organizations, and territorial governance systems.
The first study examines climate change mitigation in supply chains through a theory-driven systematic literature review. By analysing 47 scholarly contributions, the study identifies 30 organizational and management theories employed to investigate supply chain decarbonization. The findings reveal a fragmented theoretical landscape, characterized by a predominance of single-theory approaches and a limited integration of complementary theoretical perspectives. While the literature has expanded significantly in recent years, it often lacks conceptual coherence and depth in explaining how mitigation strategies unfold across complex supply chain networks. The study contributes by mapping the intellectual structure of the field, highlighting patterns of theoretical convergence and omission, and proposing a research agenda that emphasizes the need for multi-theoretical and system-oriented approaches to better capture interdependencies and collective action dynamics.
The second study shifts the focus to the organizational level, exploring how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operationalize environmental sustainability practices within the framework of Sustainable Corporate Governance (SCG). Drawing on a dataset of over 900 Italian service-sector SMEs participating in a voluntary sustainability certification scheme, the study employs cluster analysis to identify distinct profiles of environmental practice adoption. The results reveal significant heterogeneity among firms, challenging the assumption that participation in certification schemes leads to homogeneous sustainability behaviours. Four main clusters - ranging from frontrunners to late adopters - emerge, reflecting different levels of environmental maturity. Building on these findings, the study develops a governance-sensitive interpretative framework that links observed behavioural patterns to underlying organizational conditions, such as strategic integration, resource availability, and internal coordination mechanisms.
The third study adopts a territorial perspective, investigating how stakeholders interpret and evaluate Nature-based Solutions (NBS) for climate adaptation in a coastal context. Using a qualitative research design grounded in sensemaking theory, the study draws on interviews, workshops, field observations, and secondary documents to analyse how diverse stakeholders construct meaning around NBS interventions. The findings show that stakeholder interpretations do not converge into a unified understanding but instead develop through multiple, coexisting interpretive frames, including opportunity-oriented, learning-oriented, constraint-driven, and skeptical perspectives. These frames are shaped by cognitive, relational, and institutional conditions, as well as by the perceived synergies and trade-offs across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The study contributes to the literature by extending sensemaking theory beyond organizational boundaries, demonstrating how meaning is constructed in multi-actor territorial governance processes and how these interpretations influence coordination, legitimacy, and implementation outcomes.
Taken together, the three studies offer a comprehensive and multi-level understanding of climate change in management research. The dissertation advances the field by moving beyond fragmented and siloed approaches, proposing instead a systemic perspective that emphasizes interdependencies across actors, levels, and contexts. It highlights the importance of integrating theoretical plurality, governance mechanisms, and stakeholder interpretations to better understand how climate-related strategies are developed and implemented in practice.
Overall, this work contributes to both academic research and practice by providing new conceptual insights, empirical evidence, and actionable implications for policymakers, organizations, and stakeholders engaged in climate transition processes.
The research is grounded in the recognition that climate change cannot be effectively addressed through firm-centric approaches alone. Instead, it requires coordinated action across multiple levels of analysis, from inter-organizational networks to individual firms and local stakeholder ecosystems. In response to this complexity, the dissertation is structured around three empirical and conceptual studies, each focusing on a distinct but interconnected level: supply chains, organizations, and territorial governance systems.
The first study examines climate change mitigation in supply chains through a theory-driven systematic literature review. By analysing 47 scholarly contributions, the study identifies 30 organizational and management theories employed to investigate supply chain decarbonization. The findings reveal a fragmented theoretical landscape, characterized by a predominance of single-theory approaches and a limited integration of complementary theoretical perspectives. While the literature has expanded significantly in recent years, it often lacks conceptual coherence and depth in explaining how mitigation strategies unfold across complex supply chain networks. The study contributes by mapping the intellectual structure of the field, highlighting patterns of theoretical convergence and omission, and proposing a research agenda that emphasizes the need for multi-theoretical and system-oriented approaches to better capture interdependencies and collective action dynamics.
The second study shifts the focus to the organizational level, exploring how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operationalize environmental sustainability practices within the framework of Sustainable Corporate Governance (SCG). Drawing on a dataset of over 900 Italian service-sector SMEs participating in a voluntary sustainability certification scheme, the study employs cluster analysis to identify distinct profiles of environmental practice adoption. The results reveal significant heterogeneity among firms, challenging the assumption that participation in certification schemes leads to homogeneous sustainability behaviours. Four main clusters - ranging from frontrunners to late adopters - emerge, reflecting different levels of environmental maturity. Building on these findings, the study develops a governance-sensitive interpretative framework that links observed behavioural patterns to underlying organizational conditions, such as strategic integration, resource availability, and internal coordination mechanisms.
The third study adopts a territorial perspective, investigating how stakeholders interpret and evaluate Nature-based Solutions (NBS) for climate adaptation in a coastal context. Using a qualitative research design grounded in sensemaking theory, the study draws on interviews, workshops, field observations, and secondary documents to analyse how diverse stakeholders construct meaning around NBS interventions. The findings show that stakeholder interpretations do not converge into a unified understanding but instead develop through multiple, coexisting interpretive frames, including opportunity-oriented, learning-oriented, constraint-driven, and skeptical perspectives. These frames are shaped by cognitive, relational, and institutional conditions, as well as by the perceived synergies and trade-offs across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The study contributes to the literature by extending sensemaking theory beyond organizational boundaries, demonstrating how meaning is constructed in multi-actor territorial governance processes and how these interpretations influence coordination, legitimacy, and implementation outcomes.
Taken together, the three studies offer a comprehensive and multi-level understanding of climate change in management research. The dissertation advances the field by moving beyond fragmented and siloed approaches, proposing instead a systemic perspective that emphasizes interdependencies across actors, levels, and contexts. It highlights the importance of integrating theoretical plurality, governance mechanisms, and stakeholder interpretations to better understand how climate-related strategies are developed and implemented in practice.
Overall, this work contributes to both academic research and practice by providing new conceptual insights, empirical evidence, and actionable implications for policymakers, organizations, and stakeholders engaged in climate transition processes.
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