The themes of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and organizing

The Model: Sustainability in the Context of Globalization and Strategic Innovation

Sustainability and SD fit well in the context of globalization. They are essential for true global­ization. However, sustainability is a preeminent management construct in its own right with or without globalization. Moreover, sustainability and SD are inextirpable linked with strategic in­novations. Given the current state of affairs in the business world, global corporations are a long way from achieving the level of sophistication that is necessary to achieve a modicum of sustainability within a decade or two. In my book, Sustainable Business Development: Inventing the Future through Strategy, Innovation and Leadership, the important factors for realizing sustainable are detailed. Some of the key underlying concepts include (Rainey, 2006, pp678-680):

Management across the world is engaged in the relentless struggle to keep pace with tech­nological, social, economic and environmental changes that seem to accelerate as time moves forward. Great strides in competitive advantages are marginalized by the gains of peers and com­petitors, and the changing business environment.

Where past breakthroughs led to competitive advantages that lasted for decades, the effects of such achievements today are often measured in months. However, with all ofthe challenges, there are also enormous opportunities, opportunities to lead change and move beyond the social, economic and environmental mandates. Across the world people want solutions to the problems they face. The opportunities for providing these solutions range from finding ways to expand health care and obliterate hunger to protecting natural resources and eliminating waste streams.

The penultimate obj ective is the quest for great­ness, the quest for perfection, not perfection itself. It is akin to the building of the great cathedrals of Europe. The architects and builders recognized the daunting nature of such projects. They knew that it would take many generations of skilled and dedicated people to realize the dreams. Neverthe­less, they were willing to invest their time and efforts in the process because they believed in the vision. They understood that laying the founda­tion and building solid walls would provide the means for others to continue building. Moreover, they realized that the succeeding generations of their relatives and compatriots would enjoy the fruits of their labor and that the structures would provide humankind a lasting testimonial of their contributions and achievements.

Sustainability requires dedication and ongoing development. While continuous improvement was one of the main management themes of the late twentieth century, the pursuit of sustainability and SD are the critical perspectives driving global corporation in this century. Sustainability is the relentless pursuit toward perfection through in­novativeness, inclusiveness, and connectedness. The requisite model includes the key elements for leading change through innovation, managing the systems and structures across the organiza­tion and the extended enterprise, and building enduring relationships with people through social responsibility. The model provides a framework pertaining to how the key elements interrelate. The

Figure 1. Modelfor improving the adoption of sustainability in the context of globalization and innovation

GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Operational Management

model is depicted in Figure 1; it is an adaptation of the model presented in my book, Enterprise- wide Strategic Management: Achieving Sustain­able Success through Leadership, Strategies and Value Creation (Rainey, 2010, p160). While the framework maps out the essential elements, it is impossible to articulate all of the details.

The model offers several exciting perspectives:

include existing markets, emerging ones, customers, and non-customers. While many existing models are either compa­ny-centric based on core competencies or competition-centric based on rivalry, sus­tainable success focuses on making people the center of strategies and actions and making them successful.

• The underlying aspirations include creat­ing sustainable solutions and achieving sustainable outcomes through SD and stra­tegic innovations, not just making short­term profits at the expense of long-term success. Given that people are central to sustainable success, building enduring re-

lationships is essential for realizing the ex­pected outcomes on an ongoing basis.

• The model has holistic connections with strategic management and operational constructs. It focuses on integrating the corporation’s strategies and actions with the external contributions of the extended enterprise and the needs and expectations of the market spaces. This represents a quantum leap forward in connecting the systems, structures, processes, and practic­es that facilitate developing and deploying the best solutions possible.

The model addresses perspectives and con­structs that are in line with 21st century dynam­ics. It examines the business environment in the context of the whole global landscape, and stra­tegic leadership and management in the context of sustainability and sustainable development. Indeed, it examines the whole perspective rather than focusing on the parts, which is often the prevailing methodology. For instance, the model integrates concepts for dealing with customers and stakeholders and building relationships rather than just focusing on marketing and selling. It recognizes that customers want solutions that exceed their needs and expectations. It discusses solutions in the context of social, economic, technological, ethical, environmental, and market space considerations. It explores not only the prevailing situation but how innovative solutions taken from the market perspective can create new opportunities. It includes the systems, structures, and processes required for obtaining results.

These perspectives are reinforced by the con­tributions of C. K. Prahalad and M. S. Krishnan

(2007) in the new age of innovation, in which they state that building relationships with external contributors are a main source of competitive advantage (p46).