IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v146y2017i2d10.1007_s10551-017-3658-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Development and Well-Being: A Philosophical Challenge

Author

Listed:
  • Mollie Painter-Morland

    (Nottingham Business School
    IEDC-Bled School of Management)

  • Geert Demuijnck

    (EDHEC Business School)

  • Sara Ornati

    (Nottingham Trent University)

Abstract

This paper aims at gaining a better understanding of the inherent paradoxes within sustainability discourses by investigating its basic assumptions. Drawing on a study of the metaphoric references operative in moral language, we reveal the predominance of the ‘well-being = wealth’ construct, which may explain the dominance of the ‘business case’ cognitive frame in sustainability discourses (Hahn et al. in Acad Manag Rev 4015:18–42, 2015a). We incorporate economic well-being variables within a philosophical model of becoming well (Küpers in Cult Organ 11(3):221–231, 2005), highlighting the way in which these variables consistently articulate a combination of ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ concerns. We then compare this broad understanding of well-being with the metaphors operative in the sustainable development discourse and argue that the sustainability discourse has fallen prey to an overemphasis on the ‘business case’. We proceed to draw on Georges Bataille to challenge the predominance of these value priorities and to explore which mindshifts are required to develop a more comprehensive understanding of what is needed to enable ‘sustainable development’.

Suggested Citation

  • Mollie Painter-Morland & Geert Demuijnck & Sara Ornati, 2017. "Sustainable Development and Well-Being: A Philosophical Challenge," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(2), pages 295-311, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:146:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3658-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3658-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-017-3658-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-017-3658-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2008. "Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1733-1749, April.
    2. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    3. Hausman,Daniel M., 2012. "Preference, Value, Choice, and Welfare," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107015432, January.
    4. Burroughs, James E & Rindfleisch, Aric, 2002. "Materialism and Well-Being: A Conflicting Values Perspective," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 29(3), pages 348-370, December.
    5. Amartya Sen, 1999. "The Possibility of Social Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 349-378, June.
    6. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss & Frank Figge, 2015. "Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 297-316, March.
    7. Stigler, George J & Becker, Gary S, 1977. "De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 76-90, March.
    8. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    9. Hausman,Daniel M., 2012. "Preference, Value, Choice, and Welfare," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107695122, January.
    10. Jean Clarke & Robin Holt & Richard Blundel, 2014. "Re-imagining the growth process: (co)-evolving metaphorical representations of entrepreneurial growth," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3-4), pages 234-256, May.
    11. Graham, Carol & Nikolova, Milena, 2013. "Does access to information technology make people happier? Insights from well-being surveys from around the world," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 126-139.
    12. Easterlin, Richard A., 1974. "Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence," MPRA Paper 111773, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Graham, Carol & Eggers, Andrew & Sukhtankar, Sandip, 2004. "Does happiness pay?: An exploration based on panel data from Russia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 319-342, November.
    14. Ingrid Kajzer Mitchell & Michael Saren, 2008. "The living product – using the creative nature of metaphors in the search for sustainable marketing," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(6), pages 398-410, September.
    15. Fernando Gómez-Bezares & Wojciech Przychodzen & Justyna Przychodzen, 2016. "Corporate Sustainability and Shareholder Wealth—Evidence from British Companies and Lessons from the Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-22, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huayuan Xu & Wei Wei & Chunmao Wu & Younghwan Pan, 2023. "Positive Experience Design Strategies for IoT Products to Improve User Sustainable Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Elizaveta A. Belousova, 2022. "Economic well-being: Semantic environment and research contexts at a municipal level," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 46-68, January.
    3. Mollie Painter & Sally Hibbert & Tim Cooper, 2019. "The Development of Responsible and Sustainable Business Practice: Value, Mind-Sets, Business-Models," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 885-891, July.
    4. Emmanouela Mandalaki & Marianna Fotaki, 2020. "The Bodies of the Commons: Towards a Relational Embodied Ethics of the Commons," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(4), pages 745-760, November.
    5. Nitha Palakshappa & Sarah Dodds & Suzanne Grant, 2024. "Tension and Paradox in Women-Oriented Sustainable Hybrid Organizations: A Duality of Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(2), pages 327-346, March.
    6. Michael S. Aßländer & Tobias Gössling, 2017. "Thematic Symposium: Business Ethics, Peace and Environmental Issues (T0004)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(2), pages 255-256, December.
    7. Patrina Whyte & Geoffrey Lamberton, 2020. "Conceptualising Sustainability Using a Cognitive Mapping Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    8. Señoret, Andrés & Ramirez, Maria Inés & Rehner, Johannes, 2022. "Employment and sustainability: The relation between precarious work and spatial inequality in the neoliberal city," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    9. de Souza, Michele & Pereira, Giancarlo Medeiros & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Trento, Luiz Reni & Borchardt, Miriam & Zvirtes, Leandro, 2021. "A digitally enabled circular economy for mitigating food waste: Understanding innovative marketing strategies in the context of an emerging economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    10. Christian Garmann Johnsen, 2021. "Sustainability Beyond Instrumentality: Towards an Immanent Ethics of Organizational Environmentalism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 1-14, August.
    11. Valentina Gomes Haensel Schmitt & Jean Pierre Seclen Luna, 2022. "Presentacion editorial: La Innovacion hacia la Construccion de un Futuro Sostenible(Editorial presentation: Innovation towards Building a Sustainable Future)," Revista Internacional de Gestión del Conocimiento y la Tecnología (GECONTEC), Revista Internacional de Gestión del Conocimiento y la Tecnología (GECONTEC), vol. 10(3), pages 1-12, September.
    12. Andrea M. Prado & Ronald Arce & Luis E. Lopez & Jaime García & Andy A. Pearson, 2020. "Simulations Versus Case Studies: Effectively Teaching the Premises of Sustainable Development in the Classroom," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 303-327, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Can Mavruk & Ersin Kıral & Gülsen Kıral, 2021. "Spatial Effects Over Time-Framed Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 517-554, February.
    2. Yeniaras, Volkan & Akkemik, K. Ali & Yucel, Eray, 2016. "Re-considering the linkage between the antecedents and consequences of happiness," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-191.
    3. Stefano Bartolini & Francesco Sarracino, 2014. "It's not the economy, stupid! How social capital and GDP relate to happiness over time," Papers 1411.2138, arXiv.org.
    4. Cheng Li, 2019. "Morality and value neutrality in economics: a dualist view," The Journal of Philosophical Economics, Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, The Journal of Philosophical Economics, vol. 12(2), pages 97-118, May.
    5. Susanne Väth & Michael Kirk, 2014. "Do property rights and contract farming matter for rural development? Evidence from a large-scale investment in Ghana," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201416, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    6. Graham, Liam & Oswald, Andrew J., 2010. "Hedonic capital, adaptation and resilience," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 372-384, November.
    7. Alexandra Nonnenmacher & Jürgen Friedrichs, 2013. "The Missing Link: Deficits of Country-Level Studies. A Review of 22 Articles Explaining Life Satisfaction," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 1221-1244, February.
    8. Fulvio Castellacci & Henrik Schwabe, 2020. "Internet, unmet aspirations and the U-shape of life," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, June.
    9. Sule Alan & Kadir Atalay & Thomas F. Crossley, 2008. "The Adequacy of Retirement Savings: Subjective Survey Reports by Retired Canadians," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(s1), pages 95-118, November.
    10. Volkan Yeniaras & Tugra Nazli Akarsu, 2017. "Religiosity and Life Satisfaction: A Multi-dimensional Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1815-1840, December.
    11. Benjamin Schalembier, 2016. "The Impact of Exposure to Other Countries on Life Satisfaction: An International Application of the Relative Income Hypothesis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 221-239, August.
    12. Jacobs Martin, 2016. "Accounting for Changing Tastes: Approaches to Explaining Unstable Individual Preferences," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 67(2), pages 121-183, August.
    13. Kamal Kasmaoui, 2020. "What makes Moroccans happy: A micro-data study," Working Papers hal-02956855, HAL.
    14. Yamamura, Eiji, 2012. "Natural disasters and their long-term effect on happiness: the case of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake," MPRA Paper 37505, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Zheng Fang, 2017. "Panel Quantile Regressions and the Subjective Well-Being in Urban China: Evidence from RUMiC Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 11-24, May.
    16. Zotti, Roberto & Speziale, Nino & Barra, Cristian, 2014. "On the causal effect of religion on life satisfaction using a propensity score matching technique," MPRA Paper 60066, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Steffen Otterbach & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2016. "Job insecurity, employability and health: an analysis for Germany across generations," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(14), pages 1303-1316, March.
    18. Susanne Väth & Simone Gobien, 2014. "Life Satisfaction, Contract Farming and Property Rights: Evidence from Ghana," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201415, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    19. Montizaan, Raymond M. & Vendrik, Maarten C.M., 2014. "Misery Loves Company: Exogenous shocks in retirement expectations and social comparison effects on subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 1-26.
    20. Guven, Cahit, 2012. "Reversing the question: Does happiness affect consumption and savings behavior?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 701-717.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:146:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3658-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.