IPSS works with decision-makers to translate the dynamics around global social and environmental sustainability into meaningful strategic insights to enable companies to survive and strive in balance with long-term interests and needs of society.

The concept of sustainability has played an important role in strategy. It is frequently applied at the level of individual companies. Means to achieve corporate sustainability, e.g. by creating a competitive advantage, have been at the core of strategy research and managerial frameworks.

Moreover, a number of global phenomena emphasize the increasing importance of considering societal and environmental factors for corporate and business strategy. Frequently discussed under the term "sustainability" these factors include phenomena such as climate change, water stress, depletion of natural resources, pollution, shifting demographics, poverty and inequality and many others. The scope and scale of these developments challenge the dominant views and prescriptions of strategy and contribute to an increasing interest in so called “non-market strategy”.

The importance of global sustainability phenomena warrants a dedicated research focus to understand how they are relevant for corporate strategy formulation and implementation. The IESE Platform for Strategy and Sustainability wants to address this need.

IPSS addresses the need for cross-disciplinary approaches. Significant managerial complexity is created by the dynamic of multiple interfaces between:

• Internal corporate resources and capabilities

• External issues around the global sustainability agenda, and

• The evolving institutional landscape that influences the dynamics of markets, customer choices and governance frameworks.

Making sense of this dynamic requires a focused effort grounded in but also extending existing strategy models. Coupling the sustainability of individual organizations with the priorities and rules that shape social and environmental systems requires a broad perspective and a cross-disciplinary approach. The current structure of isolated departments and silos of expertise within academia and practitioner platforms constitutes a major hurdle to make progress.

IPSS combines insights from different scientific disciplines including sociology, economics, natural sciences, and complex systems theory with deep involvement around the real problems and challenges of managers.

Enlarge image

IPSS helps companies to understand how to:

• Position themselves and strive in emerging markets - Create economic value in balance with changing and often fragile social and environmental systems of which companies are an integral part.

• Recognize and act on emerging threats to firm survival - Threats to operations and to legitimacy are a result of social and environmental forces that aim to make sure that corporate operations benefit society in the long-term.

The identity of IPSS is grounded in the belief that good management research and good management education enables good strategic decisions around the global sustainability dynamic.