Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada

Place and business sustainability: the case of an enterprise in Tibetan plateau

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Abstract

Sense of place provides rich source to business sustainability literature as it assumes the world as an interconnected social and ecological reality and specifically addresses human emotions and behavior vis-à-vis the natural and human-made environment where individuals and groups are embedded in. Scholars suggests that managers who have a sense of place commit more to business sustainability practices. However, how exactly does sense of place impact business sustainability practices? To answer this question, I conducted a 3-month ethnography by living and working in YAK, an enterprise on the Tibetan Plateau with the mission to create sustainable livelihoods for the nomads. I find that the relationship between executives and their place can be unpacked as emotional attachment and instrumental dependence. I also find how emotional attachment and instrumental dependence interact that allows the organization to achieve sustainable development in place and business sustainability.

Biography

A member of an ethnic minority in China, born and grew up on the Tibetan Plateau, I am doing research on how place-based organizing, a way of organizational process which could potentially facilitate indigenous communities preserve their traditional landscape and culture in the fast-changing world. Having survived an 8.0 magnitude earthquake that tore apart my hometown in 2008, I reflected deeply about how to live a meaningful life and where I can affect positive change in our world. I became committed to sustainability and have worked in this field since 2010. After studying and working in China, France, US and Cambodia, in 2017, I returned to my native Tibetan Plateau and conducted a 3-month fieldwork in a Tibetan textile enterprise. I’m hoping to extend my research on place-based organizing in other indigenous communities, where people have a deep physical, cognitive, and spiritual connections with the land.