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The purpose of this paper is to draw on empirical data from two major organisations (IBM and HSBC) to offer insight on the question of the effectiveness and potential value of experiential learning approaches to developing the mindsets and skills needed by organisational leaders as they respond to the pressures and opportunities of sustainability.

The data in this paper are drawn from semi‐structured interviews with previous programme participants in IBM's Corporate Service Corps and HSBC's Climate Champions Programme.

Interviewees reported that the learning programmes had a powerful impact and that a range of outcomes was achieved. The experiential, immersive experience was a fundamental factor in the achievement of these outcomes, from the perspective of participants, but only alongside a number of other key aspects of the design and facilitation of the programme, and also a number of factors related to the wider organisational context.

It would be valuable to explore similar questions with a larger sample of programme participants, and also to explore variations across a wider number of organisations. Similarly, it would be valuable to gather longitudinal data to explore how the perspectives of participants on the impact of these learning programmes vary over time.

The findings lend weight to arguments that those involved in management development might usefully give more consideration of the potential value of experiential learning approaches. The findings also suggest that appropriate consideration be given to a number of other design and facilitation factors, as well as the scope for influencing a range of relevant factors in the wider organisational context.

This paper contributes original empirical data on the effectiveness and potential value of experiential learning approaches.

Social implications are as follows: social activism; girls education; collaboration; collective action; and change agent.

Learning outcomes are as follows: evaluate the role of a change agent in a nonprofit organization; understand collaborative partnerships in a nonprofit organization; examine how a nonprofit organization is promoting education in conflict-affected countries; understand the importance of education for girls as a basic human right; understand and discuss the threats to girls’ education in conflict-affected countries; analyze the role of Malala Yousafzai in supporting girls’ education globally; identify the challenges unique to educating girls; and explore steps that Yousafzai needs to take to ensure girls have equal access to the knowledge and skills they need to learn and lead in a world affected by the pandemic and climate change.

The case discusses social activist Malala Yousafzai’s (She) diligent efforts to promote girls’ education in conflict-affected regions globally through her not-for-profit organization Malala Fund. Co-founded in 2013, Malala Fund worked to ensure every girl globally could access 12 years of free, safe, quality education. The fund worked towards this goal by building creative partnerships and investing in its global network of education activists and advocates fighting for girls’ education in communities where most girls missed out. Malala Fund supported girls’ education programs in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, India, Brazil, Ethiopia, Turkey and Lebanon. The Fund’s projects were aimed at addressing gender norms, promoting the empowerment of girls through education, imparting gender-sensitive training for teachers and raising awareness about the need for girls’ education. In 2016, the fund created the Education Champion Network to support the work of local educators and advocates to advance.

Post-graduate level students.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 11: Strategy.

The purpose of this chapter is to share the findings of a qualitative case study focusing on international sustainability guidelines’ ‘fit’ at a mega South African state-owned enterprise (SOE). The case study set out to determine if international guidelines developed in the West fit when the home country of the company is in the global South. The case study drew on document analysis and 23 serial interviews with 12 formally employed sustainability champions and the analysis was conducted through applied thematic analysis (ATA) using the computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) Atlas.ti. The case study was conducted at a South African SOE with over 60,000 employees and an average annual revenue of 50 billion Rand. The study found that there were several international sustainability guidelines in use at the SOE and that the guidelines in use were not only a good fit but were valuable to the sustainability champions and the company’s corporate sustainability governance structures. The research is limited in that it is not generalizable; however, it is transferrable to similar contexts.

The study recommends that companies ensure that they adopt guidelines that are appropriate for their organization, industry and the regions wherein they operate and that sustainability guidelines may be particularly useful in promoting corporate sustainability within the organization and establishing sustainability-related governance mechanisms which may be valuable for stakeholders as well. This research demonstrates that companies who engage in international trade are likely to benefit from international sustainability guidelines and reveals unique practices which the company proactively engages into ensure that the guidelines are effectively applied.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of academic staff who are committed to embedding sustainability within tertiary curricula and pedagogy.

The focus of this paper is on a New Zealand university. A survey of staff was undertaken and in-depth interviews conducted with 11 sustainability “champions”. A narrative variant of thematic analysis was used to examine the ways these sustainability “champions” made sense of the work they do. Through an analysis of their metaphors and metaphorical language, a sense of the identities that they held as educators of sustainability was gained.

Three types of identities emerged – the sustainability “saviour”, “nurturer” and “struggler”. These identities reflected the champion’s experiences, disciplinary affiliations and pedagogical approaches. Interdisciplinarity emerged as a key tenet and challenge for such sustainability champions.

This paper provides rare insights into the experiences, identities and teaching approaches of sustainability champions within higher education. It highlights the need for university-wide conversations and cross-discipline support for such academics.

This paper aims to unveil how sustainability is integrated into the courses/programmes of higher education institutions. The research question addressed is: how do academics representing different disciplines cooperate and engage in the work of integrating sustainability into their teaching programmes.

This paper draws upon the notions of practise variation and institutional work from institutional theory and empirically focusses on the case of Kristianstad University (Sweden). This case is based on an autoethnographic approach and illustrates the experiences shared by six colleagues, representing different disciplines, engaged in implementing sustainability in their courses/programmes.

The findings highlight how academics representing different disciplines, with specific traditions and characteristics, face the sustainability challenge. Despite being bound by similar sustainable development goals, differences across disciplines need to be acknowledged and used as an asset if trans-disciplinarity is the ultimate goal.

Although the intrinsic motivation of individuals to work with sustainability might be a strong driver, the implementation of sustainability within courses/programmes and across disciplines requires joint efforts and collective institutional work.

By highlighting how academics engage in the work of integrating sustainability, this study emphasizes that managers of higher education institutions need to account for the time and additional resources needed to ensure that academics effectively cope with sustainability. Intrinsic motivation may not last if organizational structures and leadership are not supportive on a practical level and in the long run.

With the successful implementation of a holistic approach to sustainability, students will have better insights and understanding of both themselves and the surrounding society, laying the ground for an inclusive future society.

This paper emphasizes the gradual approach to be followed when sustainability becomes part of an organization-wide discourse. Dialogues within and across disciplines are needed to overcome silo thinking and stimulate cooperation within a trans-disciplinary approach.

The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the factors that influence innovation in construction professional services firms. The paper examines the role of middle managers who have responsibility for developing the right conditions that foster innovation at the business unit level.

A theoretical framework was initially developed through a synthesis of the literature. Using a case study approach, three types of innovation were explored to illustrate the role and influence of middle managers in fostering and exploiting innovations.

Findings from the study suggested that middle managers' innovation supporting behaviours influence innovation outcomes by helping development of a climate for innovation that influence championing behaviours among project managers.

The study was based on a single United Kingdom‐based construction professional services firm. Nevertheless, the research contributes to the call for more qualitative approaches to understanding leadership research in construction.

Limited research has been undertaken on the impact of leadership on construction innovation beyond senior managers. This paper seeks to contribute to addressing this gap in literature by highlighting the significant role that the middle managers play in enabling innovation in construction professional services firms contrary to well‐publicised negative views on the middle managerial roles.

This study aims to explore possible ways to promote uptake and integration of climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-Technologies, Innovations and Management Practices (TIMPS) into policy and practice in Nigeria through the development of actionable roadmaps to facilitate the process.

Two hundred and fifty-two stakeholders for the policy discourse and survey were purposively drawn from both government and private agencies, NGOs and community-based associations from the six geo-political zones of the country. Data collection was done using a mixed method comprising questionnaire administration, in-depth interviews and panel discussion. Data collected was summarised using descriptive statistics.

The major findings were lack of existing policies on CSA, lack of farmers’ awareness of CSA-TIMPs, neglect of extension programmes that can help to enlighten farmers on the importance of CSA and insufficient extension personnel to cater for farmers’ needs. Challenges to CSA-TIMPs uptake in Nigeria were: insufficient funding and support by government in programme planning and implementation, policy inconsistencies and poor farmers’ attitude and resistance to change.

This research will facilitate CSA uptake and integration through the provision of data for informed decision and action by the responsible agencies.

Suggested actionable roadmaps across the zones were robust awareness campaign and advocacy on uptake of CSA-TIMPs through e-extension, community TV/radio in local dialects; revitalisation of policy programmes such as monthly meetings should be reintroduced and creation of CSA Departments/Stations in each state; increased budget allocation to a minimum of 10% for agriculture, revitalisation of Researchers-Extension Agents-Farmers Linkage, employment of qualified extension agents and retraining of extension agents.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the continuing dearth of scholarship about the role of work-based learning in education for sustainable development, and particularly the urgent demands of climate literacy. It is proposed that forms of work-based learning can act as catalysts for wider cultural change, towards embedding climate literacy in higher education institutions.

This paper draws data from action research to present a case study of a Climate Change Project conducted through a work-based learning module at a mid-sized university in the UK.

Contrary to the predominantly fragmented and disciplinary bounded approaches to sustainability and climate literacy, the case study demonstrates how a form of work-based learning can create a unifying vision for action, and do so across multiple disciplinary, professional service, and identity boundaries. In addition, the project-generated indicators of cultural change including extensive faculty-level climate change resources, creative ideas for an innovative mobile application, and new infrastructural arrangements to further develop practice and research in climate change.

This paper provides an illustrative example of how a pan-faculty work-based learning module can act as a catalyst for change at a higher education institution.

This paper is a contemporary call for action to stimulate and expedite climate literacy in higher education, and is the first to propose that certain forms of work-based learning curricula can be a route to combating highly bounded and fragmented approaches, towards a unified and boundary-crossing approach.

The “Germanwings” air crash in 2015 in which 150 people were killed highlighted the challenges pilots working in the aviation industry face. Pilots regularly work for extensive periods in inhospitable and high-pressure operational conditions, exposing them to considerable work-related stress. This has raised calls for a more systemic cultural change across the aviation industry, championing a more holistic perspective of pilot health and well-being. The study aims to explore how peer coaching (PC) can promote an inclusive psychosocial safety climate enhancing pilot well-being and can mitigate hazardous attitudes and dysfunctional behaviours.

Adopting an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were conducted with military and civilian peer coach/coachee pilots and key industry stakeholders, totalling 39 participants. The research provided significant insights into the perceived value of PC in promoting both pilot health and mental well-being (MW) and flight safety across the aviation industry.

The study highlights four key PC superordinate themes, namely, coaching skills, significance of well-being, building of peer relationships and importance of confidentiality and autonomy. Such combined themes build reciprocal trust within peer conversations that can inspire engagement and effectively promote personal well-being. The contagious effect of such local interventions can help stimulate systemic cultural change and promote a positive psychosocial safety climate throughout an organisation and, in this case, across the aviation industry. This study provides a PC conceptual framework “Mutuality Equality Goals Autonomy Non-evaluative feedback, Skill Confidentiality Voluntary Supervisory (MEGANS CVS),” highlighting the salient features of PC in promoting MW.

The study highlights the salient features of PC and its role in promoting peer conversations that enable personal transition, openness and acceptance. This study also highlights how PC and well-being can be used to encourage inclusivity and engagement, thereby strengthening institutional resilience.

This study highlights how PC that can assist HRM/HRD professionals to embed a more inclusive and salutogenic approach to MW that can reshape organisational cultures. This study highlights the significance and link of workplace stress to hazardous attitudes and dysfunctional behaviours. It further notes that whilst the MEGANS CVS peer coaching framework has been applied to pilots, it can also be applied across all sectors and levels.

This study highlights the value of PC as an inexpensive means to engage at the grassroots level, which not only improves personal performance, safety and well-being but by building peer relationships can also act as a catalyst for positive and deep organisational cultural change.

This study offers the MEGANS CVS framework that exposes insights into PC practice that can assist HRM/HRD professionals embed a more inclusive and salutogenic approach to health and well-being that can reshape organisational cultures. This study highlights the significance and link of workplace stress to hazardous attitudes and dysfunctional behaviours, and whilst this framework has been applied to pilots, it can also have relevance across all sectors and levels. This study calls for a “salutogenic turn,” employing MW and PC to transform organisational capabilities to be more forward-thinking and solution-focused, promoting an inclusive “just culture” where leaders positively lead their people.