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This study aims to explore how operational resilience can be achieved within supply ecosystems in the delicate yet harsh natural environments of the Arctic.

An in-depth, multiple qualitative case study of offshore supply operations in Arctic oil and gas field projects is conducted. Data from semi-structured interviews, personal observations and archival materials are analysed through institutional work and logics approaches.

The findings suggest that achieving social-ecological resilience depends on the interaction between social and natural (irreversible) systems, which are shaped and influenced by various institutional dynamics. Different resilience solutions were detected.

This study develops a comprehensive understanding of how social-ecological resilience emerges in supply ecosystems through institutional dynamics. The study’s empirical basis is limited to offshore oil and gas projects in the Arctic. However, due to anticipated future growth of Arctic economic activities, other types of supply ecosystems may benefit from the study’s results.

This research contributes with empirical knowledge about how social-ecological resilience is created through institutional interaction within supply ecosystems to prevent disruptions of both social and ecological ecosystems under the harsh natural conditions of the Arctic.

Because natural resource utilization is a predictor of sustainable development, an evaluation of the efficiency of resource utilization is critical for assessing developmental potentiality. The purpose of this paper is to apply three-dimensional (3D) ecological footprint theory to assess the effects of production and consumption on ecological systems in Hefei, China.

Using data for Hefei for the period 2005-2014, an ecological footprint model (EFM) was developed to calculate the area’s ecological footprint (EF), ecological carrying (EC) capacity and obtain two indices, namely, footprint depth and size. The relationship between economic development and natural resource utilization was subsequently evaluated based on the calculated ecological deficit and the EF demand per Renminbi 10,000 of gross domestic product (GDP).

Over the last decade, Hefei’s EF per capita evidenced a 9.87 percent growth rate, increasing from 1.16 hm²/person in 2005 to 2.70 hm²/person in 2014. EC capacity per capita increased from 0.21 hm²/person in 2005 to 0.36 hm²/person in 2014, evidencing a gradually increasing trend at an average annual growth rate of 6.24 percent. Thus, between 2005 and 2014, the ecological deficit increased annually by three times. The amplification of footprint depth significantly exceeded that of footprint size. Between 2005 and 2014, Hefei’s EF per capita Renminbi 10,000 of GDP decreased annually by 4.68 percent. Thus, energy consumption in Hefei exceeded the natural regeneration capacity of energy resources, with excessive development and resource utilization impacting on the regional ecological system.

The application of a 3D EFM sheds light on natural resource utilization within regional development. Moreover, footprint depth and size are significant predictors of the impacts of natural resource utilization. These findings will also benefit other countries or cities.

This is one of the first empirical studies to apply a 3D EFM to evaluate the relationship between natural resource utilization and economic development. Adopting a sustainable development framework, it provides insights into the effects of natural resource utilization in relation to the balance between the natural ecological system and economic development. This has far-reaching implications beyond Hefei and China.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of biomimicry to inspire sustainable development in economic systems. The research purpose is to explore the link between ecological systems and economic systems to highlight applied environmental solutions. The goal is to propose some driver to develop sustainable business practices inspired on the principles of biomimicry.

This paper provides a theoretical approach that builds the basis for a better understanding of the relationship between nature and sustainable economic decisions. The premise is that in the field of sustainable development, strategies based on “learning from nature” are useful. Furthermore, the concept of biomimicry provides principles and tools specifically aimed at design practice.

The complexity of economic systems has shown that high levels of abstraction are required when conceptualising problems and explanations related with nature-inspired solutions. Stakeholder engagement and transdisciplinary collaboration are required to face long-term environmental challenges. Moreover, the exploratory analysis applied in this paper appeared suitable to compile existing literature.

The study provides some general guidelines and empirical approach through case studies that could help decision makers convert nature-inspired alternatives into valuable strategic business opportunities. Although presented practical cases are framed in the local sphere (i.e. the Basque Country), they can serve as references in other international contexts.

New business models should recognize the positive synchronization between well-managed social, environmental and economic systems.

The proposed ideas deepen the understanding on the sustainable development and the link between ecological and economic systems. In fact, the concept of biomimetic economy has not been dealt with or developed in depth in previous academic works, nor has it been published thoroughly in the field of research.

This study provides insight into using ecological design principles in designing high-rise buildings for increasing the ecological capacity of a region. It is a descriptive-analytical survey, which starts with the literacy of the subject, and continues by analyzing successful ecologically designed case studies around the world and notes that by using ecological design principles in designing high-rise buildings, can increase the ecological capacity of a region in order to meet its occupant needs. It indicates that by the industrialization of cities, due to population growth, the value of the land and lack of it for growing population to be settled in, designing high-rise buildings may be the best solution to solve the problem. Moreover, the importance of designing high-rise buildings based on ecological principles has been highlighted by environmental pollution, natural hazards and endangered ecosystems. The ecological design for high-rise buildings is becoming more and more important considering environmental issues. This approach is routed in remaking the natural relationships in ecosystems. The most important feature of nature which can be used in ecological design is its power of reconstruction and rehabilitation. So we can reach an ecosystem in scale of a high-rise building which imitates nature in all its aspects.

This paper explores ontological assumptions of disasters and introduces some concepts from Chinese disaster scholarship. The authors suggest an approach to explore and engage with different ontologies of disaster without direct comparison, that can further interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration.

By reviewing the academic literature and focussing on two recent key translational texts by Chinese scholars, the authors show what can be revealed about ontology and the potential influence on thinking about human-environment interactions and disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy.

In Chinese disaster studies, the goal of a “harmonious human-environment relationship” is a foundational concept. There is a clear hierarchical and ontological distinction between humans and the natural ecological system viewed as an integrated whole, with underlying rules that can be discovered by scientific research to enable management of a harmonious relationship.

The authors suggest a practical way to begin with the following questions: What is the societal goal/aim? What is nature? What is society? How do these interact to create disasters? And what are the implications for DRR research and practice? The authors also demonstrate the importance of probing and understanding the underlying ontologies that are the foundation for theory, which in turn is the foundation for policy and action.

Identification of ontological differences in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research collaborations and working across these boundaries is challenging and rarely questioned. Yet, as demonstrated here, considering ontological assumptions of the causes of disaster, within and across cultures and disciplines, is essential for collaboration and further research.

Sustainability refers to an organization's activities that demonstrate the inclusion of social and environmental concerns in operations and in interactions with stakeholders (van Marrewijk, 2003). Presenting a framework for developing sustainability leaders, this chapter outlines the principles required for sustainable leadership. Sustainable principles are grounded in changes in thinking, knowing, and doing. These fundamentals can be summed up as developing sustainable thinking, building a sustainable knowledge base, and learning the latest ecologically based frameworks for use in organizations.

This paper aims to identify research approaches and issues in relation to the main paradigms of resilience: engineering resilience, ecological resilience and socio-ecological resilience. This paper provides a synthesis of the core elements of each resilience approach and their implications.

A critical thematic review was undertaken of the hospitality and tourism resilience literature.

Resilience is a contested boundary object with different understandings according to conceptual and disciplinary position. The dominant approach in hospitality and tourism studies is primarily informed by engineering resilience with the focus at the organizational level. The ontological and epistemological understanding of resilience and change concepts appears limited leading to a lack of appreciation of the multi-scaled nature of resilience and the importance of slow change.

The research has important implications for understanding the key elements of different approaches to resilience.

The research synthesis may help improve resilience strategy and policymaking, including indicator selection.

The research notes the relationship of resilience to sustainability, the potential for learning and decision-making practices.

In addition to thematic analysis, a model of the multi-scaled nature of resilience is provided and the key elements of the three main approaches with implications for theory and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new tool, business network information ecological chain (BNIEC) aiming to solve the current information problems in business network, make more profits to business websites and to maintain the sustainable development of the business network environment in Internet of Things (IoT) era.

From multi-disciplinary perspectives, learning from the knowledge in information ecology, economics, the IoT and system theory, this paper first analyzes the positioning of BNIEC in different subjects. Second, it proposes the definition, components and characteristics of BNIEC and designs the BNIEC concept map helping to understand the BNIEC system. Last, this paper builds the structural model and the information flow models of BNIEC.

The study first presents the concept of BNIEC and based on the trans-disciplinary point of view, builds the structure model of BNIEC from three aspects: nodes, relations among nodes and link modes and illustrates the model using the knowledge from the system theory. Also, it builds two kinds of the information flow models by the related information knowledge in IoT.

This paper aims to introduce not only a new tool but an ecological idea to business network companies, to create a pleasant network environment, more than that, to make more benefits for themselves. Meanwhile, it has important significance in the sustainable development of the business network environment, business websites, business network information resources and information technology. Especially in today’s IoT era, it shows an ecological thinking to solve the information problems in business network that we may face in the future.

Although humans are part of nature, the relationship between humans and nature is not well understood, neither in sustainable marketing nor in relationship marketing. Nature is damaged by humans, and a lot of natural resources coming from nature are taken for granted. The services provided by nature are also often taken for granted. However, humans cannot live without these services, but nature can probably survive without humans, especially man-made (artificial) services. The paper aims to offer a frame that allows aligning marketers and academics’ understanding of service with that of sustainability for sustainable marketing.

A literature review of different literature streams, biological, ecological and service literature shows that service is a much broader phenomenon as discussed in the service literature. The paper will show that a fundamental relationship between either humans or humans and nature is service as defined here. Service is understood here as an ongoing process of exchange and change. Service as proposed here is a form of coexistence.

Service will be defined as an ongoing process of exchange and change (transfer and transformation) of resources. This understanding integrates human and natural service without connecting it only to human intentions, wishes or needs as causation for service. The process of service as conceptualized here is in line with the understanding of sustainability, as it is discussed nowadays. Aligning marketers’ understanding of service with that of sustainability gives a new frame for sustainable marketing.

The work may be understood as a step toward a sustainable marketing by framing sustainable processes from a service perspective. The holistic understanding of sustainable marketing offers new chances not only for further research but also for a better (more sustainable) understanding of day-to-day practices.

If humans understand the fundamental relationship with nature, it can help to act in harmony with nature and not against it to improve sustainable development based on a better understanding of human’s relationship with nature.

Mainstream sustainable marketing is sometimes based on a strong anthropocentrism. This paper balances the role of humans toward nature.

It is the first paper in relationship marketing looking at the relationship with nature and uses this view to frame this concept of sustainable marketing.