{"id":5938,"date":"2026-05-19T08:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T06:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/?page_id=5938"},"modified":"2026-05-19T11:06:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T09:06:58","slug":"laufende-forschungsprojekte","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/en\/forschung\/promotionsprojekte\/laufende-forschungsprojekte\/","title":{"rendered":"Current dissertation projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can find a detailed description of current research projects within the department and in collaboration with other universities under the following tabs:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rrze-elements-collapsibles \"><div class=\"accordion\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rrze-elements-collapse \"><div class=\"accordion-group \"><h2 class=\"accordion-heading\"><button class=\"accordion-toggle\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-name=\"panel_e5d7613c\" data-href=\"#panel_e5d7613c\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"panel_e5d7613c-section\" id=\"panel_e5d7613c\" data-media-accordion-image-id=\"0\" data-media-accordion-image-url=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-alt=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-caption=\"\">Corporate Sustainability Strategy: From Definitional Ambiguity toward Conceptual Clarification<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"panel_e5d7613c-section\" class=\"accordion-body \" aria-labelledby=\"panel_e5d7613c\" role=\"region\" name=\"panel_e5d7613c\"><div class=\"accordion-inner clearfix\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The concept of corporate sustainability strategy (CSS) suffers from considerable definitional ambiguity. Rather than attempting to create a universally acceptable CSS definition, this study scrutinizes the various uses of different existing definitions. We identified and discussed eight topical perspectives and then compared and integrated into a shared conceptual CSS framework. We found the means-and-ends perspective to be most fundamental, as it frames how sustainability shapes the purpose and constraints of strategizing. We refine this perspective by distinguishing among indifferent, instrumental, intrinsic, and integrated CSSs. We conclude with discussions on limitations, suggestions for future research, and managerial implications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Participants:<\/strong> Jennifer Adolph, Markus Beckmann<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rrze-elements-collapse \"><div class=\"accordion-group \"><h2 class=\"accordion-heading\"><button class=\"accordion-toggle\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-name=\"the-influence-of-employee-sustainability-teams-green-teams-on-corporate-sustainability-management-a-multi-case-study-approach\" data-href=\"#the-influence-of-employee-sustainability-teams-green-teams-on-corporate-sustainability-management-a-multi-case-study-approach\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"the-influence-of-employee-sustainability-teams-green-teams-on-corporate-sustainability-management-a-multi-case-study-approach-section\" id=\"the-influence-of-employee-sustainability-teams-green-teams-on-corporate-sustainability-management-a-multi-case-study-approach\" data-media-accordion-image-id=\"0\" data-media-accordion-image-url=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-alt=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-caption=\"\">The influence of employee sustainability teams (green teams) on corporate sustainability management: A multi-case study approach<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"the-influence-of-employee-sustainability-teams-green-teams-on-corporate-sustainability-management-a-multi-case-study-approach-section\" class=\"accordion-body \" aria-labelledby=\"the-influence-of-employee-sustainability-teams-green-teams-on-corporate-sustainability-management-a-multi-case-study-approach\" role=\"region\" name=\"the-influence-of-employee-sustainability-teams-green-teams-on-corporate-sustainability-management-a-multi-case-study-approach\"><div class=\"accordion-inner clearfix\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Employees are one of the main stakeholder groups of each organization and are known to play an important role in corporate sustainability management (CSM). The employees\u2019 engagement towards sustainability can go as far as they engage in employee initiatives, often termed green teams, communities of practice or more general, employee sustainability behavior. Some organizations have started to create space within the organizational structure for such teams to channel and foster their engagement for corporate sustainability. While there is some research on the intrinsic motivation and the organizational behavior of employees in those employee teams, the influence of the teams on the CSM beyond a psychological perspective remains ill-researched. Particularly empirical evidence building on organizational theories is lacking. We thus aim to contribute to a better understanding of the influence of such employee teams on CSM with a multi-case study in two ways. First, we take an inter-team perspective and analyze how the employee teams differ in their functions and responsibilities within the organizations. Second, we look at the employee teams as organizational actors and analyze how they contribute to CSM by taking an institutional work perspective. Our conceptual analysis indicates that employee teams can be categorized according to various characteristics. Konferenzbeitrag: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nama2022.wiso.rw.fau.de\">NAMA Conference 2022 &#8211; Sustainability at the intersection of business and human rights\u00a0<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Participants:<\/strong> Jennifer Adolph, Lena Ries, Katrin Schwarzfischer<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rrze-elements-collapse \"><div class=\"accordion-group \"><h2 class=\"accordion-heading\"><button class=\"accordion-toggle\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-name=\"corporate-respect-for-human-rights-in-conflict-affected-areas-a-delphi-study-to-examine-future-strategies-of-multinational-enterprises\" data-href=\"#corporate-respect-for-human-rights-in-conflict-affected-areas-a-delphi-study-to-examine-future-strategies-of-multinational-enterprises\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"corporate-respect-for-human-rights-in-conflict-affected-areas-a-delphi-study-to-examine-future-strategies-of-multinational-enterprises-section\" id=\"corporate-respect-for-human-rights-in-conflict-affected-areas-a-delphi-study-to-examine-future-strategies-of-multinational-enterprises\" data-media-accordion-image-id=\"0\" data-media-accordion-image-url=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-alt=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-caption=\"\">Corporate respect for human rights in conflict affected areas &#8211; A Delphi study to examine future strategies of multinational enterprises<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"corporate-respect-for-human-rights-in-conflict-affected-areas-a-delphi-study-to-examine-future-strategies-of-multinational-enterprises-section\" class=\"accordion-body \" aria-labelledby=\"corporate-respect-for-human-rights-in-conflict-affected-areas-a-delphi-study-to-examine-future-strategies-of-multinational-enterprises\" role=\"region\" name=\"corporate-respect-for-human-rights-in-conflict-affected-areas-a-delphi-study-to-examine-future-strategies-of-multinational-enterprises\"><div class=\"accordion-inner clearfix\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With growing legal regulation on human rights obligations of multinational enterprises, the topic of human rights due diligence has gained more prominence. However, conflict-affected areas present complex institutional environments in which the implementation of measures to ensure the corporate respect for human rights is challenging. Especially, situations of military occupation or armed conflict in countries as Ukraine or the Democratic Republic of the Congo or non-conventional armed conflicts between organized groups such as in Mexico require an enhanced due diligence process as there is an increased risk for companies to be complicit in conflict-related human rights violations. This forces multinational enterprises to reconsider their business practices on how to ensure corporate respect for human rights in these institutional environments. Based on the Institutional Work perspective, we thus developed future scenarios on practices multinational enterprises may implement as part of their human rights strategy to address conflict-affected institutional environments. In a real-time Delphi study setting, 82 experts from business, civil society, and academia discussed which practices will be implemented by multinational enterprises until 2035 and whether they will have an impact on rightsholders. Konferenzbeitrag: <a href=\"https:\/\/uol.de\/en\/nama2023\">NAMA Conference 2023 &#8211; Accelerating the Transition to Sustainability<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Participants: <\/strong>Jennifer Adolph, Matthias Fertig, Janine Allenbacher (Universit\u00e4t Hamburg)<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rrze-elements-collapse \"><div class=\"accordion-group \"><h2 class=\"accordion-heading\"><button class=\"accordion-toggle\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-name=\"sustainability-oriented-innovations-along-the-supply-chain\" data-href=\"#sustainability-oriented-innovations-along-the-supply-chain\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"sustainability-oriented-innovations-along-the-supply-chain-section\" id=\"sustainability-oriented-innovations-along-the-supply-chain\" data-media-accordion-image-id=\"0\" data-media-accordion-image-url=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-alt=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-caption=\"\">Sustainability-oriented Innovations along the Supply Chain<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"sustainability-oriented-innovations-along-the-supply-chain-section\" class=\"accordion-body \" aria-labelledby=\"sustainability-oriented-innovations-along-the-supply-chain\" role=\"region\" name=\"sustainability-oriented-innovations-along-the-supply-chain\"><div class=\"accordion-inner clearfix\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nachhaltige Innovationen auf allen Ebenen der Supply Chain sind n\u00f6tig, um Produkte und Industrie effizient und langfristig nachhaltiger zu gestalten. B2C-Unternehmen \u00fcbernehmen zunehmend Verantwortung f\u00fcr ihre Lieferkette und sorgen f\u00fcr Innovationsdruck auf die Produzenten auf den Felder und Weiden. Wir untersuchen in einer qualitativen Studie wie NGO-Kooperationen hierbei eine wichitge Rolle spielen k\u00f6nnen, um den Anspruch des Unternehmens und die Innovationsf\u00e4higkeit der Produzenten f\u00fcr einen verbesserten \u00f6kologischen Fu\u00dfabdruck in Einklang zu bringen.<br><strong>Participants:<\/strong> Laura Therese Heinl, Peter Wehnert, Jennifer Adolph, Lena Ries, Markus Beckmann<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rrze-elements-collapse \"><div class=\"accordion-group \"><h2 class=\"accordion-heading\"><button class=\"accordion-toggle\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-name=\"internal-communication-of-sustainable-actions\" data-href=\"#internal-communication-of-sustainable-actions\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"internal-communication-of-sustainable-actions-section\" id=\"internal-communication-of-sustainable-actions\" data-media-accordion-image-id=\"0\" data-media-accordion-image-url=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-alt=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-caption=\"\">Internal Communication of Sustainable Actions<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"internal-communication-of-sustainable-actions-section\" class=\"accordion-body \" aria-labelledby=\"internal-communication-of-sustainable-actions\" role=\"region\" name=\"internal-communication-of-sustainable-actions\"><div class=\"accordion-inner clearfix\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sustainable innovations at every level of the supply chain are necessary to make products and the industry more efficient and sustainable in the long term. B2C companies are increasingly taking responsibility for their supply chains and driving innovation among producers in the fields and pastures. In a qualitative study, we examine how NGO partnerships can play a key role in reconciling the company\u2019s goals with the producers\u2019 capacity for innovation to achieve an improved ecological footprint.<br><strong>Participants:<\/strong> Laura Therese Heinl, Peter Wehnert, Jennifer Adolph, Lena Ries, Markus Beckmann<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rrze-elements-collapse \"><div class=\"accordion-group \"><h2 class=\"accordion-heading\"><button class=\"accordion-toggle\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-name=\"consumer-perception-of-ngo-firm-cooperations\" data-href=\"#consumer-perception-of-ngo-firm-cooperations\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"consumer-perception-of-ngo-firm-cooperations-section\" id=\"consumer-perception-of-ngo-firm-cooperations\" data-media-accordion-image-id=\"0\" data-media-accordion-image-url=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-alt=\"\" data-media-accordion-image-caption=\"\">Consumer Perception of NGO-Firm-Cooperations<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"consumer-perception-of-ngo-firm-cooperations-section\" class=\"accordion-body \" aria-labelledby=\"consumer-perception-of-ngo-firm-cooperations\" role=\"region\" name=\"consumer-perception-of-ngo-firm-cooperations\"><div class=\"accordion-inner clearfix\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Partnerships between companies and NGOs are becoming increasingly common. Particularly in the food industry, more and more NGOs and companies are supporting one another in order to effectively address the ever-evolving challenges of sustainability. Many of these collaborations depend on how the resulting products and brands are perceived. This is where our project comes in: within its framework, quantitative studies and theses address questions regarding brands, co-branding, and consumer perception of sustainable products resulting from NGO-business collaborations.<br><strong>Participants:<\/strong> Markus Beckmann, Peter Wehnert, Anna Baatz, Laura Therese Heinl<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can find a detailed description of current research projects within the department and in collaboration with other universities under the following tabs:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5692,"featured_media":0,"parent":5904,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_rrze_cache":"enabled","_rrze_multilang_single_locale":"en_GB","_rrze_multilang_single_source":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/?page_id=3316","_faue_teaser_image_id":0,"footnotes":""},"page_category":[],"page_tag":[],"workflow_usergroup":[],"class_list":["post-5938","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","en-GB"],"faue_teaser_image_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5692"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5938"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5940,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5938\/revisions\/5940"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"page_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_category?post=5938"},{"taxonomy":"page_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_tag?post=5938"},{"taxonomy":"workflow_usergroup","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nachhaltigkeit.rw.fau.de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workflow_usergroup?post=5938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}