Marketing and Sustainability: Business as Usual or Changing Worldviews?

Olsen et al. suggest that change can occur from both internal logical contradictions (i.e., inconsistencies in beliefs and values) and external discrepancies between beliefs, values, and social conditions. Although this description of social paradigm change seems to relate more to individual rather than societal transformation in worldview, it resonates strongly with studies of policy learning and change in which significant changes in policy may also reflect shifts in policy paradigms.

The theory of social paradigm change examines change at the societal level, however transformation at the individual level requires attention to different processes (i.e., the relationship between agency and structure) and the embeddedness of multiple-scales of change from the individual through organizations and communities through to society as a whole. In psychology, worldview transformation has primarily received attention in relation to perceived threats and crises. In these studies, transformation is where "people experience fundamental shifts in perception that alter how they view and interact with themselves and the world around them". Studies have discussed how changes in worldview are usually a combination of factors, termed destabilisers, and together these destabilisers can result in an 'aha' moment. These pivotal moments challenge "people's previous assumptions, leading them to change the way they see the world. Attempts to fit the new experiences or realizations into their old perspective fail, often forcing their awareness to expand to make room for the new insight". However, changing worldviews is not easy. Dunbar, Fugelsang, and Stein used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate minor and major conceptual theory change in individuals, and showed that the learning center of the brain, the caudate and parahippocampal gyrus, responds to theory-confirming data, while the brain activates the anterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, associated with error detection, processing, and working memory when disconfirming data is provided. Consequently, when individuals are presented with inconsistent information to their preconceived notions, learning does not easily occur. While inconsistent information is never easy to hear or to take on board, waiting for shifts in consciousness through random life-changing experiences, such as dangerous climate change related events or other natural hazards, may be too little too late, as such "intentional practice and experiential education" have been predicted to enable worldview transformation.

Social learning has been offered as a means for enabling worldview reflection and transformation, alongside associated concepts such as transformational learning and critical thinking. Specific recommendations or reflections for ways to elicit critical thinking in regards to taken-for-granted assumptions, especially in the business world, have been discussed by several authors. Kearins and Springett take both a theory and practical approach to teaching students. Based on their critique of power relations and ideology, and social engagement (praxis), the authors take a stakeholder approach to teaching students about sustainability, reflecting on the differing views of stakeholders, and undertake several activities (reflecting on individuals' environmental awareness and class goals, creating a timeline of events and their effects on people and the environment, site visits and personal class journey reflections). In addition, behind in-class discussion and assessments is the idea to "empower students to become active participants in setting their own learning goals". Similarly, Redding and Cato focused on globalization and other major business issues confronting business, such as the role of transnational corporations, new technologies, and environmental concerns, within the context of international trade, free trade, protectionism, and social justice. They focused on interweaving a questioning and critical mind attitude throughout their courses, where students were encouraged repeatedly to "question everything", "do not take our word for it", and "show me the evidence", especially through online discussion boards. Stubbs and Cocklin advocate teaching business students about differing worldviews (neoclassical, ecocentric, ecological modernisation), suggesting that this approach, through reflexivity and critique, will "broaden the students' perspectives on sustainability, while also engaging them at the personal level". Others have been interested in the effect of a sustainability/environmental course on student's worldviews; however, so far research has only focused on and shown short-term change.

Scholars have suggested that success in teaching and researching sustainability requires a change in universities' structure and curriculum. Curriculum in universities has been seen as occupying an anthropocentric and modernist–humanist position which has been claimed to inhibit the pursuit of strong sustainability. Consequently, while a 'top-down' (managerial) approach to sustainability appears to have limited possibilities in being effective, it has been argued that a 'bottom-up' (individual) approach, through faculty and students, has potential to implement change in curriculum and research. Giacalone called for business academics and lecturers to "be the change we want to see in the world" and to "live and teach the standards of a different worldview". However, little empirical investigation has been carried out about the current state of these worldviews in business schools, or more specifically in marketing departments, or even how business and marketing academics view their roles as educators and researchers for a sustainable society. Nevertheless, scholars have reflected on the broad sustainability worldviews present in society.