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Organization & Environment
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Eco-Effective Greening Decisions and Rationalizations

The Case of Shell Renewables

Lise Backer

Copenhagen Business School

Timothy S. Clark

George Washington University

Drawing on a social constructionist perspective, the authors present insights into the business case for eco-effective greening of business, based on analysis of Royal Dutch Shell's 1997 establishment of Shell Renewables as its fifth core business. They apply organizational decision-making theory to suggest that Shell's new eco-effective renewable energy business came about in a process fitting the garbage-can decision-making model—a model more aptly named after a recycling bin, they also argue. In rationalizing the decision after it had been made, Shell leveraged its energy-industry networks to enact a market for its new eco-effective products and services. The article concludes with the authors' observations that eco-effective greening can be a business case-in-the-making, with the economic outcome of developing eco-effective products and services dependent on how new green markets are created and pursued.

Key Words: eco-efficiency • eco-effectiveness • garbage-can decision making • recycling-bin decision making • enacting markets • green energy

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Organization & Environment, Vol. 21, No. 3, 227-244 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1086026608321328
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This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
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Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
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Right arrow Articles by Backer, L.
Right arrow Articles by Clark, T. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
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What's this?