This article examines what prompted electricity supply organizations to include changing climatic conditions as key elements of the strategic environment. Utilizing themes emerging from inductive analysis, the authors explain how and why surprising climatic events drove the organizations to begin including climate trends in their strategy development and planning processes. Results indicate that organizations were surprised climate was becoming more unpredictable, was directly affecting their operations, and was challenging long-held assumptions about climatic patterns. Our findings suggest that adaptation to climate change occurs predominantly as a reaction to climatic surprise, rather than a preemptive response to increasing awareness, and perceived uncertainty and risks as suggested by previous studies. Results also show that organizations are beginning to conceptually link changes in local climatic conditions to the global issue of climate change; though such linkages are not necessarily important to the inclusion of climate in the strategic environment.
Haigh, N; Griffiths, A
Surprise as a Catalyst for Including Climatic Change in the Strategic Environment
Business & Society