Implementation and Dissemination of Sustainable Development Principles: The Role of External Factors and the Digital Environment

Abstract

The implementation of sustainable development principles is important for those companies which aim to reach both long-term sustainability and develop their ability to cope with complexity. Many Russian companies face the need to spread these principles – including economic, ecological, social, and institutional dimensions – among their owners, managers, and other employees. It motivates them to search for effective tools, among which may be the digital environment. Our study is focused on the dissemination (i.e. spread and promotion) of sustainability development principles in business cultures and management processes in an organization. To conduct our study, we used a method of in-depth face-to-face interviews with company top-managers. Our data-frame includes two cases from the Omsk region of Russia. The purpose of the proposed study was to study the experience of implementing the principles of sustainable development in the practice of enterprise projects. In-depth interviews and case studies are the main research methods. As a result, the authors describe the impact of external factors and the digital environment on the dissemination of the sustainable development principles, as well as the diagnosis of sustainability practices in enterprises.