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Going Green from the Inside: Insider Action Research at the Volvo Car Corporation

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Abstract

Various forms of action research have been proposed as remedies for the one-sided focus on theoretical interests existing in Business School research. Among other conceptual elaborations, Insider Action Research (IAR) suggests that action research needs to be supported by an insider's view of activities in order to achieve any substantial contribution to practice and theory. Even though the IAR model is potentially capable of overcoming a number of practical, political, and epistemological problems, it has been explored relatively little in terms of practical examples and lessons. This paper presents the account of an Insider Action researcher at the Volvo Car Corporation, aimed at studying the development of environmental strategies and “eco-benign” automobiles “from the inside”. The paper suggests that even though IAR remains a promising model, the political ingenuity and savoir-faire of the insider action researcher must not be underrated.

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Notes

  1. The terms ‘common good’ and ‘private good’ were introduced with the conceptual model and had never been heard or used previously within the corporate network of the insider action researcher during his 7 years with the company.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Volvo Car Corporation, Brand, Business & Product Strategy, PVH 63, SE-405 31, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mats Williander

  2. Fenix Research Program & Department of Project Management, Chalmers University of Technology, Vera Sandbergs Allé 8, Vasaområdet Hus 2, SE-412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Alexander Styhre

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  1. Mats Williander
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  2. Alexander Styhre
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Correspondence to Mats Williander.

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Williander, M., Styhre, A. Going Green from the Inside: Insider Action Research at the Volvo Car Corporation. Syst Pract Act Res 19, 239–252 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-006-9015-7

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