Strategizing for environmentally sustainable praxis : the case of "green operations"

Abstract

The paper investigates how a strategic idea to operate offshore service vessels in an environmentally sustainable way was transformed into practical realities. The research case was a campaign to reduce the consumption of diesel-fuel, in the paper referred to as the case of “green operations”. Our findings were seven key practices for realizing environmentally sustainable praxis. The practices were the creation and promotion of a strategic idea, concretizing how the idea could be transformed into practical realities, the construction of a goal-oriented and innovative contractual arrangement, encouraging the enactment of fuel-saving operations whenever possible, acknowledging middle managers on board the offshore service vessels as key strategy makers, and organizing the campaign as a competition among the vessels in carrying-out the most fuel-saving “green operations”. Finally, but not in the least, corporate managers following-up, supporting, and facilitating strategic activities, were identified as crucial.