Strategic responses to sustainable development in the Canadian oil and gas industry
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2005
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Abstract
The purpose of this research is to explore the social and environmental forces affecting oil and gas producers in Canada today, and the strategic firm level and industry level responses. The research examines two leading Canadian firms in detailed case studies, as well as range of industry participants and their industry association, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. The research addresses aspects of firm level strategy and competitive advantage that are emerging as the socio-political environment has become more complex and salient to firms. Limitations to previous research are addressed in the areas of theories of the firm, stakeholder theory, and law. The main findings are that the firm level competencies and resources must be viewed in the context of both natural resource scarcity and social resource scarcity. Furthermore, firms and institutions require dynamic networks extending beyond the industry structure if they are to succeed in interpreting and responding to the business environment. Those networks involve not only the exchange of knowledge, but a challenging of assumptions, or "reflexive" sense-making, much like that advocated by legal theory in the field of reflexive law. This research presents a model of stakeholders and knowledge creation that incorporates reflexive management processes. This research also presents models of "interests-based" firms driven by the need for legitimacy, and new views regarding value creation in a natural and social resource constrained environment.
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Bibliography: p. 289-306
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Citation
Kenny, B. G. (2005). Strategic responses to sustainable development in the Canadian oil and gas industry (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/2449