Partial Organization and Social LCA Development: The Creation and Expansion of an Epistemic Community

Abstract

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique to study the environmental impacts of products from cradle-to-grave that was developed at the end of the 1960s and standardized by the International Standards Organization (ISO) at the end of the millennium. The discussion and research efforts to broaden the scope of the technique to include social impacts (e.g., O’Brien et al. Int J Life Cycle Assess 1(4):231–237, 1996, and Gauthier J Bus Ethics 59:199–206, 2005) accelerated with the creation of a project group in 2004 under the umbrella of the Life Cycle Initiative, a joint enterprise of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Society for Ecotoxicology and Environmental Chemistry. Numerous authors have highlighted the institutionalization process of LCA and the social shaping of the technique (e.g., Heiskanen Sci Stud 11(1):27–51, 1997, Heiskanen J Clean Prod 10(5):427–437, 2002; Frankl INSEAD Working Paper, Fontainebleau, France, 2001; Baumann et al. Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Management, 73–83, 2011). However, none of this research applies stakeholder theory, considers these forums as epistemic communities, nor strives to explain the organizational processes and dynamics of the field’s development. A new theoretical framework (Rasche et al. J Bus Ethics 115:651–663, 2013) based on advancements in the sphere of organization studies (Arhne et al. Organization 18(1):83–104, 2011) offers a new perspective regarding the elements that enable and constrain organized orders. Rasche et al. (J Bus Ethics 115:651–663, 2013) argue that it is useful to analytically distinguish different modes of organizing for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) along the dimensions of complete-partial organization. They call for research to further examine the role of actors in the processes of organizing for CSR that would also highlight the dynamics of CSR multi-stakeholder initiatives. The phenomenon of Social Life Cycle Assessment development offers the context for a rich case study that can draw upon and contribute to these new research avenues. Researching the organization of the development of this new phenomena contributing to CSR will also help to further reveal the process of social construction of scientifically based methods. An analytical framework proposed by Glasbergen (Environ Policy Governance 21(1):1–13, 2011) serves as a starting point to map the process of the partnership and method development. This framework is then refined with reflections regarding epistemic communities.