Coping with sustainability goal tensions in the public procurement of innovation : A case study on the wellbeing of public servants in Sweden

Reaching sustainability goals in society is more important than ever before, while we still know little of how individuals in public organizations cope with negative effects of dealing with such goals.

Adopting sustainable development goals in organizations can give rise to sustainability goal tensions (SGTs), in which economic, environmental, and social goals seem to contradict each other. Dealing with these tensions has impacts on the wellbeing of workers and the performance of public organizations.

Previous research shows that the negative health effects of SGTs cause wellbeing issues for managers in firms, but firms respond differently to SGTs than public organizations. Specifically, we do not know yet who in public organizations cope with SGTs, and how.

The literature on SGTs assumes that executives face the largest consequences of SGTs, but research on the public procurement of innovation (PPI) shows that individuals across organizational hierarchies face SGTs. I therefore ask: How do public organizations manage SGTs when procuring sustainable innovations?

And, who carries the complexity and uncertainty associated with SGTs in PPI, what are the consequences on the wellbeing of these public servants, and how do they deal with these SGTs?

I collect qualitative case study data on 4-6 organizations, including at least 12 interviews per organization, policy documents and other archival data, and observations based on workshops.

The analysis is collaborative, meaning that I generate several explanations based on the data, and discuss these with the case organizations and with researchers to arrive at the findings.

This research adds to literature and practice by showing how individuals in organizations cope with SGTs, with the goal that their wellbeing can be considered in their organization. I also add value by uncovering which strategies organizations can use to cope with SGTs.