Social Sustainability in Times of Crisis: Putting People’s Happiness First

Dear Colleagues,

Social sustainability is recognized as a fundamental component of sustainable development. It refers to creating a stable, prosperous environment that helps people to prosper and lead satisfying lives by understanding their needs in communities (Staniškienė & Stankevičiūtė, 2018; Schönborn et al., 2019). Commonly, a sustainable community is one where people want to live and work now and in the future. Ideally, it should meet the diverse needs of current and future residents, be sensitive to the environment, and contribute to quality living. It is safe and inclusive with well-designed, built, and operated facilities that offer equal opportunities and quality services (De Stefano et al., 2018; Amrutha & Geetha, 2020). However, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has shaped the fundamentals of social sustainability and, ultimately, the sustainable development agenda in communities. For example, social and business functions have halted in certain countries or regions. As a result, unemployment and poverty rates have significantly increased among vulnerable groups (e.g., refugees, low-income people, immigrants, disabled and immunocompromised people, and the elderly), and communities have become vulnerable due to lack of employment and health care. As a result, the COVID-19 pandemic has led researchers, scholars, and policymakers to rethink and rebuild social and organizational resilience by redefining and reframing the assumptions, fundamentals, and practices through the lenses of social sustainability and happiness. However, not just the COVID-19 pandemic, but crises caused by wars, climate change, and political upheavals, create socio-economic issues that transform the sustainability and happiness of people, workplaces, countries, and regions. Yet, only a few theoretical and empirical studies have addressed social sustainability or happiness issues, particularly concerning the ‘people’ and ‘responsible’ aspects, in the recovery from crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This Special Issue aims to fill these gaps and seeks new avenues for future research on social sustainability and putting people’s happiness first.

Research studies in happiness and social sustainability have roots in multiple academic domains. Scholars have highlighted the importance of leadership, corporate social responsibility (CSR), organizational resilience, social development, and strategic HRM in achieving social sustainability (Staniškienė & Stankevičiūtė, 2018; De Stefano et al., 2018; Sobhani et al., 2021). Likewise, to maintain social sustainability, employee happiness and wellbeing are critical aspects of sustainable workplaces, since employees feel valued and more likely to be satisfied and productive at work (De Stefano et al., 2018; Haque et al., 2021). Furthermore, the crises caused by wars, climate change, and political upheavals create socio-economic issues affecting people's happiness, workplaces, and communities. Hence, potential theoretical and empirical papers could come from a wide range of disciplines that explore policy adaptation for climate change or other crises, the impact of such crises on cities and regions, and the role of corporations, governments and/or small businesses in reshaping social sustainability and happiness. Studies regarding the mitigation and adaptation of policies and strategies, including related governance issues, statistical analyses, and investigations, are welcome. The following three highlights will be the major focus of the Special Issue for its theoretical or empirical contributions:

1. Exploring social sustainability through the lens of people’s happiness (i.e., employee, employer, leader, manager, or stakeholders) and their implications: What can be done to foster social sustainability/happiness? Does social sustainability work? If so, what do we know about its effectiveness?
2. Understanding the role of HRM in happiness and social sustainability: What functions, powers, and responsibilities do organizations, small businesses, or societies have? How do these entities react? How do these entities manage HRM challenges? How do they practice leadership? How do these entities link and cooperate with authorities on higher levels within organizations? Can these examples be regarded as good practices for strategic HRM and effective leadership?
3. Demonstrating opportunities for ways out of a crisis: Do future leaders, policymakers, small business owners, or organizational managers intend to “bounce back” to a pre-crisis strategy? Can they use new opportunities to bring about fundamental changes that might be more favorable to sustainable development, people’s happiness, or social sustainability? Why or why not? Are there any potential effects on social stability and cooperation, the economy, or the environment?

We invite theoretical and empirical papers addressing the challenges outlined above. We particularly welcome papers that explore the intersection between crisis, happiness, and social sustainability. The following are our priority areas:

• Social and business (including small business) sustainability;
• Sustainable business practices or models focusing on strategic HRM and Leadership;
• Sustainable development in the era of SDG 2030;
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR);
• Climate change and adaptation;
• Social or inclusive entrepreneurship for adapting to a crisis;
• Happiness and wellbeing at work;
• The resolution of conflicting stakeholder priorities;
• The potential for step changes in sustainable social and organizational development;
• Sustainable or green HRM;
• Value-based leadership practices (e.g., ethical, servant or responsible leadership);
• Post-crisis HRM and business strategy.

References:

Amrutha, V.N. & Geetha, S.N. (2020). A systematic review on green human resource management: Implications for social sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 247, 119131.

De Stefano, F., Bagdadli, S. & Camuffo, A. (2018). The HR role in corporate social responsibility and sustainability: A boundary‐shifting literature review. Human Resource Management, 57(2), 549-566.

Haque, A., Fernando, M. & Caputi, P. (2021). Responsible leadership and employee outcomes: a systematic literature review, integration, and propositions. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 13(3), 383-408.

Schönborn, G., Berlin, C., Pinzone, M., Hanisch, C., Georgoulias, K. & Lanz, M. (2019). Why social sustainability counts: The impact of corporate social sustainability culture on financial success. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 17, 1-10.

Sobhani, F.A.; Haque, A. & Rahman, S. (2021). Socially Responsible HRM, Employee Attitude, and Bank Reputation: The Rise of CSR in Bangladesh. Sustainability, 13, 2753.

Staniškienė, E. & Stankevičiūtė, Ž. (2018). Social sustainability measurement framework: The case of employee perspective in a CSR-committed organisation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 188, 708-719.

Dr. Amlan Haque
Dr. Huong Le
Dr. Nadeera Ranabahu
Guest Editors

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• social and business (including small business) sustainability
• sustainable business practices or models focusing on strategic HRM and Leadership
• sustainable development in the era of SDG 2030
• corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• climate change and adaptation
• social or inclusive entrepreneurship for adapting to a crisis
• happiness and wellbeing at work
• the resolution of conflicting stakeholder priorities
• the potential for step changes in sustainable social and organizational development
• sustainable or green HRM
• value-based leadership practices (e.g., ethical, servant or responsible leadership)
• post-crisis HRM and business strategy