Exploring insider social change agents’ mechanisms for reaching sustainability transformation tipping points in their organization _Cooperative inquiry at the University of St Gallen
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2025
Author(s)
Abstract
In light of the growing sustainability pressures on society and the planet, insider social change agents act as important actors in the sustainability transformation process of their own organization. Across the literature, insider change agents are characterized by small wins. However, times require to move beyond those and reach tipping points to create a broader impact so insider social change agents accelerate the sustainability transformation of their own organization. This paper explores how cooperative inquiry with diverse insider social change agents can help identify mechanisms for reaching sustainability transformation tip-ping points in their own organization. To investigate this question in depth, the exploratory study focuses on one specific organization, the University of St Gallen, in Switzerland. Through an abductive process, I draw on both insider social change agents and cooperative inquiry literatures while running a cooperative inquiry process in collaboration with insider social change agents at the University of St Gallen, including myself. This action research approach serves both practical and academic purposes. Preliminary findings show that the core characteristics of cooperative inquiry foster the quest for identification of mechanisms to reach tipping points. In addition, the extended epistemology used in cooperative inquiry fur-ther contributes to the identification of mechanisms to reach tipping points. I then briefly outline points to be further discussed.
Keywords
insider social change agents
sustainability transformation
organizations
higher education institutions
cooperative inquiry
Event Title
EGOS 2025
Division(s)