Back to the future: ecocentrism, organization studies, and the Anthropocene

Abstract

In this paper, we revisit a moment in the 1990 s when the proposal of ecocentrism as an alternative to anthropocentrism was promising of unprecedented changes in how the field of Organization Studies (OS) should understand the natural environment. Nevertheless, in what seems to be a twist of history, the notion of sustainability became dominant in the OS, and ecocentrism almost got lost in time. Through a reminiscent review, we reflect on past events with the critical attitude of questioning how the field of OS missed a precious opportunity to tread a different future. Facing up the consequences of the destructive potential of human actions upon nature, we explore the concept of the Anthropocene to reflect on the role of organizations in the current state of environmental depletion. We expect that recovering a forgotten history may precipitate the resumption of ecocentrism in OS, as well as compel scholars within this field to further engage with more ecological concerns.