Definition
Action research (AR) can be defined as a systematic type of research enabling “people to find effective solutions to problems they confront in their everyday lives” (Stringer 2013). Based on a reflective process on a cycle of actions, a particular problematic situation can be addressed. The idea behind is that by doing so changes occur within the setting, the participants, as well as the researcher (Herr and Anderson 2005).
Introduction
Since the rise of the international discussion starting with the publication of the Brundtland report “Our common future” in 1987 (WCED 1987), many approaches and programs have been initiated toward a sustainable development. “Sustainable development is a process with the clear vision to change our societies from unsustainable to sustainable” (Baumgartner 2011). Nonetheless, many sustainability-related problems are still existent or even faced by increasing negative impacts. This leads to the assumption of a lacking awareness, ability,...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Anderson F (2015) The development of rural sustainability using participatory action research: a case study from Guatemala. J Hum Resour Sustain Stud 3:28–33
Argyris C (2003) Actionable knowledge. In: Tsoukas T, Knudsen C (eds) The Oxford handbook of organization theory. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 423–452
Ballard D (2005) Using learning processes to promote change for sustainable development. Action Res 3(2):135–156
Baumgartner RJ (2011) Critical perspectives of sustainable development research and practice. J Clean Prod 19:783–786
Baumgartner RJ, Korhonen J (2010) Strategic thinking for sustainable development. Sustain Dev 18(2):71–75
Bolwig S, Ponte S, du Toit A, Riisgaard L, Halberg N (2008) Integrating poverty, gender and environmental concerns into value chain analysis: a conceptual framework and lessons for action research. Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen
Bradbury H (2001) Learning with the natural step: action research to promote conversations for sustainable development. In: Reason P, Bradbury H (eds) Handbook of action research: participative inquiry and practice. Sage, London, pp 307–313
Bratt C (2011) Assessment of eco-labelling and green procurement from a strategic sustainability perspective. Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona
Burns H (2016) Learning sustainability leadership: an action research study of a graduate leadership course. Int J Scholarsh Teach Learn 10(2):8
Carr W, Kemmis S (1986) Becoming critical: education, knowledge, and action research. Falmer Press, London
Coghlan D, Brannick T (2014) Doing action research in your own organization. Sage, London
Coghlan P, Coghlan D (2002) Action research for operations management. Int J Oper Prod Manag 22(2):220–240
Egmose J (2015) Action research for sustainability. Ashgate, Farnham
Greenwood DJ (2007) Pragmatic action research. Int J Action Res 2(1–2):131–148
Gummesson E (2000) Qualitative methods in management research. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Hallstedt SI, Isaksson O (2017) Material criticality assessment in early phases of sustainable product development. J Clean Prod 161:40–52
Hasan H, Smith S, Finnegan P (2017) An activity theoretic analysis of the mediating role of information systems in tackling climate change adaptation. Inf Syst J 27:271–308
Herr K, Anderson GL (2005) The action research dissertation: a guide for students and faculty. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Lewin K (1997 [1946]) Action research and minority problems. In: Lewin K (ed) Resolving social conflicts and field theory in social science. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, pp 34–46
Manring SL (2014) The role of universities in developing interdisciplinary action research collaborations to understand and manage resilient social-ecological systems. J Clean Prod 64:125–135
Masters J (1995) The history of action research. In: Hughes I (ed) Action research electronic reader. http://www.aral.com.au/arow/rmasters.html. Accessed 5 Jan 2017
Meyers MD (2013) Qualitative research in business & management. Sage, London
Middel R, Brennan L, Coghlan D, Coghlan P (2005) The application of action learning and action research in collaborative improvement within the extended manufacturing enterprise. In: Kotzab H, Seuring S, Müller M, Reiner G (eds) Research methodologies in supply chain management. Physika, Heidelberg, pp 365–380
Park P (2006) Knowledge and participatory research. In: Reason P, Bradbury H (eds) The handbook of action research. Sage, London, pp 83–93
Reason P, Bradbury H (2006) The handbook of action research. Sage, London
Richert M (2017) An energy management framework tailor-made for SMEs: case study of a German car company. J Clean Prod 164:221–229
Robèrt K, Borén S, Ny H, Broman G (2017) A strategic approach to sustainable transport system development – part 1: attempting a generic community planning process model. J Clean Prod 140:53–61
Shapira H, Ketchie A, Nehe M (2017) The integration of design thinking and strategic sustainable development. J Clean Prod 140:277–287
Skinner H (2017) Action research. In: Kubacki K, Rundle-Thiele S (eds) Formative research in social marketing. Springer Science + Business Media, Singapore, pp 11–31
Stringer ET (2013) Action research, 4th edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Susman GI, Evered RD (1978) An assessment of the scientific merits of action research. Adm Sci Q 23(4):582–603
Tschiggerl K (2017) Aktionsforschung und deren Anwendung in den Wirtschaftswissenschaften. Working paper, Montanuniversitaet Leoben
Tschiggerl K, Fresner J (2008) From “doing green” to “doing good”: a consultancy perspective of mainstreaming sustainable development through continuous improvement. Paper presented at the Corporate Responsibility Research Conference CRRC 2008, Queen’s University Management School, Belfast, 7–9 September 2008
Tschiggerl K, Topic M (2018) A systematic approach to adopt sustainability and efficiency practices in energy-intensive industries. In: Leal Filho W (ed) Handbook of sustainability science and research. Springer, Berlin, pp 523–536
Velenturf APM, Purnell P (2017) Resource recovery from waste: restoring the balance between resource scarcity and waste overload. Sustainability 9(9):1603
Wilber K (2000) Integral psychology. Shambhala, Boston
Wittmayer J, Schaepke N, Feiner G, Piotrowski R, van Steenbergen F, Baasch S (2013) Action research for sustainability: reflections on transition management in practice. http://incontext-fp7.eu/sites/default/files/InContext-ResearchBrief-Action_research_for_sustainability.pdf. Accessed 21 Dec 2017
World Commission on Environment and Development WCED (1987) Our common future. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Zuber-Skerrit O (2012) Action research for sustainable development in a turbulent world. Emerald, Bingley
Zuber-Skerrit O, Perry C (2002) Action research within organisations and university thesis writing. Learn Organ 9(4):171–179
Zuber-Skerrit O, Wood L, Bob D (2013) Action research for sustainable development in a turbulent world: reflections and future perspectives. Action Learn Action Res J 18(2):184–203
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Tschiggerl, K. (2019). Action Research on Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_158-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_158-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63951-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63951-2
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education