In this editorial, we are delighted to introduce the seven papers in this Special Issue. Each article considers various aspects of how management research can assist in the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in different contexts. Starting from a desire to provide a mechanism to drive real research outcomes for management research, this editorial considers the SDGs and their implementation/adoption in universities and businesses to date. It then introduces the different contexts for management research and the SDGs explored in the seven articles in the Special Issue. Finally, in a Postscript at the end of this Special Issue, we look at current progress against the SDGs, how COVID-19 has impacted this progress and what the future may hold for the links between management research and the SDGs.

We employ the concept of stupidity to address why more has not been done to address climate change and sustainable development. While the ‘new’ science of stupid has long existed in organizational studies, academicians have been too polite to call it that and organizational researchers historically labeled it the ‘threat-rigidity effect.’ With Alvesson and Spicer’s ‘stupidity-based theory of organizations’ management researchers overcame this reluctance. In this work we explore what we will call the ‘stress-stupidity system.’ Building on the threat-rigidity effect, we outline the elements of the stress-stupidity system and look at how we may be able to ‘fix stupid’ to address issues of sustainability.

Australia has committed to reducing emissions under the Paris Agreement by 2030, in alignment with the United Nations' (UN) Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) climate action. This article investigates the responses of Australian high-emission businesses to Australian government action and legislation in relation to climate change, specifically the carbon tax, and how this knowledge can assist in delineating future carbon legislation. A qualitative study of the responses of 17 high-emission businesses and three industry associations to carbon legislation during the implementation of the carbon tax in Australia identified the use of resistive, reactive or cooperative strategies by the businesses. Issues related to carbon legislation identified by businesses included differences in time orientation, multiple regulations, political uncertainty, international positioning and the need for long-term and consolidated policies. Given these findings, this article argues that well-designed top-down legislative measures are necessary to steer businesses towards a carbon-neutral regime.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals to 2030 call for action by the globe to tackle some of the most pressing problems facing humanity. There is a key role for business in helping to meet the goals, and in particular, small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for over 90% of global businesses. Many organisations that were already engaged in addressing sustainability prior to the release of the SDGs will need to shift their approach to accommodate the new framework, including SMEs like Sydney Theatre Company (STC). This paper explores the use of the SDG Compass as a tool for making that shift by revisiting a previous case study on STC's sustainability journey since 2008 to assess the efficacy of the SDG Compass as a guide to addressing the SDGs. It finds that the SDG Compass is prohibitively complex for SMEs which could impede engagement with the SDGs by SMEs.

Social enterprises create innovative solutions to address social issues and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper examines the innovative social entrepreneurial processes using the theoretical foundation of responsible innovation (i.e., anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion and deliberation, responsiveness, and knowledge management). The data collected from three case study organisations reveals that social enterprises at the initiation stage address only a few SDGs. However, innovation development and implementation processes lead to products and services diversification and geographical expansion which broaden the SDG focus. During this process, enterprises iteratively conduct activities associated with different dimensions of responsible innovation and operate within ethics, values and rights-based boundaries. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a process model combining SDG literature with responsible innovation. The managerial implications of using responsible innovation perspective to achieve SDGs are also highlighted.

Corruption is one of the most destructive and pervasive wicked problems, present in commercial enterprises, governmental agencies and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). The reduction of corruption is prominent amongst the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, but research on corruption in the context of NGOs in developing countries is scarce, particularly relating to the identification and management of corruption in this context. This paper adds new insights to this under-researched field by providing a rich description of a single, longitudinal ethnographic case study of one NGO in Bangladesh, which has successfully identified and managed (out) complex, entrenched corruption through a simple sustainable intervention: expanding and improving information channels for stakeholders.

This paper proposes that the United Nation's sustainable development goals (SDGs) and associated targets form an effective framework for determining real-world research impact. Existing bibliometrics that assess the quality of academic work are usually quantitative and self-referential, reducing the focus on real-world issues. The same measurements are often adopted by funding bodies, pressuring researchers to increase compliance, and further reducing integrity and real-world impact. A series of world cafés were conducted, collecting data on how researchers, their institutions, and network organisations can contribute to, and measure research aligned with the SDGs and targets. The results showed that participants were generally positive towards using the SDGs and targets to measure impact and quality of academic research. Suggestions to assist greater adoption of the SDGs and targets as a measure of impact included: aligning governmental and institutional funding; changing key performance indicators; increasing cross-disciplinary work; aligning mission/vision statements; and legitimising SDG-focused projects at conferences.

Taking urgent action to combat climate change is a pivotal Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Since it is closely intertwined with the other 16 goals, it is frequently characterized as a ‘wicked problem par excellence.’ Interdisciplinary research, i.e., research crossing disciplinary boundaries, offers promise for grappling with wicked problems, but also entails significant challenges to researchers. In this study, we use bibliometric methods to understand how management scholars have, over the course of four decades, straddled disciplinary boundaries and what impact their efforts have had on top-tier climate change research appearing in Science and Nature. We find that management scholarship on climate change (1) has grown significantly since the mid-2000s, (2) features substantial engagement with an interdisciplinary knowledge base, and (3) fails to attract the attention of climate change research within top-tier interdisciplinary journals. We discuss these findings with reference to the ongoing discourse on raising management scholarship's relevance and impact.