Institutionalization of Life‐Cycle Thinking in the Everyday Discourse of Market Actors
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19466934 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eva Heiskanen (0000-0003-0200-2133, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 31-45 |
| Publication date | 2000-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Industrial Ecology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1088-1980 • E-ISSN: 1530-9290 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1162/10881980052541936 |
| OpenAlex | W2062784574 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 22 |
The widespread popularity of life‐cycle assessment (LCA) is difficult to understand from the point of view of instrumental decision making by economic agents. Ehrenfeld has argued, in a 1997 issue of this journal, that it is the world‐shaping potential of LCA that is more important than its use as a decision‐making tool. The present study attempts to explore the institutionalization of this “LCA world view” among ordinary market actors. This is important because environmental policy relies increasingly on market‐based initiatives. Cognitive and normative assumptions in authoritative LCA documents are examined as empirical data and compared with data from focus group interviews concerning products and the environment with “ordinary” manufacturers, retailers, and consumers in Finland. These assumptions are (1) the “cradle‐to‐grave” approach, (2) the view that all products have an environmental impact and can be improved, (3) the relativity of environmental merit, and (4) the way responsibility for environmental burdens is attributed. Relevant affinities, but also differences, are identified. It is argued that life‐cycle thinking is not primarily instrumental, but rather is gaining a degree of intrinsic value. The study attempts to establish a broader institutional context in which the popularity of LCA can be understood. From the point of view of this broader context, some future challenges for the development of LCA and life‐cycle thinking are suggested
Business · Economics · Institutionalisation · Normative · Political science · Popularity · Positive economics · Sociology · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Environmental Sustainability in Business · Law · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance · Marketing
Sustainability Constraints as System Boundaries
Barriers hindering life cycle assessment implementation in packaging design to achieve carbon neutrality- a case of emerging economy
From groundless universalism to grounded generalism
Accounting technologies and sustainability assessment models
Green chemistry
Basics of qualitative research
The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis
Institutionalization and Structuration
The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields
The social construction of reality
The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement
Focus Groups as Qualitative Research
The shallow and the deep, long‐range ecology movement. A summary∗
Institutionalism "Old" and "New"
The Importance of LCAs—Warts and All
Perspectives on the U.S. Paper Industry and Sustainable Production
Every product casts a shadow
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.22 |
| Citation span | 2003 - 2025 (23) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |