Purpose

The paper explores processes associated with the adoption of corporate sustainability communication in a B2B context. It employs a combined action research and sensemaking approach to document moments that precede the initiation of external sustainability communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is the outcome of an action research project, where we examine the case of one industrial company that was silent on its multiple sustainability-related practices, but recently decided to become more transparent to the outside world. A processual approach to sensemaking is adopted to show how organisational and non-organisational members actively participated in meaning co-construction.

Findings

Corporate silence can be disrupted by triggering events that cause moments of sudden realisation for organisational members, eventually leading to the initiation of sensemaking processes inside the organisation. Once this occurs, the possibility of externally communicating sustainability appears a feasible and strategic approach to pursue. We document how different actors are involved in meaning co-construction and how the entire process of sensemaking unfolds.

Practical implications

A sensemaking approach sheds light on the complexity of sustainability communication, where multiple actors are involved. This is a useful approach to consider in order to couple sustainability with other organisational practices. Moreover, sensemaking opens a window of opportunity for various societal actors' interventions to shape the role and content of sustainability communication.

Originality/value

The paper offers an original, theoretically informed methodological contribution to the literature on sustainability communication by coupling a sensemaking approach with action research. The approach is employed to examine the role of internal organisational actors in sustainability reporting processes, an area that has received scant attention.

中文翻译：

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在B2B环境中触发可持续发展沟通：将行动研究与感悟结合

目的

本文探讨了在B2B环境下采用公司可持续性沟通的相关流程。它采用行动研究和感性相结合的方法来记录外部可持续性沟通开始之前的时刻。

设计/方法/方法

本文是一项行动研究项目的结果，在该项目中，我们研究了一家工业公司的案例，该公司对多种可持续性相关实践不愿发表任何意见，但最近决定对外界更加透明。采用了一种过程化的感官方法，以显示组织成员和非组织成员如何积极参与意义共建构。

发现

触发可能导致组织成员突然意识到这一点的事件，可能会破坏公司的沉默，最终导致组织内部的理性决策过程的启动。一旦发生这种情况，与外部沟通可持续性的可能性就成为一种可行的战略方法。我们记录了不同的参与者如何参与意义共建构，以及感官的整个过程如何展开。

实际影响

明智的方法揭示了涉及多个参与者的可持续性沟通的复杂性。这是考虑将可持续性与其他组织实践相结合的有用方法。此外，感官传播为各种社会行为者的干预打开了机会之窗，以塑造可持续性沟通的作用和内容。

创意/价值

本文通过将感官方法与行动研究相结合，为有关可持续发展传播的文献提供了理论上有启发性的原始方法论。该方法用于检查内部组织参与者在可持续性报告流程中的作用，该领域很少受到关注。