Dr. Amanda Williams
Amanda Williams was a senior researcher in the Group for Sustainability and Technology (SusTec) at the Department of Management, Technology and Economics of ETH Zurich.
Amanda's research layed at the intersection of sustainability management and social-ecological systems. She studied how organizations understand global sustainability issues and develop corporate sustainability strategies that align with global targets. She approached her work from a systems theory perspective and works with qualitative research methods.
Amanda collaborated with the DownloadUN Global Compact Network Switzerland to embed the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into corporate strategy. She was previously a Downloadfellow in the DownloadGoverning Responsible Business Research Environment at Copenhagen Business School. Amanda holds a PhD from DownloadRotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University where she helped to create the DownloadMOOC Driving Business Towards the SDGs . During her PhD, Amanda was part of the Marie Curie funded training network DownloadInnovation for Sustainability. For this project, she collaborated with the DownloadWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) where she was an associate on the Redefining Value team. At WBCSD, she contributed to the DownloadSDG Compass, a guide for business action to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Prior to starting her PhD, Amanda earned an MSc from DownloadESSEC Business School. She also obtained an MBA in Environmentally Sustainable Management and a BSc in Graphic Media both from DownloadRochester Institute of Technology. She worked in marketing for a technology company for several years.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- Williams, A; Whiteman, G. (2021): “A call for deep engagement for impact: Addressing the planetary emergency.” Strategic Organization, Forthcoming.
- Ahlstrom, H., Williams, A., & Vildasen, S. (2020). Enhancing systems thinking in corporate sustainability through a transdisciplinary research process. Journal of Cleaner Production. 256, 1-1. Downloaddoi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120691
- Williams, A., Whiteman, G., & Parker, J. (2019). Backstage interorganizational collaboration: Corporate endorsement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Academy of Management Discoveries. Downloaddoi: 10.5465/amd.2018.0154
- Williams, A., Whiteman, G., & Kennedy, S. (2019). Cross-Scale Systemic Resilience: Implications for Organization Studies. Business & Society. Downloaddoi: 10.1177/0007650319825870
- Williams, A., Kennedy, S., Philipp, F., & Whiteman, G. (2017). Systems thinking: A review of the sustainability management literature. Journal of Cleaner Production. 148, 866-881. Downloaddoi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.002
Book Chapters
- Williams, A., Heucher, K., & Whiteman, G. (2020). Planetary emergency and paradox. In: Bednarek, R., Pina e Cunha, M. & Smith, W. (eds.) Both/and-ing paradox theory interdisciplinary dialogues on organizational paradox. Research in Sociology of Organization. Emerald Publishing. In Press.
- Samuel, G., Stowell, A., Williams, A., & Irwin, R. (2020). Transferring interdisciplinary sustainability research to practice: Barriers and solutions to the practitioner-academic gap. In: Sjafjell, B., Russell, R. Van der Velden, M. (eds.) Interdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Business: Perspectives of Female Business Scholars. Springer. In Press.
- Whiteman, G. & Williams, A. (2018). Systemic ecosystem risks: Implications for organization studies. In: Gephart, R., Miller, C. & Svedberg Helgesson, K. (eds) The Routledge Companion to Risk, Crisis, and Emergency Management. DownloadISBN: 9781138208865
- Kennedy, S. Whiteman, G., & Williams, A. (2015). Sustainable innovation at Interface: Workplace pro-environmental behavior as a collective driver for continuous improvement. In: Barling, J. and Robertson, J. (eds) The Psychology of Green Organizations. Oxford University Press. DownloadISBN: 9780199997480