Scaling Up Sustainability From an Operational Capability to a Dynamic Capability: The Case of Royal Bank of Scotland

Abstract

This article reports on a case-based, longitudinal study of the micro-foundations of business sustainability development in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the turbulent years between 2002 and 2012. The study proposes an emerging 3-i process model, mapping the role of bounded, shared, and embedded intentionality; operational, functional, and strategic integration; and constraining, accelerating, and stabilizing institutionality as they relate to the micro-foundations underpinning the development of corporate sustainability from an operational capability to as a dynamic capability as it evolved across multiple levels of context and over time. The research extends extant literature exploring transformations toward sustainability as part of the strategic change process, the micro-foundations of capabilities as well as discussions on sustainability and temporality.