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Purpose
This paper aims to learn how sustainability and the circular economy were being integrated into the curriculum of a Dutch university and to transfer that knowledge back to a US university business school curriculum. Given the resistance toward integrating sustainability into the US business school curriculum, the Dutch university served as a role model for education for sustainable development.


Design/methodology/approach
This case study used ethnographic methods of participant observation over a four-month residency at the Dutch university.


Findings
Themes observed are as follows: success in the current context relied upon sustainability being integrated into the culture and lifestyle, legislative enforcement, a focus on urban sustainability, use of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and collaboration as a key to success. The course proposal shifted to a class on the SDGs which is broader, more inclusive, and interdisciplinary. The proposal to integrate circular economy into the US business school curriculum shifted to a class on the SDGs. It was determined that the SDGs presented a more amenable approach to introduce sustainability into the business school curriculum and meet the objectives of education for sustainable development.


Research limitations/implications
This case study is based upon the author's experience at one university in the Netherlands. Limitations include the generalizability of the findings to another university as well as the question of transferability across cultures.


Practical implications
This case study offers one suggestion for integrating sustainability into the business school curriculum.


Social implications
Integrating sustainability into the business school curriculum through the SDGs might help overcome resistance.


Originality/value
The findings offer an alternative approach for integrating sustainability into the business school curriculum that is aligned with AACSB standards and which might face less resistance.

My Friend Morgan is an exercise to stimulate classroom discussions on ethical reasoning and decision making and to make students aware of their judgments of ethical behavior. The exercise includes a survey of students' ethical behavior, a case scenario developed from the survey, and discussion questions. The exercise is adaptable to many classroom situations and can be modified to reflect course content. Use of this exercise is reviewed, and current theories of ethical reasoning that can be used with the exercise are covered. The distinguishing feature of the exercise is its ability to be personalized to students.

PurposeThis study aims to identify the content in introductory business sustainability courses in the USA to determine the most frequently assigned reading material and its sustainability orientation.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 81 introductory sustainable business course syllabi reading lists were analyzed from 51 US colleges and universities. The study utilized frequency counts for authors and readings and R analysis of key words to classify readings along the sustainability spectrum.FindingsThe study reveals the most frequently assigned authors and readings in US sustainable business courses (by program type) and places them along the sustainability spectrum from weak to strong. In total, 55 per cent of the top readings assigned in the sample advocate a weak sustainability paradigm, and 29 per cent of the top readings advocate a strong sustainability paradigm.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focused on reading lists of introductory courses in the USA; cases, videos and supplemental materials were excluded, and the study does not analyze non-US courses.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can inform instructors of the most commonly assigned authors and readings and identify readings that align with weak sustainability and strong sustainability. Instructors are now able to select sustainable business readings consistent with peers and which advance a weak or strong sustainability orientation.Originality/valueThis is the first research to identify the most commonly assigned authors and readings to aid in course planning. This is also the first research to guide instructors in identifying which readings represent weak versus strong sustainability.

Companies commonly issue sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. This study seeks to understand worldviews of corporate sustainability, or the corporate message conveyed regarding what sustainability or CSR is and how to enact it. Content analysis of corporate sustainability reports is used to position each company report within stages of corporate sustainability. Results reveal that there are multiple coexisting worldviews of corporate sustainability, but the most dominant worldview is focused on the business case for sustainability, a position anchored in the weak sustainability paradigm. We contend that the business case and weak sustainability advanced in corporate sustainability reports and by the Global Reporting Initiative are poor representations of sustainability. Ecological embeddedness, or a locally responsive strategy that is sensitive to local ecosystems, may hold the key to improved ecological sensemaking, which in turn could lead to more mature levels of corporate sustainability worldviews that support strong sustainability and are rooted in environmental science. This must be supported by government regulation.

This article presents a psychoanalytically informed diagnosis of top management team (TMT) dysfunction during TMT training in a public sector organization. Outdoor management development exercises and the psychodynamics of family groups increased the psychological depth of a training intervention, eliciting dysfunctional behavior and facilitating diagnosis based on Bion's theory of groups. Dysfunctional basic assumption behavior prohibited the group from effectively accomplishing the task of the work group. Implications for trainers and consultants are discussed.