Exploring the challenge for sustainable development in the energy sector: sociometrical view of two British and Nigerian cases, Dr Mostafa Mohamad and John Anuge
Dr Mostafa Mohamad
University of Salford
United Kingdom
John Anuge
University of Salford
United Kingdom
Global pressure on the green environment has been a major obstacle in attaining future Sustainable Development (SD). In this
study, the researchers explore the recent challenges of SD in the power sectors in the United Kingdom (UK) (as a Northern European country) and in Nigeria (as a Southern African country). These two contexts have witnessed an unstable epileptic power supply, despite the trillions of dollars invested in the sector. To avoid solving the sustainability problem and causing other economic, social or environmental problems, a thread of scholarly work has attempted to develop a systemic approach to SD. Aiming to off er an appreciative systemic lens of SD (Thatchenkery etal., 2010), we adopted the sociomateriality concept to shed light on the closeness between the social/organisational context and the resource-based/material context of SD. Sociomateriality emphasises the ongoing interaction between technology and the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainability. This systemic view of SD avoids the defects of other dominant views such as complexity theory (Sabau, 2010), neoclassical economics/free market approaches (Heikkurinen and Bonnedahl, 2013) and ecological economics (Lele, 1991).
Research aim: The aim of this research is to examine the extent to which sociomateriality and appreciative design help explore the challenges of SD and offer feasible solutions for policy makers, practitioners and interested scholars.
Approach/methodology: The interpretative approach has been adopted using a mix of qualitative interviewing and survey methods. Such tools helped compare and contrast British versus Nigerian power/energy as case studies.
Findings: Organisational resistance, political, economic, environmental and technological were found signifi cant in both the British and Nigerian contexts. The interaction and interdependency between these factors off er a new sociomaterialistic view of the appreciative systemic lens of SD(Thatchenkery et al., 2010).
Limitations: Our findings cannot be generalised using a case study design that represents only two countries.
Social implications: Helping managers improve the eff ectiveness of SD projects using the interplay quadratic bottom line and stakeholders'involvement.
Keywords: sociomateriality; appreciative theory; Sustainable Development; SD; North-South divide; survey methods and energy industry.
Citation: Mohamad, M., Anuge, J. (2016): Exploring the challenge for sustainable development in the energy sector: sociometrical view of two British and Nigerian cases. In Ahmed, A. (Ed.): Europe at a Crossroads and the Impact of Globalization, Vol. 14, pp. 77-95.