Nova School of Business and Economics, Portugal

A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing? How firms oscillate between transformational and
transitional practices to become competitively transformative

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Abstract

Our paper adopts a practice approach to better understand how firms produce industry
transformative outcomes while remaining commercially competitive. Closely examining the
practices three US-based eco-fashion retailers employed, we found that while they aimed at
prioritizing transformational practices (i.e., doing it right, pursuing longevity of product use,
establishing long-term collaborative business relationships, engaging in cooperation with
competitors, and educating consumers) over transitional practices (i.e., doing it less right,
pursuing less longevity of product use, establishing less long-term collaborative business
relationships, engaging in less cooperation with competitors, and educating consumers less),
they oscillated between both practices to become competitively transformative. These findings
complicate and advance our understanding of transformative (eco-centric) firms by depicting
both transformational and transitional practices as necessary for producing transformative
outcomes in commercially aggressive markets.

Biography

Teresa Moana Mannebach is a teaching assistant of Entrepreneurship and a fifth-year doctoral
student of Management at Nova School of Business and Economics. Her area of interest and
focus lies on eco-centric firms. Specifically, while applying qualitative research methods, she
studies how eco-centric firms implement paradoxical goals in practice. Teresa has a Bachelor
of Science in International Business from Maastricht University and a Master’s degree from
Nova School of Business and Economics. Prior to pursuing her doctoral studies, she has been
a member of the executive board of Wonkyboard Balance Boards for more than six years. She
has also worked two years as a project manager at the ‘Venture Lab’ (i.e., the knowledge center
for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Nova School of Business and Economics) and as a
business developer at Slide Surfcamp.