Individual engagement, persistence, and withdrawal in sustainability and inclusion initiatives
Organizational research · Paris & Belo Horizonte
Dr. Lucas
Amaral
I study the human limits of sustainability and social change in organizations.
Across my work, I show that the limits of sustainability and social change are not primarily technical or strategic, but also human. Organizational initiatives can break down when individuals face sustained misalignment between symbolic commitments and everyday practices, heightened visibility and exposure, and the moral and social risks associated with continued engagement. By centering individual agency under constraint, my research explains why participation erodes, how resistance and backlash emerge, and why well-intentioned efforts can unravel in practice.
Associate Professor, IÉSEG School of Management/Joint Professor, Fundação Dom Cabral
Research focus
Organizations change through people.
My qualitative research examines how organizational commitments meet everyday practices, and how people navigate the consequences.
Implementation of integrative sustainability and CSR practices
Stigmatized employees and stigma management in organizations
Digital visibility, social media audiences, and backlash dynamics
My research sits at the intersection of organizational behavior and organization theory and engages with theories concerned with agency, identity, meaning, and social evaluation, including paradox, stigma, sensemaking, and moral judgment, while remaining attentive to the institutional conditions under which individual and organizational action unfolds. Methodologically, I conduct longitudinal qualitative research using interviews, organizational ethnography, and textual and visual materials, including social media data.
Profile
Research, teaching, and practice.
I publish in leading international management journals and contribute to the academic community through editorial work, reviewing, and mentoring. I teach at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels and supervise master’s and doctoral research.
Education
PhD
Master’s
Development PracticeColumbia Earth Institute programme, implemented by UFRRJ, Brazil
Bachelor’s
International RelationsPUC Minas, Brazil
Previous experience
Industry
Volkswagen do BrasilCoordinated and implemented change management projects across Brazil and other countries in Latin America.
Research
Fundação Dom CabralResearcher and consultant on sustainability projects at one of Brazil’s leading business schools.
Service
Editorial and academic leadershipAssociate Editor; Chair of the Research Committee, Social Issues in Management Division, Academy of Management.
Latest news
Recent work and recognition.
New article · Academy of Management Journal
Siloed Sustainability: How Paradox Management Unravels in Integrative Practice Implementation
Why do sustainability efforts fail even when organizations commit to implementing them? This study shows how the features of sustainability practices create tensions—and how organizational silos can turn attempts to address them into vicious cycles.
Read the article ↗Research in practice
The dark side of sustainability practices
A short video on why sustainability implementation can fail, even when organizations have strong commitments.
Watch the video ↗Award · FNEGE 2023
Special CSR Award
Recognized by the French National Foundation for Management Education for research on concealable stigma and social media, including its relevance to organizational practice.
Award information ↗