Foundations of a Sustainable Market Economy

Margreet Boersma is a Professor in Sustainable Finance and Entrepreneurship at Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands. She worked in organizational consultancy and healthcare consultancy before rejoining academia in 2012. Her research focuses on the factors that can increase sustainable entrepreneurship, as well as impact measurement and building sustainable relationships between contracting partners.

Gjalt de Jong is Professor of Sustainable Entrepreneurship in a Circular Economy (University of Groningen, Faculty Campus Fryslân). Professor de Jong builds on more than 30 years of experience in academia, business and management. He holds a Master of Science in Economics and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Groningen. He is the chair and head of the department Sustainable Entrepreneurship in a Circular Economy and founder-former director of the Master of Science program Sustainable Entrepreneurship. Prior to his current position he served as a senior management consultant for KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The free market underpins our economy and our way of thinking around enterprise and value, but it is also a major factor in the sustainability problems that we now live with. Climate change, child labour and oil spills are just a few of the many problems associated with our economic activity and, although many companies have made an effort to produce more sustainably, the pace of change is much too slow. This engaging and accessible textbook teaches students the relationship between the economy and sustainability, assessing the hand of the free market on company behaviour and, ultimately, providing a framework for transition to a sustainable economy.
Using case studies and optional assessment questions, this textbook explains to students what a market is at the macro level and then translates the effects of the market to industries and subsequently to the strategic choices of companies at the micro level. It adopts a model of 8 guiding principlesthat underpin the current free market economy and 8 guiding principles for the sustainable market economy. Switching these deeply held principles will be essential to any serious transition to a sustainable economy.

Explains for students the role of the free market in tackling sustainability challenges