This chapter is a reprint from an editorial in the Academy of Management Journal. The article investigates how resources have been discussed and theorized over the last decades and finds that despite their omnipresence in economics, engineering and policy, managerial thought on natural resources is largely missing. Yet, important questions on how firms deal with scarcity of natural resources, how they are managed in a sustainable way, and how they inspire all kinds of organizational action abound. We discuss organizational, institutional and societal responses to scarcity and present ways to continue research on the ‘Grand Challenge’ of natural resources within the field of management. Finally, we present a conversation with Teng Lit Liak, a businessman, politician and environmental champion in Singapore on his perspectives on the natural environment.
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Front Matter
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PART I: Risk and uncertainty in the natural environment
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PART II: Natural resources and interorganizational relationships
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PART III: Natural resource dynamics inside organizations and over time
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PART IV: Sustainability today and tomorrow: rebuilding failing institutions
