Can Wall Street Save the World? Organizations, Investors, and the Sustainable Development Goals

Management scholars have begun to increase their focus on the role of business in addressing society’s “grand challenges.” These challenges are encapsulated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were launched by the United Nations in 2015. By drawing attention to how firms and investors can contribute to achieving the SDGs, this symposium highlights the behaviors, motivations, and pressures faced by different types of organizational actors as they come to terms with these collective challenges. In recognition of the variety of actors and investment strategies that need to be mobilized to achieve the SDGs, the symposium brings together researchers at the intersection of research on sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and responsible investment. By doing so, the symposium seeks to inclusively examine the diversity of organizational perspectives related to the SDGs, and to synthesize research on organizational processes and strategies which may facilitate their achievement.