COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF INCORPORATING ENGINEERS TO TOP MANAGEMENT POSITIONS: A SUSTAINABILITY POINT OF VIEW

Abstract

The recent economic crisis has highlighted the need to have a more sustainable and less short-sighted approach. Social and environmental awareness should be present in the strategy of any organization. In this sense, there are a lot of studies that examine the role of managers in this strategic reorientation but, to the best knowledge of the authors, none of these analyzes which should be the ideal composition of the top management committees to facilitate the transition from the current short-term business model, where prevail financial goals, to a more sustainable long-term model. Our empirical study concluded that overweight the role of engineers in the top management positions, mostly occupied by economists today, could provide the necessary balance and facilitate the transition to a more ethical business models.