You are warmly invited to our upcoming virtual Fall ECO Network Seminar on Conflicting Emotions in Defending Indigenous Territories and Balancing Energy Transition Investments with Jacobo Ramirez (Copenhagen Business School, Denmark). The seminar will take place online on 24 October at 14:00 UK time. Jacobo will be presenting his research online and there will be time for discussion and Q&A.

About the Seminar

Management and organizational studies (OMS) have advanced our understanding of place, space, and territory. However, scholars often struggle to distinguish between these concepts, particularly when analyzing firms’ investments in government-protected territories. In OMS, place encompasses both tangible and intangible elements, shaped by people, practices, objects, and its significance as a meaningful location. Places are further enriched by representations and mythical associations, influencing and being influenced by organizational activities. A recent shift toward a broader perspective views territories as part of an extensive social field, integrating place and space. This approach acknowledges the historical, economic, political, and cultural contexts that shape territories. However, the complex ways emotions connect to specific territories remain underexplored. To address this, our study asks: What are the ontological foundations of the conflicting emotions surrounding green energy investments in Indigenous territories? Drawing on a longitudinal qualitative study (2019–2024) of wind energy investments in La Guajira, Colombia, we found these investments disrupt both the physical and ontological environment of Indigenous territories. Economic opportunism has amplified negative impacts, triggering protective emotions among managers and shared emotions—such as sadness, fear, and frustration—in both Indigenous peoples and managers. However, these emotions have differing roots: Indigenous communities’ feelings are tied to their cultural and spiritual connection with the territory, while managers’ emotions arise from professional concerns related to climate change and investment security. These findings highlight the need for OMS to integrate place, space, and territory into sustainable development strategies.

About the speaker:

Jacobo Ramirez is an associate professor of Latin American Business Development at the Department of Management, Society, and Communication (MSC) of Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Denmark. Ramirez’s research revolves around the impact of renewable energy investments on Indigenous communities and their livelihoods, with publications in various international journals, including Human Relations, Energy Policy, Energy Research & Social Science, Gender, Work & Organization, Iberoamericana – Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Journal of International Business Policy, and Trends in Organized Crime. Born in Mexico to Indigenous parents from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Ramirez has been based in Copenhagen since 2006.

Credits: Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash