Conceptual Change and Sustainable Business Transformation: A Phenomenon‐Driven Review

ABSTRACT In this article, we ponder profound questions of societal sustainability transitioning through the concept of conceptual change —a category of change that, compared with other scientific domains, has so far received little attention in scholarship of business. We take a phenomenological stance on conceptual change to broach its relevance for the literature on sustainable business transformation. Through a phenomenon‐driven review of when and how such change occurs in for‐profit organizations—which yielded 16 empirical articles—we demonstrate both this relevance and how it is being overlooked to date. Based on the available evidence and following phenomenon‐driven interests for theoretical renewal, we outline a framework and pathways for paying greater attention to intricacies of conceptual change among business organizations as well as its interplay with other dimensions of societal sustainability transitioning.