Professor Alysha Shivji of EGADE Business School collaborates on a study that seeks to understand how communities organize in the face of environmental crises.

By JOSÉ ÁNGEL DE LA PAZ | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Alysha Shivji, a professor in the Department of Strategy and Leadership at EGADE Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey, is part of a research team studying how communities organize in response to the effects of climate change in Tixtla, Guerrero. This town in southern Mexico has suffered severe flooding in recent years due to the overflow of its lagoon.

This project, involving scholars from various institutions, aims to build a framework to understand social and environmental responsibility and organizing that differs from dominant Anglo-European frameworks by engaging directly with those affected by the disasters.

In addition to Shivji, the research team includes academics Eduardo Hernández Melgar from Grenoble School of Management and Daniel Polco from the Escuela Superior de Antropología Social at the Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero.

RESILIENCE FROM THE GROUND UP

The community of Tixtla—home to the lagoon known as El Espejo de los Dioses or Laguna Negra—has been severely impacted by flooding, which was exacerbated in 2024 by Hurricane John.

The storm caused the lagoon, an endorheic basin increasingly overwhelmed by deforestation, erosion, and pollution, to overflow, significantly damaging homes and infrastructure.

“Our initial insights from our research show that the community in Tixtla uses an alternative approach to organizing in the face of environmental crises (lagoon flooding),” says Shivji. “This approach differs from mainstream academic understandings derived from Western knowledge. The community sees the land as part of their identity rather than something external to be managed or controlled. Organizing to protect the community and the environment is seen as a duty or obligation more than a volunteering activity.”

COMMUNITY-GOVERNMENT DIALOGUE

During their fieldwork, the team interviewed local stakeholders and held a public forum attended by the municipal president of Tixtla and other local government representatives.

“We have been interviewing different community members and held a public forum attended by the president of Tixtla and other local governments to discuss the situation with the lagoon,” shares Shivji.

RESEARCH WITH PURPOSE

The researchers hope their work will contribute to academic discourse and have a positive social impact.

“We also hope our research will have practical benefits to the community and similar communities in Mexico by drawing attention to the climate crisis and igniting conversations between communities and local government,” Shivji states.

This type of research project opens new possibilities for rethinking the role of business in vulnerable regions. It explores leadership and organizational models that emerge from within communities and can inspire new purpose-driven business visions.