ABSTRACT
Cognitive mapping makes it possible to assess within a company or organisation images of sustainability. This chapter describes each step of the method, and then provides an example based on a research study conducted at Grontmij. The first step in the method is to compare projects in terms of sustainability, without an interpretation of the sustainability concept given by the researcher. The respondents could decide for themselves how they wished to make sustainability operational. After that, these preference orders were transformed into points within a multi-dimensional space by means of a multidimensional scaling analysis (MDSA) in which the points representing the products and the dimensions of the space show the respondent's cognitive (mental) images with respect to sustainability. MDSA is a collection of analytical techniques which are able to compare objects and transform them into representations within a multi-dimensional space. After describing the method and the Grontmij example, the chapter explains the theoretical background to the method.
