EU’s Green Deal and VUCA : Challenges Ahead for the ManGeo Research

The European Union's Green Deal, launched in 2019, constitutes an ambitious policy framework aimed at achieving climate neutrality, decoupling economic growth from resource use, and ensuring social and spatial inclusiveness.This paper discusses how the Green Deal can be better understood by using the intersection of Management Geography and the VUCA framework, which can be utilized as an analytical lens for enhancing international management and leadership practice under the green transformation.It is argued that the increasing uncertainty and heterogeneity surrounding the Green Deal's implementation across EU member states intensify managerial challenges for firms operating in multinational and cross-cultural contexts.By emphasizing the spatial and institutional dimensions of management, the paper highlights how geographic location, cultural context, and national interpretation of EU directives influence organizational practices, risk management, and strategic decision-making in green transformation efforts.The paper further addresses methodological challenges associated with studying the Green Deal, including issues of comparability, data validity, and research design in European cross-national contexts.Drawing on theories from international management, economic geography, and institutional economics, the paper suggests that integrating VUCA with spatial perspectives can generate new theoretical insights and enrich empirical research.The paper positions Management Geography as a valuable framework for advancing understanding of sustainable business practices and for supporting policymakers in making the Green Deal intelligible in an increasingly uncertain societal environment.