The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation

Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) aim to encourage ethical behaviors of organizations, yet studies show that many VSS adopters do not live up to these promises. Existing literature typically attributes the reason for this ineffectiveness to either policy–practice decoupling, owing to a lack o...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Nava, Lucrezia, Tampe, Maja
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Ramon Llull (URL)
Repositorio:DAU Arxiu Digital de la Universitat Ramon Llull
OAI Identifier:oai:dau.url.edu:20.500.14342/4998
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/4998
http://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2022.1
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Voluntary sustainability standards
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spelling The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and AdaptationNava, LucreziaTampe, MajaVoluntary sustainability standardsVoluntary sustainability standards (VSS) aim to encourage ethical behaviors of organizations, yet studies show that many VSS adopters do not live up to these promises. Existing literature typically attributes the reason for this ineffectiveness to either policy–practice decoupling, owing to a lack of adhering to VSS requirements, or means–ends decoupling, owing to a lack of adapting to the local context. However, little is known about how the contradictory needs of adherence and adaptation evolve throughout VSS implementation. Building on the knowledge transfer literature, we develop a dynamic conceptual framework that distinguishes two phases of VSS implementation. Specifically, we theorize how tensions emerge in the transition between phases since the first phase primarily calls for adherence, whereas the second calls for adaptation. Applying this framework, we develop propositions to illustrate how these tensions relate to different VSS characteristics: stringency, enforcement, and scope. The article concludes with implications and future research directions for VSS scholarship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionCambridge University PressUniversitat Ramon Llull. Esade202520252023info:eu-repo/semantics/article31 p.application/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/4998http://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2022.1reponame:DAU Arxiu Digital de la Universitat Ramon Llullinstname:Universitat Ramon Llull (URL)InglésBusiness Ethics Quarterly© L'autor/aAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dau.url.edu:20.500.14342/49982026-06-21T06:40:37Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
title The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
spellingShingle The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
Nava, Lucrezia
Voluntary sustainability standards
title_short The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
title_full The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
title_fullStr The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
title_full_unstemmed The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
title_sort The Challenge of Implementing Voluntary Sustainability Standards: A Dynamic Framework on the Tension between Adherence and Adaptation
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Nava, Lucrezia
Tampe, Maja
author Nava, Lucrezia
author_facet Nava, Lucrezia
Tampe, Maja
author_role author
author2 Tampe, Maja
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Universitat Ramon Llull. Esade
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Voluntary sustainability standards
topic Voluntary sustainability standards
description Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) aim to encourage ethical behaviors of organizations, yet studies show that many VSS adopters do not live up to these promises. Existing literature typically attributes the reason for this ineffectiveness to either policy–practice decoupling, owing to a lack of adhering to VSS requirements, or means–ends decoupling, owing to a lack of adapting to the local context. However, little is known about how the contradictory needs of adherence and adaptation evolve throughout VSS implementation. Building on the knowledge transfer literature, we develop a dynamic conceptual framework that distinguishes two phases of VSS implementation. Specifically, we theorize how tensions emerge in the transition between phases since the first phase primarily calls for adherence, whereas the second calls for adaptation. Applying this framework, we develop propositions to illustrate how these tensions relate to different VSS characteristics: stringency, enforcement, and scope. The article concludes with implications and future research directions for VSS scholarship.
publishDate 2023
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/4998
http://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2022.1
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/4998
http://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2022.1
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Business Ethics Quarterly
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv © L'autor/a
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv © L'autor/a
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv 31 p.
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DAU Arxiu Digital de la Universitat Ramon Llull
instname:Universitat Ramon Llull (URL)
instname_str Universitat Ramon Llull (URL)
reponame_str DAU Arxiu Digital de la Universitat Ramon Llull
collection DAU Arxiu Digital de la Universitat Ramon Llull
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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