Athanasopoulou, Andromachi; Marti, Emilio; Risi, David; Schlindwein, Eva (2024). How Companies Restrain Means–Ends Decoupling: A Comparative Case Study of CSR Implementation Journal of Management Studies, pp. 1-32. Wiley 10.1111/joms.13043
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We use the concept of means–ends decoupling to examine why companies continue to be major contributors to environmental and social problems despite committing increasingly to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Specifically, we ask: How do companies restrain (versus fail to restrain) means–ends decoupling? We answer this question through a comparative case study of four multinational companies with different levels of means–ends decoupling. Based on interviews and secondary data, we inductively identify two distinct approaches to CSR implementation: experimental vs. consistency-oriented CSR implementation. Experimental CSR implementation means that companies (1) produce CSR knowledge about what is happening in specific CSR contexts and use this knowledge to (2) adapt CSR practices to local circumstances – an interplay that restrains means–ends decoupling. Consistency-oriented CSR implementation lacks this interplay between knowledge production and practice adaptation, which fosters meansends decoupling. Our model of experimental versus consistency-oriented CSR implementation advances two streams of research. First, we advance research on meansends decoupling by highlighting the importance of experimentation for restraining meansends decoupling. Second, we advance research on the impact of CSR activities by questioning the widespread assumption that consistency should be at the heart of CSR implementation.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
Business School > Institute for Sustainable Business Business School > Institute for Sustainable Business > Corporate Responsibility Business School |
Name: |
Athanasopoulou, Andromachi; Marti, Emilio; Risi, David  0000-0003-1652-8806 and Schlindwein, Eva |
ISSN: |
00222380 |
Publisher: |
Wiley |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
David Risi |
Date Deposited: |
26 Aug 2024 15:19 |
Last Modified: |
24 Sep 2024 09:43 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1111/joms.13043 |
Related URLs: |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Corporate social responsibility Organisational decoupling Qualitative research Means–ends decoupling Comparative case study Institutional theory |
ARBOR DOI: |
10.24451/arbor.22282 |
URI: |
https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/22282 |
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