TY - JOUR

T1 - Beyond motives to adopt

T2 - Implementation configurations and implementation extensiveness of a voluntary sustainability standard

AU - Smits, Armand

AU - Drabe, Viktoria

AU - Herstatt, Cornelius

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2020/4/1

Y1 - 2020/4/1

N2 - Most studies that explain implementations of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) have directly connected motives to adopt to implementation extensiveness as the endpoint, without sufficiently considering what happens in between. This has led to inconclusive and limited findings. This study addresses this lacuna by investigating the combined effects of the commonly discussed internal and external motives to adopt and several implementation characteristics on implementation extensiveness. Given the causal complexity of VSS implementations, the present study adopts a configurational lens and applies fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). It is based on both quantitative and qualitative data on 43 firms implementing the Cradle to Cradle standard, a VSS related to the Circular Economy school of thought. Results are augmented with in-depth cases of firms that follow dominant implementation paths. This study identifies seven implementation configurations and illustrates how the impact of motives to adopt on implementation extensiveness hinges on the presence or absence of implementation characteristics, such as the nature of implementation experiences. It also identifies under-researched motives to adopt as key ingredients in implementation configurations in which commonly discussed motives are absent. Taken together, the study concludes that understanding VSS implementation extensiveness benefits from a more holistic perspective that combines a variety of motives to adopt with implementation characteristics. Recommendations for theory and practice are included.

AB - Most studies that explain implementations of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) have directly connected motives to adopt to implementation extensiveness as the endpoint, without sufficiently considering what happens in between. This has led to inconclusive and limited findings. This study addresses this lacuna by investigating the combined effects of the commonly discussed internal and external motives to adopt and several implementation characteristics on implementation extensiveness. Given the causal complexity of VSS implementations, the present study adopts a configurational lens and applies fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). It is based on both quantitative and qualitative data on 43 firms implementing the Cradle to Cradle standard, a VSS related to the Circular Economy school of thought. Results are augmented with in-depth cases of firms that follow dominant implementation paths. This study identifies seven implementation configurations and illustrates how the impact of motives to adopt on implementation extensiveness hinges on the presence or absence of implementation characteristics, such as the nature of implementation experiences. It also identifies under-researched motives to adopt as key ingredients in implementation configurations in which commonly discussed motives are absent. Taken together, the study concludes that understanding VSS implementation extensiveness benefits from a more holistic perspective that combines a variety of motives to adopt with implementation characteristics. Recommendations for theory and practice are included.

KW - Circular economy

KW - Cradle to cradle

KW - Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)

KW - Implementation

KW - Motives to adopt

KW - Voluntary sustainability standards

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076468704&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119541

DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119541

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85076468704

VL - 251

JO - Journal of Cleaner Production

JF - Journal of Cleaner Production

SN - 0959-6526

M1 - 119541

ER -