Purpose:
This study analyses the motivations and underlying assumptions of decision-makers driving the adoption of sustainability-oriented targets in executive compensation (SCTs) to better understand SCTs’ impact on sustainability performance.

Design/methodology/approach:
Through a qualitative approach, 15 in-depth interviews are conducted in a two-tier governance setting. Participants include management and supervisory board members, compensation consultants, and other stakeholders involved in proxy voting.

Findings:
SCT implementation is primarily determined by meeting shareholders’ expectations rather than those of other stakeholders. Decision-makers react in a differentiated way to increased expectations by implementing either primarily symbolic or substantive measures and encounter different implementation challenges like insufficient data quality and a lack of experience within supervisory boards, both of which potentially contribute to decoupling.

Implications:
The study offers valuable insights for companies in designing SCTs and emphasises the significance of addressing decoupling to effectively enhance sustainability performance through SCTs and provides a foundation for future studies aimed at analysing this phenomenon.

Originality:
Using a neo-institutional-theory (NIT) lens, this study marks one of the first interview-based investigations to distinguish between symbolic and substantial SCTs. It delves deeply into the role of decoupling and the associated challenges, offering fresh perspectives within the under-researched framework of a two-tier corporate governance structure. Moreover, this study aims to meticulously capture the real-world design practices and implementation processes of SCTs through experts, an aspect that was emphasised as a limitation in previous studies.