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J Bus Ethics (2014) 119:245264 DOI 10.1007/s10551-013-1630-5
From Resistance to Opportunity-Seeking: Strategic Responses to Institutional Pressures for Corporate Social Responsibility in the Nordic Fashion Industry
Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen
Wencke Gwozdz
Received: 10 April 2012 / Accepted: 17 January 2013 / Published online: 1 February 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract Using survey responses from 400 fashion companies in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, we examine the diversity of strategic responses to institutional pressures for corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the Nordic fashion industry. We also develop and test a new model of strategic responses to institutional pressures that encompasses both resistance and opportunity-seeking behaviour. Our results suggest that it is inconsistent pressures within, rather than between, stake-holder groups that shape strategic responses to CSR pressures and that increasing pressures stimulates opportunity-seeking at the expense of compliance.
Keywords Corporate social responsibility
Sustainability Institutional pressures Strategic responses
Introduction
Institutional pressures play an important role in explaining the proliferation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in companies facing social and environmental demands from a variety of stakeholder groups (e.g. government authorities, industry organisations, and NGOs) (Bitzer and Glas-bergen 2010; Campbell 2007; Hoffman 2001; Joyner and Payne 2002; Matten and Moon 2008; Quazi 2003; Wright et al. 2007).1 In general, institutional pressures are
understood as: social, legal, and cultural forces outside the rm that exert inuence on how managers perceive the environment and eventually shape and determine strategic actions (Menguc et al. 2010, p. 285). There is, for instance, evidence of social and environmental pressure from customers to suppliers (Baden et al. 2009) and from investors in the growing socially responsible investment (SRI) industry to the companies in which they invest (Buchholtz and Carroll 2009). At the same time, a wide range of new labels, certications, guidelines, and multi-stakeholder initiatives has also created an infrastructure for CSR that puts pressure on companies to address the societal impacts of their operations (Waddock 2008). Likewise, governments have launched a large number of soft and hard policies intended to promote CSR, ranging from awareness-raising campaigns and capacity-building to incentive schemes and legislation (e.g. CSR reporting) (Albareda et al. 2007; Lozano et al. 2008; Steurer 2010).
In general, institutions can be seen as resilient social structures that provide stability and meaning...