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Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation
Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2021
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| _version_ | 1867614043203698688 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Morrell, Lauren Eileen |
| author2 | Feront, Cecile |
| author_browse | Feront, Cecile Morrell, Lauren Eileen |
| author_facet | Feront, Cecile Morrell, Lauren Eileen |
| author_sort | Morrell, Lauren Eileen |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2021. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124206 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:45.384Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124206 Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation Morrell, Lauren Eileen Feront, Cecile Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership. Sustainable development Social responsibility of business Corporate governance UCTD Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2021. ENGLISH SUMMARY: In response to mounting societal pressure, an increasing number of corporations are dedicating resources to sustainability activities to demonstrate positive impacts on social and environmental well-being. However, many of these activities are misaligned with prevailing expectations within the corporate world, which remain focused on the maximisation of shareholder value. The resulting institutional complexity is seen as a major factor constraining corporates’ engagement in sustainability practices. To address this institutional complexity, in 2019 the Business Roundtable re-issued its “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation”, discursively shifting away from the prevailing shareholder primacy and instead embracing stakeholder capitalism. I draw on literature from the institutional logics and sensemaking perspectives to investigate the impact of the Business Roundtable’s Statement in promoting institutional change. I employ a grounded theory methodology to analyse how sustainability professionals – a group of actors at the forefront of institutional complexity – perceive the impact of the Business Roundtable’s Statement on advancing the emerging logic of stakeholder capitalism. I find that while the Business Roundtable’s Statement may have further enhanced the legitimacy of the stakeholder capitalism logic, its impact on the day-to-day operations of corporations and therefore on institutional change was limited. Most corporates have already adopted the new logic at a normative level. What is missing, and appears crucial for the emerging logic to become dominant, is the specification of standards and practices to guide consistent and comparable corporate behaviour under the new logic. The Business Roundtable, which has significant institutional authority, has the opportunity to contribute further to institutional change by using its powerful voice and network to help define stakeholder capitalism in practice. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In reaksie op stygende samelewingsdruk, wy ’n toenemende aantal maatskappye hulpbronne op volhoubaarheidsaktiwiteite toe om ’n positiewe impak op sosiale en omgewingswelstand te toon. Baie van hierdie aktiwiteite strook egter nie met heersende verwagtinge in die korporatiewe wereld, wat steeds op die maksimalisering van aandeelhouerswaarde gefokus bly, nie. Die gevolglike institusionele kompleksiteit word as ’n belangrike faktor beskou wat die betrokkenheid van ondernemings by volhoubaarheidspraktyke beperk. Om hierdie institusionele kompleksiteit aan te spreek, het die Business Roundtable in 2019 ’n heruitreiking van hul “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” (Verklaring oor die Doel van ’n Maatskappy) van stapel gestuur, en dus diskursief van die heersende aandeelhouersvoorrang afgewyk en eerder heelhartig die kapitalisme van belanghebbendes aanvaar. Ek benut literatuur vanuit die perspektiewe van institusionele logika en sinskepping om die impak van die Business Roundtable se Verklaring in die bevordering van institusionele verandering te ondersoek. Ek volg ’n gegronde teorie-metodologie om te analiseer hoe volhoubaarheidskundiges – ’n groep rolspelers aan die voorpunt van institusionele kompleksiteit – die impak van die Business Roundtable se Verklaring op die bevordering van die ontluikende logika van die kapitalisme van belanghebbendes beskou. My bevinding is dat hoewel die Business Roundtable se Verklaring die legitimiteit van belanghebbendes se kapitalisme-logika moontlik verder bevorder het, was die impak daarvan op maatskappye se daaglikse bedrywighede, en dus op institusionele verandering, beperk. Die meeste maatskappye het reeds die nuwe logika op ’n normatiewe vlak aangeneem. Wat ontbreek, en van deurslaggewende belang voorkom vir die ontluikende logika om dominant te word, is die spesifisering van standaarde en praktyke om konsekwente en vergelykbare korporatiewe gedrag onder die nuwe logika te rig. Die Business Roundtable, wat beduidende institusionele gesag het, het die geleentheid om verder tot institusionele verandering by te dra deur sy kragtige stem en netwerk te gebruik om die kapitalisme van belanghebbendes in die praktyk te help definieer. Masters 2021-07-29T15:41:21Z 2022-02-22T10:16:34Z 2023-03-18T03:00:13Z 2021-12 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124206 en_ZA Stellenbosch University xi, 129 pages : illustrations, includes annexures application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Sustainable development Social responsibility of business Corporate governance UCTD Morrell, Lauren Eileen Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation |
| title | Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation |
| title_full | Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation |
| title_fullStr | Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation |
| title_short | Exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation |
| title_sort | exploring institutional change in response to the business roundtable s 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation |
| topic | Sustainable development Social responsibility of business Corporate governance UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124206 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT morrelllaureneileen exploringinstitutionalchangeinresponsetothebusinessroundtables2019statementonthepurposeofacorporation |