Reconciling Different Institutional Logics: Institutional Work In Translating Sustainable PSS

<Businesses increasingly adopt product-service systems (PSS) business models to reconcile profit with environmental and social responsibility. However, they face significant challenges with the adoption and implementation of PSS due to differing institutional logics, which profoundly influence the adoption of PSS. However, how they navigate and reconcile conflicting institutional logics in the pursuit of building robust, scalable, and context-sensitive PSS models remains underexplored. This study investigates how institutional logics shape the adoption of PSS and what role institutional work plays in navigating and translating PSS across institutional logics and facilitating sustainability transitions. We do so by undertaking a qualitative case study of a global heating system provider primarily through 43 in-depth interviews with participants from its headquarters in Japan and its subsidiary and customers in Türkiye. We identify three institutional logics at play: commercial, state, and sustainability. These logics are shaped by institutional work in their local context. The findings also highlight the role of institutional work in navigating and reconciling competing institutional logics and transferring and translating PSS across these differing contexts. Theoretically, this research contributes to institutional theory by connecting the concepts of institutional logics and institutional work and extending them to address sustainability challenges in pursuing PSS. Practically, it provides actionable insights for firms and policymakers on designing strategies to manage institutional barriers and foster sustainable PSS adoption.