The Legitimacy-commitment Paradox in Corporate Sustainability Strategy Formulation

Rikke Rønholt Albertsen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Researchers have long problematised the gap between corporations' formulated sustainability strategies and their actual contributions to sustainability. This study draws on 24 months of real-time observations in a multinational company to explore the origins of this gap in the formulation phase of corporate sustainability (CS) strategy. The findings show that contradictory logics and processes related to (a) gaining external legitimacy and (b) mobilising internal commitment impose paradoxical demands on the formulation process. Strategy makers tackled these tensions through rhetorical ambiguity and temporal separation. However, while these paradox management strategies facilitated coping with conflicting demands and avoiding deadlocks in the formulation process, they also created a commitment vacuum that undermined implementation. This study highlights the role of the formulation phase as an overlooked origin of implementation failure. The findings nuance our understanding of defensive and proactive paradox responses and call for further examination of the unintended outcomes of paradox responses.
Original languageEnglish
JournalBusiness Strategy and the Environment
Number of pages19
ISSN0964-4733
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jan 2025

Bibliographical note

Epub ahead of print. Published online: 10 January 2025.

Keywords

  • Corporate sustainability
  • Implementation gap
  • Legitimacy
  • Paradox
  • Rhetorical ambiguity
  • Strategy formulation

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