RT Article
T1 How do Universities Make Progress? Stakeholder-Related Mechanisms Affecting Adoption of Sustainability in University Curricula
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 118
IS 1
SP 103
OP 116
A1 de Lange, Deborah E.
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V
YR 2013
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1785649337
AB This paper develops a theoretical model to explicate stakeholder-related mechanisms that affect university adoption of sustainability in curricula. This work combines stakeholder and institutional theories so as to extend both. By examining change in the university context wherein there is confusion about sustainability adoption, this research adds to previous institutional theory focusing on strongly contested practices, primarily in the for-profit firm setting. Sustainability is a transformational challenge and may be adopted reactively or proactively. Also, stakeholder theory is extended in a mixed profit and non-profit context. Propositions suggest how the extent of embeddedness affects an organizations’ selection of stakeholders, consequently affecting the type of adoption. This facilitates a greater understanding of why two competing definitions of stakeholders may operate. Moreover, extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are discussed as affecting adoption in different ways. A responsible leader organization is newly defined and intrinsic motivation is proposed as underlying its choice of the widest set of stakeholders leading to broad, proactive adoption.
K1 Sustainability
K1 Universities
K1 Stakeholder Theory
K1 Responsible leader organization
K1 Institutional Theory
K1 Adoption
DO 10.1007/s10551-012-1577-y