Materiality of sustainable practices and the institutional logics of adoption: A comparative study of chemical road transportation companies

Abstract

Abstract Why do some companies adopt sustainability practices ceremonially? Seeking to answer this question, this study investigated how interpretive schemes and their underlying logics affect the adoption of sustainable practices in two chemical road transportation companies. To analyze the conditions under which organizational practices are ceremonially or effectively adopted, it was assumed that the practices have an objective dimension that involves implementation as well as a symbolic dimension involving internalization. Additionally, this study examined how the materiality of practices—in terms of tangibility and complexity—increases the likelihood of having greater effective adoption. The comparative case study conducted herein showed that practices were internalized and effectively adopted in the company presenting dominant professional logic. On the other hand, the company for which market logic prevailed showed less internalization and many ceremonially adopted practices. Regarding the materiality of practices, it can be inferred that the most tangible practices tend to be adopted more effectively, whereas the most complex and ambiguous ones tend to be more ceremonially adopted, mainly when they are not supported by interpretive schemes. Through the conceptual framework of institutional logics, this study contributes to the fields of clean production and environmental sustainability by demonstrating how the adoption of sustainability standards is doubly conditioned by the materiality and degree of the valuation of sustainable practices.