Unpacking B Corps’ Impact on Sustainable Development. An Analysis from Structuration Theory
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Sustainable Development (SD) Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Structuration Theory (ST) Hybrid organisations B Corps Business models Sustainability transitions
Fecha
2021Referencia bibliográfica
Tabares, S.; Morales, A.; Calvo, S.; Molina Moreno, V. Unpacking B Corps’ Impact on Sustainable Development. An Analysis from Structuration Theory. Sustainability 2021, 13, 13408. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313408
Resumen
With Our Common Future and the United Nation’s global call to implement the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030, public policies increasingly emphasise the need for various actors
to contribute to a global transformation and a more sustainable future. Despite growing research on
hybrid organisations and their contributions to sustainable development, their impact on accelerating
this transition might be faulty. Looking at a type of hybrid organisation, Certified B Corporations
(B Corps), this article draws on a multiple case study of nine B Corps in a developing country in
Latin America, Colombia. The study builds on the Structuration Theory to examine to what extent
and how B Corps impact sustainable development. The article empirically shows that B Corps focus
on four categories of sustainable development: considering future generations; enhancing human
development; encouraging new mindsets, behaviours, and lifestyles; and promoting socio-political
engagement. The findings suggest that B Corps develop communicative and narrative discourses and
symbolic schemas as means of signification and follow norms and moral rules to exert legitimation
and utilise authoritative resources to exercise power. The article contributes to research on hybrid
organisations, sustainability transitions, and business models.