Partially responsible? Partial organization and (de-)responsibilization in sustainability standard work. Illustrations from two opposite certification practices

• The paper contributes to the emerging discussions on responsibility implications of partial organization in the world of standards, that is, decided order outside of and among formal organizations around the use of standards (e.g., Arnold, 2020; Gustafsson & Tamm Hallström, 2018; Gustafsson, 2020; Brunsson et al. 2022). More specifically, we are interested in responsibility implications in how sustainability is performed in contemporary markets through sustainability standards and certifications. Rather than focusing on how sustainability standards are implemented (or not) in organizations, the paper answers the recent call by Christensen, Morsing and Thyssen (2017) to examine productive implications of organizational work with sustainability standards in terms of contestation, reflection and innovation around sustainability issues.Accordingly, we examine if, how and why different modes of organizing standard work construct and shape responsibility in and around organizations complying with sustainability standards. We draw on two empirical studies of certification practices with different degrees of partial organization: one where one and the same organization sets standards and performs certification (the Swedish LGBTQI certification used by e.g., preschools and libraries), and another where different “independent” organizations write standards and perform certification (the Swedish eco-label KRAV for organic produce used by e.g., farmers and retailers). Our findings show that the conditions for contestation, reflection and innovation, and thus the performance of sustainability in markets, indeed are affected by the way certification standards are (partially) organized – and thereby the number of organizations involved in partially organizing others – however in more intricate ways than expected. ReferencesArnold, N. (2020) Accountability in transnational governance: The partial organization of voluntary sustainability standards in long-term account-giving. Regulation and Governance, 28, 1–17.Brunsson, N., Gustafsson, I., & Tamm Hallström, K. (2022). Un-responsible organization. How more organization produces less responsibility. Forthcoming in Organization Theory.Gustafsson, I. (2020). How standards rule the world: The construction of a global control regime. Edward Elgar Publishing.Gustafsson, I., & Tamm Hallström, K. (2018). Hyper-organized eco-labels – An organization studies perspective on the implications of Tripartite Standards Regimes. Food Policy, 75, 124–133.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

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