The subject of this cross-disciplinary research is Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a rapidly diffusing standardized system for voluntary reporting of environmental sustainability performance by companies worldwide. The process of institutionalization of the GRI in three countries with different environmental regulatory styles (the US, the Netherlands, and Hungary) will be examined and compared. The theoretical underpinnings of the research derive from two areas: economic-sociological, and business-organizational perspectives on institutions; and comparative study of national styles of environmental business regulation.
Objectives: (1) To elucidate the mechanisms by which the practice of GRI reporting becomes a societal institution; (2) To identify country-specific factors affecting the institutionalization of formal GRI Guidelines: its adoption, adaptation, and subsequent workings in the new context; (3) To contribute to theory development in two areas: emergence of new informal societal institutions; transplantation of institutions for environmental sustainability across countries and cultures; (4) To identify country-specific policy approaches for enhancing corporate transparency and accountability with respect to environmental and sustainability performance. The work will focus on the organizational field: it will follow the dynamic interactions within and among the key actors who collectively comprise the institution of GRI reporting. It will identify the characteristics of the emerging institution in each country, using a set of specific criteria. Three hypotheses, derived from the PI's previous work, will guide the international comparative work. The data for the project will be collected through documentary analysis, interviews, and case studies of selected organizations. Two international teams-in Hungary and the Netherlands- will accompany the leading US team.
Intellectual merit: What makes this research unique is that it brings together several active but traditionally separate bodies of research: comparative study of national styles of environmental business regulation; institutional theory; transplantation of institutions across countries and cultures; and environmental policy analysis (specifically with regard to using information disclosure as a regulatory tool). The project will contribute to theory development in each area, and the interaction among these four areas of research will enrich each contribution. The project's focus on an institution combining both private and public sectors is also unique. The broader impacts will be in the domains of environmental policy making and global governance. The work will contribute to the current policy debates concerning treating business as a partner to the government and civil society in pursuing environmental protection and sustainable development; It will contribute to identification of the major facilitating factors and barriers to increasing corporate transparency and accountability through information disclosure programs; It will generate fresh insights on such key questions as how new global institutions for sustainable development arise and evolve, how country-specific context impacts such institutions, and the role of civil regulation and information in pursuing environmental sustainability. The results of this work will inform the ongoing debate on the extent to which successful institutions for sustainable development and environmental protection can be transplanted across countries and cultures.
