Once a Conformist, Always a Conformist? Firms’ Discontinued Conformity to Global Sustainability Standards
研究了企业为何在最初遵循全球可持续标准后又退出，提出制度免疫力是关键机制，并发现所有权和外部互动是免疫力来源，对理解企业从众行为的动态变化有参考价值。
Abstract Although scholars have established the importance of conformity to institutional pressures, limited research has examined the phenomenon of discontinued conformity, that is, when some firms withdraw from institutionalized practice after initial conformity. We propose that institutional immunity is a key mechanism by which firms enact such changes in response to institutional pressures. We identify ownership as the internal source of institutional immunity and interactions with external groups as the external sources. Institutional immunity filters institutional pressures and enables firms to withdraw after initial conformity. Using an event history analysis with 19,438 global observations concerning an institutionalized sustainability practice from 2012 to 2017, we find support for the proposed relationship between institutional immunity and discontinued conformity as well as the boundary condition of institutional quality. This study highlights organizational change away from conformity owing to the persistence of institutional contradictions and enriches our understanding of institutional immunity.