Centre for Research into Sustainability

Venue: Moore Building, Room 0-16

Speaker: Dr Maja Tampe, ESADE

Abstract

Sustainability standards have been spreading rapidly. Yet, despite a promise of better labor and environmental conditions, actual practice change occurs inconsistently. This paper examines how rules become practices on the ground and in what ways sustainability standards contribute to more sustainable business practices. Drawing on data from a seven-month participant-observation study of how agricultural commodity producers perform in implementing a sustainability standard, I find that improved practices emerge when producers themselves discover how to develop the elements of new practices—new meanings, competences, and materials—and how to integrate these elements. This process of integrative discovery becomes visible when viewing standard implementation through a practice lens. The emergence of new practices is more likely if, first, producers operate within the context of a high-performance work system, and if, second, they perceive external pressure for compliance. This article deepens our understanding of the constitutive role of practices for standard implementation. Overall, I conclude that compliance with sustainability standards is best understood as an ongoing process of configuring interdependent relations within and across practices.

Short bio

Maja Tampe works as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences at ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. In her research, she examines private governance and sustainability, with a focus on organizational practices. In her teaching, she brings together sustainability, strategy and leadership. Her professional experience is in strategy consulting and organizational development. Maja holds a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a PhD in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management