The Strategic Use of Decentralized Institutions: Exploring Certification With the ISO 14001 Management Standard
Abstract
In this article, we respond to calls by previous researchers to clarify the function of decentralized institutions by analyzing the strategic motives of individual actors. We investigated an important type of decentralized institution, certified management standards, and theorized that firms use these institutions to reduce problems that might arise with exchange partners that lack information or fear opportunism. We tested this theory using the pattern of certification with the ISO 14001 management standard.
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Certifications reveal otherwise hidden organizational attributes and provide assurance that the organization is trustworthy and aligned with socially prescribed values.
“By revealing information about organizational attributes that would otherwise be hidden from external audiences (King, Lenox, and Terlaak, 2005), certifications provide assurance that the organization is trustworthy and that its actions are aligned with socially prescribed values and actions (McDonnell and King, 2013).”
From Strategic Silence: Withholding Certification Status as a Hypocrisy Avoidance Tactic (2018) · cites this paper as King, Lenox, and Terlaak, 2005
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- Authors
- King, A. A., Lenox, M. J., & Terlaak, A.
- Affiliations
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Duke University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Venue
- Academy of Management Journal
- Publisher
- Academy of Management
- Published
- 2005-12
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1091-1106
- ISSN
- 0001-4273 (ISSN-L)
- 1948-0989
- OpenAlex
- W2037558317
- Cited by
- 875
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 34 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 60 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 60 · 2018: 56 · 2017: 58 · 2016: 56 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 51 · 2012: 57
- FWCI
- 60.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Academy of Management Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Quality and Management Systems
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Global trade, sustainability, and social impact
- Keywords
- decentralized institutions, certification, ISO 14001, management standards, strategic motives, opportunism, information asymmetry, trade partners, environmental management systems, institutional theory
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