The role of sustainability awards in institutionalising sustainability: Case study evidence

IF 8 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

British Accounting Review Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-08-06 DOI:10.1016/j.bar.2025.101735

Charl de Villiers , Ruth Dimes , Matteo Molinari

{"title":"The role of sustainability awards in institutionalising sustainability: Case study evidence","authors":"Charl de Villiers , Ruth Dimes , Matteo Molinari","doi":"10.1016/j.bar.2025.101735","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine whether sustainability awards and rankings can help to institutionalise sustainable practices within universities, analysing the case of the University of Auckland, the inaugural recipient of the number oneTHE Impact award. First, using deductive computer-aided text processing, we analyse management narratives in annual reports and strategic plans. Whereas annual report disclosures show a growing recognition of sustainability over time, strategic planning documents show dramatic changes in narratives following receipt of theTHE award. Next, we compare these findings to comments made by senior managers and faculty, including the Vice Chancellor, in response to an open-ended questionnaire designed specifically for this research project. Three key themes emerge. Firstly, awards raise awareness of sustainability and are seen as beneficial in attracting and retaining staff and students. Secondly, they require considerable resources in terms of funds, time and senior management attention. Thirdly, there was growing complacency and cynicism about such awards, given the risk of greenwashing and their consumption of valuable resources. We use the lens of institutional theory to interpret the rich findings from our study. Our discussion shows that external awards represent an important and under-researched influence on sustainability institutionalisation, and we suggest multiple avenues for future research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47996,"journal":{"name":"British Accounting Review","volume":"58 1","pages":"Article 101735"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"British Accounting Review","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838925001854","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/8/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

We examine whether sustainability awards and rankings can help to institutionalise sustainable practices within universities, analysing the case of the University of Auckland, the inaugural recipient of the number oneTHE Impact award. First, using deductive computer-aided text processing, we analyse management narratives in annual reports and strategic plans. Whereas annual report disclosures show a growing recognition of sustainability over time, strategic planning documents show dramatic changes in narratives following receipt of theTHE award. Next, we compare these findings to comments made by senior managers and faculty, including the Vice Chancellor, in response to an open-ended questionnaire designed specifically for this research project. Three key themes emerge. Firstly, awards raise awareness of sustainability and are seen as beneficial in attracting and retaining staff and students. Secondly, they require considerable resources in terms of funds, time and senior management attention. Thirdly, there was growing complacency and cynicism about such awards, given the risk of greenwashing and their consumption of valuable resources. We use the lens of institutional theory to interpret the rich findings from our study. Our discussion shows that external awards represent an important and under-researched influence on sustainability institutionalisation, and we suggest multiple avenues for future research.

查看原文本刊更多论文

可持续发展奖在可持续发展制度化中的作用：案例研究证据

我们研究了可持续发展奖项和排名是否有助于大学内部的可持续实践制度化，分析了奥克兰大学的案例，奥克兰大学是第一名影响力奖的首届获得者。首先，使用演绎计算机辅助文本处理，我们分析了年度报告和战略计划中的管理叙述。年度报告披露显示，随着时间的推移，企业对可持续发展的认识日益增强，而战略规划文件则显示，在获得the奖后，叙事发生了巨大变化。接下来，我们将这些发现与高级管理人员和教师（包括副校长）对专门为本研究项目设计的开放式问卷的评论进行比较。出现了三个关键主题。首先，奖项提高了人们对可持续发展的认识，并被视为有利于吸引和留住教职员工和学生。其次，它们在资金、时间和高级管理方面需要大量资源。第三，考虑到洗绿的风险和对宝贵资源的消耗，人们对此类奖项越来越自满和愤世嫉俗。我们使用制度理论的镜头来解释我们研究的丰富发现。我们的讨论表明，外部奖励对可持续性制度化的影响是重要的，但研究不足，我们建议未来研究的多种途径。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

British Accounting Review BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

8.60

自引率

3.90%

发文量

审稿时长

76 days

期刊介绍： The British Accounting Review*is pleased to publish original scholarly papers across the whole spectrum of accounting and finance. The journal is eclectic and pluralistic and contributions are welcomed across a wide range of research methodologies (e.g. analytical, archival, experimental, survey and qualitative case methods) and topics (e.g. financial accounting, management accounting, finance and financial management, auditing, public sector accounting, social and environmental accounting; accounting education and accounting history), evidence from UK and non-UK sources are equally acceptable.