Emergence of an Institution for Sustainable Development: Cross-Country Study of Global Reporting Initiative

可持续发展机构的出现：全球报告倡议的跨国研究

• 批准号: 0450897
• 负责人: Halina Brown
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Clark University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-05-15 至 2009-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0450897&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Emergence; Institution; Sustainable; Development; Cross

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.

这项跨学科研究的主题是全球报告倡议组织（GRI），这是一个迅速扩散的标准化系统，供全球公司自愿报告环境可持续性绩效。本文将考察和比较三个环境监管风格不同的国家（美国、荷兰和匈牙利）GRI的制度化进程。本研究的理论基础来自两个方面：经济社会学和商业组织对制度的看法；以及各国环境企业监管模式的比较研究。目标：(1)阐明GRI报告实践成为社会制度的机制；(2)确定影响正式GRI准则制度化的具体国家因素：其采用、调整和在新背景下的后续工作；(3)促进两个领域的理论发展：新的非正式社会机构的出现；在不同国家和文化之间移植环境可持续性制度；(4)确定具体国家的政策办法，以提高公司在环境和可持续性绩效方面的透明度和问责制。这项工作将侧重于组织领域：它将跟踪共同构成全球气候变化指数报告机构的关键行为者内部和之间的动态互动。它将使用一套具体标准，确定每个国家新兴机构的特点。从PI以前的工作中得出的三个假设将指导国际比较工作。该项目的数据将通过文献分析、访谈和选定组织的案例研究来收集。匈牙利和荷兰的两支国际团队将与领先的美国队一起参赛。学术价值：本研究的独特之处在于，它汇集了几个活跃但传统上独立的研究领域：国家环境商业监管风格的比较研究；制度理论;跨国家和文化的机构移植；以及环境政策分析（特别是利用信息披露作为监管工具）。该项目将促进每个领域的理论发展，这四个研究领域之间的相互作用将丰富每个贡献。该项目对公私部门结合的机构的关注也是独一无二的。更广泛的影响将出现在环境政策制定和全球治理领域。这项工作将有助于当前关于将企业视为政府和民间社会在追求环境保护和可持续发展方面的伙伴的政策辩论；它将有助于确定通过信息披露计划提高公司透明度和问责制的主要促进因素和障碍；它将对一些关键问题产生新的见解，如促进可持续发展的新的全球机构如何产生和发展，具体国家情况如何影响这些机构，以及民事法规和信息在追求环境可持续性方面的作用。这项工作的结果将为正在进行的关于成功的可持续发展和环境保护机构在多大程度上可以跨国家和跨文化移植的辩论提供信息。