Losing Their Religion: Why Do Some Certified B Corporations Decertify?

• Author / Creator

  Cao, Ke

• This dissertation explores theoretical mechanisms underlying organizations’ disengagement from social movements. Building on insights from institutional theory and the social movement literature, I examine the decertification of Certified B Corporations (also known as B Corporations or B Corps) and their corresponding disengagement from the B Corporation movement. In addition to organizational level characteristics, I argue that geographic and industrial institutional differences influence decertification. These include the number of prior decertifications among peers, the size of the peer community, and B Corporation certification-related policy developments (i.e., Benefit Corporation legislation) in different locations. To test the hypotheses, I use a comprehensive dataset containing all companies (n = 2,026) that certified as B Corporations in the United States since the onset of certification in May 2007 through December 2019. The findings show that B Corps that are larger, woman-owned, family-owned, or in geographies or industries with fewer B Corps are less likely to decertify. Moreover, in communities with fewer B Corps, the gender effect associated with woman ownership is amplified. I provide a theoretical framework for understanding why organizations disengage from social movements. Notably, my findings reveal the crucial roles of ownership gender, family ownership, and peer community size in the disengagement process. Additionally, whereas prior theoretical explanations for understanding practice adoption and abandonment rest on gains in organizational efficiency and legitimacy, this study opens new research directions by advocating an empirically relevant theoretical framework focused on identity, context, and reputational distinctiveness.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Benefit Corporation
  • Sustainability Certification
  • B Corps
  • Disengagement from Social Movements
  • Institutions
  • Decertification
  • Social Movements

• Graduation date

  Spring 2021

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-2ep5-y460

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.