Imitation is the sincerest form of institutionalization: Understanding the effects of imitation and competitive pressures on the reporting of sustainable development goals in an international context

Abstract

Companies integrate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their sustainability reports for various reasons. This paper examines whether and how imitation and competitive pressures drive the SDG reporting in an international context. Drawing on institutional theory and employing data collected from 36 countries over 6 years (from 2015 to 2020), we found that, at the industry level, the extent of SDG reporting is associated with (a) the average extent of SDG reporting, (b) the extent of SDG reporting of the largest company, and (c) the average extent of SDG reporting of the companies awarded for their sustainability commitments. Additionally, we provide evidence of a positive effect exerted by competitive pressures, as well as evidence that the interaction between various forms of imitation and competition negatively affects SDG reporting. Our results are robust to different subsamples and have key implications for practitioners, regulators, and policymakers.

ESG rating divergence and corporate green innovation

“…Second, we control for the impact of competitive pressures on corporate green innovation. Referring to Zampone et al (2023), we take the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index ( to measure the competitive pressure that firms face. Third, we control for the impact of advances in digital technology on corporate green innovation (Guo et al, 2023).…”

The success of e‐participation. Learning lessons from Decide Madrid and We asked, You said, We did in Scotland

“…The initiatives have also been active from a similar time (2014 in Scotland and 2015 in Madrid). As imitation is the sincerest form of institutionalization (Zampone et al, 2023), they can be considered successful cases, which justifies the comparative analysis.…”

Recycling water: board membership and industry-peer pressures

“…mitigating uncertainty (Oliver, 1991;Yang and Hyland, 2012;Dubey et al, 2019;Zampone et al, 2023). Accordingly, review papers call for a greater integration of micro and macro theory (Andrews et al, 2022;White and Borgholthaus, 2022;Bezemer et al, 2023) to examine the interaction between industry-level factors and the individual director's contribution to strategy.…”

“…However, there needs to be more research on whether a board-chair member of the sustainability committee regulates the relationship between industry-peer pressure and recycled water targets. Meanwhile, the neo-institutional theory (macro theory) does not focus much on a firm's proactive role in mitigating uncertainty (Oliver, 1991; Yang and Hyland, 2012; Dubey et al ., 2019; Zampone et al ., 2023). Accordingly, review papers call for a greater integration of micro and macro theory (Andrews et al ., 2022; White and Borgholthaus, 2022; Bezemer et al ., 2023) to examine the interaction between industry-level factors and the individual director’s contribution to strategy.…”