Settling Hybrid Identity through Impact Assessment? The Case of B Corps

Bengo, Irene; Chapuis, Carolina Nakamura; Gerli, Francesco; Pião, Roberta Souza

doi:10.1080/19420676.2022.2120531

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Second, our research speaks to the literature stream discussing categories in terms of distinctiveness. Scholars have suggested that distinctiveness must be optimal to make membership in a category rewarding in terms of legitimacy, but should balance conformity with peers and differentiation strategies (Bengo et al, 2022; Zhao et al, 2017). Merely being distinctive from peers may cause internal ambiguity in a category, with high chances of penalising the membership (Taeuscher et al, 2021; Zhao et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussion and Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The identity of an impactful organisation is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that cannot be reduced to the binary securement of a prosocial certification (Bengo et al, 2022).…”

Section: The Risks Of Greenwashing and Decertificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The B Corp certification explicitly claims to recognise its affiliates for their high social and environmental performance (B Corporation, 2021a, 2021b). Within this prosocial category, members (B Corp‐certified companies) claim that they ‘use the business as a force for good’ in order to not only minimise negative effects but proactively create positive impacts on society and the environment (Bengo et al, 2022; Nigri et al, 2020; Stubbs, 2019; Wiek & Basile, 2019). Thus, certification should offer a clear set of features for identifying the category prototype (Glynn & Navis, 2013).…”

Section: Prosocial B Corp Certification and Its Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, our findings underline that merely adopting prosocial certifications does not necessarily lead to a clear prototype image that organisations embrace. The identity of an impactful organisation is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that cannot be reduced to the binary securement of a prosocial certification (Bengo et al, 2022).…”

Section: Conclusion and Further Research Avenuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there are concerns about the credibility of prosocial certifications (Bengo et al, 2022; Boiral & Gendron, 2011; Lucas et al, 2022)—and specifically, the B Corp label (Carvalho et al, 2022; Colamartino, 2022; Villela et al, 2021)—that conjure the spectre of green and social washing practices (Liute & De Giacomo, 2022). For example, a recent article in the Financial Times claimed that the transformative promise of the B Corp movement has been diluted by the increasing inclusion of misbehaving multinational corporations (Raval, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do prosocial‐certified companies walk the talk? An analysis of B Corps' contributions to Sustainable Development Goals

Boni,

Chiodo,

Gerli

et al. 2023

Bus Strat Env

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This paper investigates the contribution of the B Corp movement in Europe to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) compared with non‐B Corps. B Corp certification aims to identify organisations that utilise business as ‘a force for good’, but there is limited empirical evidence on how effectively certified organisations translate their prosocial claims into measurable SDG contributions. We address this through cluster analysis, comparing 313 B Corp‐certified and 1506 non‐certified European companies by way of the SDG Action Manager tool. Our findings reveal three clusters of B Corp‐certified organisations with varying contribution levels across all SDGs, indicating that the certification does not consistently identify organisations with significant SDG impacts. Non‐certified companies, meanwhile, do not exhibit distinct patterns. These results raise doubts about whether the B Corp category identifies a distinctive prototype member that can define clear prosocial norms and practices. The paper contributes to understanding B Corp organisations' narratives by providing insights into their empirical performance compared with non‐certified organisations. It also offers potential explanations for these discrepancies and proposes strategies to strengthen B Corp certification bodies in alignment with the SDGs, while acknowledging the presence of intra‐category variations.

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Section: Discussion and Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The identity of an impactful organisation is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that cannot be reduced to the binary securement of a prosocial certification (Bengo et al, 2022).…”

Section: The Risks Of Greenwashing and Decertificationmentioning

confidence: 99%