Abstract: . . .  performers to adopt management practices and certify them to communicate their efforts to improve. Thus, our research suggests a counter-intuitive conjecture that the more the practices included in a management standard provide direct operational benefits, the less likely certification will provide a mea . . .
. . .  1996). Evidence of this function for ISO 14001 is directly contradicted by our empirical analysis. Thus, our research suggests that, for at least one private decentralized institution, the functionalist goals of its creators were filtered through the strategic decisions of its users, and the institution’s eventual meaning and power emerged through a decentralized process of decision-making. For policy makers and institutional change agents, our findings suggest a fundamental paradox in the design . . .
. . .  institutional change agents, our findings suggest a fundamental paradox in the design of certified management standards. Specifically, standards that include beneficial practices may seldom act as a market signal. For a certified management standard to be useful as a market signal, high performing organizations must benefit from certification, while low performers must not. If low performers gain significant operational benefits from certifying, this condition will not hold. Moreover, if supply chain partners . . .
. . .  Thus, our research suggests that, for at least one private decentralized institution, the functionalist goals of its creators were filtered through the strategic decisions of its users, and the institution’s eventual meaning and power emerged through a decentralized process of decision-making. For policy makers and institutional change agents, our findings suggest a fundamental paradox in the design of certified management standards. Specifically, standards that include beneficial practices may seldom . . .
. . .  feedback. Finally, we would like to thank Marshall Schminke and the three anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful direction and encouragement. This research was partially funded by NSF/EPA grant #R827819. Page 2 2 THE STRATEGIC USE OF DECENTRALIZED INSTITUTIONS: EXPLORING CERTIFICATION WITH THE ISO 14001 MANAGEMENT STANDARD Abstract: In this paper, we respond to calls by previous researchers to clarify the function of decentralized institutions by analyzing the strategic motives of individual actors. . . .
. . .  Finally, we would like to thank Marshall Schminke and the three anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful direction and encouragement. This research was partially funded by NSF/EPA grant #R827819. Page 2 2 THE STRATEGIC USE OF DECENTRALIZED INSTITUTIONS: EXPLORING CERTIFICATION WITH THE ISO 14001 MANAGEMENT STANDARD Abstract: In this paper, we respond to calls by previous researchers to clarify the function of decentralized institutions by analyzing the strategic motives of individual actors. We investigate . . .
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