The Age of Institutional Pressures: Adaptive Role of Sustainability Management

Closes:
Journal
Management Decision
Guest editor(s)
Ivo Hristov, University of L’Aquila, Matteo Cristofaro, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Stefan Schaltegger, Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM), Leuphana University, Cory Searcy, Toronto Metropolitan University, Stefano Zambon, University of Ferrara, Angelo Ditillo, University of Bocconi,

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Introduction 

In recent years, sustainability has moved from the periphery to the core of managerial agendas. Organizations now operate in a context where institutional pressures (Contrafatto, 2014; DiMaggio and Powell, 1983) are reshaping the foundations of management practice. Examples such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) illustrate how sustainability demands extend beyond compliance and disclosure obligations, creating new challenges and opportunities for strategy, governance, and decision-making (Hristov & Searcy, 2024). These institutional pressures influence corporate context in many ways, such as by requiring transparency, accountability, sustainability-focused investments, corporate governance structures, data collection, reporting systems, and strategic decision-making to align with sustainability principles as addressed in relevant regulations (Damiano and Valenza, 2025; Annesi et al., 2025; Agrawal et al., 2025). This regulatory transformation represents a critical contextual change (Schaltegger et al., 2022) in how sustainability is managed and measured within organizations. 

Despite increasing scholarly attention to sustainability management and reporting (Hummel and Jobst, 2024; Adams and Frost, 2008), it remains unclear how institutional changes, especially those triggered by regulatory reforms (e.g., CSRD), affect sustainability management practices (Beusch et al., 2022; Gond et al., 2012; Searcy, 2012; Simons, 1995). The evolution in sustainability raises critical questions for both scholars and practitioners: How do sustainability-related pressures transform managerial decision-making and organizational behavior? What governance structures and control mechanisms foster alignment between sustainability commitments and corporate incentives? In what ways do digital technologies, ESG reporting systems, and data analytics influence the timeliness, quality, and accountability of sustainability-related decisions? How do organizations navigate the tensions between short-term performance imperatives and long-term sustainability goals? What cultural and institutional factors shape the pathways from compliance-driven sustainability to strategy-driven sustainability? 

This Special Issue invites theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions that advance understanding of how sustainability management evolves in the face of growing institutional complexity. We welcome diverse perspectives – from strategy, organization theory, accounting and control, innovation, operations, and governance – to shed light on how sustainability becomes integrated into the fabric of managerial decision-making and organizational life. By reframing sustainability as a driver of strategic transformation rather than a compliance exercise, this Special Issue aims to broaden the conversation across disciplines, contexts, and levels of analysis.

List of topic areas

We invite contributions addressing (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • The role of institutional, cultural, and stakeholder pressures in shaping sustainability strategies.
  • Governance structures, management control systems, and incentive mechanisms that support sustainability integration.
  • The evolution of sustainability management from compliance-driven to strategy-driven approaches.
  • Digital technologies, data analytics, and ESG reporting systems as enablers of sustainability-oriented decisions.
  • Interactions between financial and non-financial performance objectives in decision-making.
  • Organizational tensions between short-term performance imperatives and long-term sustainability goals. 

Other research inquiries in related domains are welcome to be addressed within this Special Issue. Contributors are encouraged to contact the Editors (see below for the contact information) should there be a question regarding the topic fit.

 

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/md

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/md#author-guidelines 

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

 

Key deadlines: 

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 30/06/2026

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 30/11/2026 
 

 

5th Management Decision Conference

This Special Issue is connected to the 5th Management Decision Conference, which will be held in Kristiansand (Norway) on June 16, 2026, just before the 2026 European Academy of Management Conference. Authors are encouraged to participate in this event to present their work to the Guest Editors and the Editor-in-Chief and receive feedback. Please send an email to [email protected] by May 22 to express your interest in participating.

 

Email for submissions: [email protected]