Strategic Responses to Gender Diversity Reporting: A Legitimacy Perspective
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2025-06-26
Language
en
Document type
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Title
ISSN
Volume
Issue
Startpage
Endpage
DOI
Abstract
This thesis examines how organizations in male-dominated industries, specifically the Dutch
construction sector, strategically respond to mandatory gender diversity reporting under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The research explores whether these responses reflect symbolic or substantive compliance, and how organizations use strategic framing and decoupling to maintain legitimacy under institutional pressure. Using a qualitative research design, data was collected through document analysis of annual reports, media and
semi-structured interviews with sustainability and HR professionals. A sensitizing concept framework guided the coding and thematic analysis across five dimensions. The findings show that organizations adopt hybrid legitimacy strategies, combining pragmatic framing with
selective compliance. While acquiescence was the most common in formal reporting,
interviews revealed more avoidance-based narratives. Symbolic and substantive elements frequently co-occurred, indicating that legitimacy is constructed through layered and audiencespecific responses. These results contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how legitimacy
is maintained under mandatory reporting. Future research could examine these strategies longitudinally and compare across sectors and contexts
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen