Professional norms and green storms; A qualitative study on the negotiation of internal barriers and the influence of professional identity on bottom-up sustainability initiatives in a hospital environment
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2025-07-07
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en
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This master’s thesis investigates how insider activists in a Dutch hospital setting overcome internal barriers and use their professional identity to shape sustainability initiatives. The study uses a qualitative design based on ten semi-structured interviews. The findings show that internal barriers, such as time pressure, workload, financial dependency, lack of coordination and absence of formal guidelines, are not experienced as static constraints. Instead, professionals interpret and navigate them in a context-specific manner. Professional identity plays a paradoxical role; on the one hand, it legitimizes action through values such as duty of care, safety reflex and moral responsibility, but it can also limit change through imposed expectations and professional norms. In addition, this study observes four different negotiation strategies, including adjusting within the system, working around rules, engaging in symbolic actions and personal framing. These observed strategies illustrate that bottom-up change is not only a structural challenge but also an identity-driven process that differs per person. This study enhances the understanding of how professionals create space for sustainable action from within. It offers both theoretical insights for bottom-up change and practical guidelines for supporting sustainability efforts in complex organizational environments
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen