CSR Strategy Adaptation in Dutch Businesses under Policy Ambiguity
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2025-11-19
Language
en
Document type
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Title
ISSN
Volume
Issue
Startpage
Endpage
DOI
Abstract
Recent political shifts and conflicting pressures between national and transnational regulatory frameworks have led to institutional uncertainty for businesses concerning their CSR strategies. This has resulted in increasing complexity, which distorts the external signals on which businesses rely to determine their strategy. The rise of right-wing populism has further amplified tensions between European and national policies, thereby reducing predictability of institutional pressures. The objective of this study is to assess how Dutch businesses cope with this increased uncertainty and how these influences affect to whom they feel responsible and how they shape CSR strategies. The study follows a constructivist qualitative research design to allow for exploration of meaning making of CSR. The process of interpreting these influences is followed through the lens of CSR professionals by conducting semi-structured interviews. The results show that, due to policy ambiguity, businesses shift their focus from potential legislative frameworks to seeking legitimacy from markets and stakeholders and become more co-shapers of the institutional field themselves. CSR professionals play a key role in the translation of these signals into policies. The study concludes that policy ambiguity does not necessarily create an ideological shift but rather restructures the legitimacy base within the Dutch institutional field.
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen