@article{82e00a890b14485d86230fbb24b5f66f,
title = "A theory of credible cross-temporal corporate commitments as goal-based private sustainability governance",
abstract = "Goal-based corporate supply chain commitments to zero-deforestation, carbon neutrality, or sustainable sourcing have become important elements of businesses' sustainability and reputation management practices. However, we still know little about the conditions under which such cross-temporal commitments are likely to be successful. This article introduces commitment credibility as a crucial but understudied antecedent of success. Drawing on the economic theory of imagined futures, it shows how cross-temporal signaling via commitments may change suppliers' expectations and related actions and thereby co-create more sustainable futures. By using insights from credible commitment theory, it argues that this pathway relies on high motivational and/or imperative credibility of the committed company. Contrasting the example of zero-deforestation commitments in the palm oil sector with commitments to sustainable seafood and no farmworker exploitation, it highlights that the involvement of critical stakeholders (as external accountability partners or third-party implementing agents) is of particularly high importance for on-the-ground success.",
keywords = "corporate commitments, credibility, deforestation, environment, game theory, private governance",
author = "Janina Grabs",
note = "Funding Information: The author gratefully acknowledges financial support via the Swiss National Science Foundation project grant Nr. 100017_192373 (“Effectiveness and equity of ZDC implementation in the palm oil sector”) and appreciatively recognizes Rachael Garrett for her invaluable role in acquiring this funding to make the work possible. This paper benefitted from generous feedback at the 2021 International Studies Association conference and the 2021 PRME UK and Ireland Business and Society Research Development Workshop. I am particularly grateful for input from Graeme Auld, Burkard Eberlein, Roberta Discetti, Greg Distelhorst, Pierre McDonagh, Stefan Renckens, Hannah Smith, and Zdravka Tsankova, as well as the anonymous reviewers and editors of this Special Issue. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Author. Business Strategy and The Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",
year = "2023",
doi = "10.1002/bse.3423",
language = "English",
journal = "Business Strategy and the Environment",
issn = "0964-4733",
publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Ltd",
}