There are relatively few empirical studies on the impacts of corporate social responsibility policies and programs. This article addresses the research gap by analyzing the incidence of, and the conditions that affect, decoupling among CSR policies, implementation of CSR programs, and CSR impacts for various environmental and social issues. Complete decoupling is a condition of full divergence among policies, programs, and impacts amounting to purely ceremonial CSR. Using ratings from a sustainability rating agency on a sample of about (...) 1,000 large companies in 24 countries, the authors find empirical evidence not supporting a conclusion of complete decoupling. The empirical evidence suggests four levels of nondivergence in the sample. First, for most CSR issues examined, CSR policies of high quality do have relatively strong effects on CSR implementation. Second, CSR programs of high quality do have relatively strong effects on CSR impacts. Third, for most CSR issues, even low-quality CSR policies enforce the incidence and quality of programs in comparison with having no policy at all. Fourth, weak programs have more impact on the realization of CSR goals than having no program at all. The authors also find that the quality of CSR reporting and locating the responsibility for CSR at the board level reduce decoupling by strengthening the quality of CSR programs. (shrink)

Decoupling is a general principle that allows us to separate simple components in a complex system. In statistics, decoupling is often expressed as independence, no association, or zero covariance relations. These relations are sharp statistical hypotheses, that can be tested using the FBST - Full Bayesian Significance Test. Decoupling relations can also be introduced by some techniques of Design of Statistical Experiments, DSEs, like randomization. This article discusses the concepts of decoupling, randomization and sparsely connected statistical (...) models in the epistemological framework of cognitive constructivism. (shrink)

Most studies of corporate social responsibility have focused on the organisational level, while the individual level of analysis has been treated as a ‘black box’ when researching antecedents of CSR engagement or disengagement. This article offers insights into a small and medium-sized enterprise that is recognised as a pioneer in CSR. Although the extant literature suggests that the owner-manager is crucial in the implementation of CSR, this study reveals that employees drive CSR. The employees in the focal firm voluntarily joined (...) forces based on their shared perception of moral responsibility for CSR and they developed strict targets to be achieved by 2030. Despite their strong ethical and moral perspective when enacting CSR, they disengaged from their moral responsibility for CSR in various contexts. This paper contributes to the theory of moral decoupling by uncovering a novel context of disengagement—‘visionary procrastination’. Visionary procrastination is suggested to be a particularly relevant context of disengagement when individuals perceive moral responsibility for CSR. Moreover, by delivering insights into the antecedents of employee-initiated CSR on the organisational level, this study adds to the growing body of literature on the micro-foundations of CSR. (shrink)

This study examines the variations in corporate social orientations across developed and developing countries in the context of a legitimacy threat. Conceptualizing CSO as signals, the author develops and validates a seven-code index of CSO that identifies executive orientations toward multiple stakeholders. Using this index on CEO shareholder letters from the United States, Germany, and India, the author finds that firms signal a multi-stakeholder image toward employees, communities, and environment during good times to enhance their social license to operate, and (...) yet such signals are not carried through during the threat period. This disconnect in signaling in the wake of a legitimacy threat is indicative of decoupling in corporate orientations and exposes the multi-dimensionality of the CSO concept. By adding a cross-national and temporal dimension, this research contributes toward better understanding the complexity behind CSOs and opens new areas for future research. (shrink)

Computer science is an engineering science whose objective is to determine how to best control interactions among computational objects. We argue that it is a fundamental computer science value to design computational objects so that the dependencies required by their interactions do not result in couplings, since coupling inhibits change. The nature of knowledge in any science is revealed by how concepts in that science change through paradigm shifts, so we analyze classic paradigm shifts in both natural and computer science (...) in terms of decoupling. We show that decoupling pervades computer science both at its core and in the wider context of computing at large, and lies at the very heart of computer science’s value system. (shrink)

An effective theory in physics is one that is supposed to apply only at a given length scale; the framework of effective field theory describes a ‘tower’ of theories each applying at different length scales, where each ‘level’ up is a shorter-scale theory. Owing to subtlety regarding the use and necessity of EFTs, a conception of emergence defined in terms of reduction is irrelevant. I present a case for decoupling emergence and reduction in the philosophy of physics. This paper (...) develops a positive conception of emergence, based on the novelty and autonomy of the ‘levels’, by considering physical examples, involving critical phenomena, the renormalisation group, and symmetry breaking. This positive conception of emergence is related to underdetermination and universality, but, I argue, is preferable to other accounts of emergence in physics that rely on universality. (shrink)

Physical systems across varying scales—from macroscopic lattice structures to correlated quan- tum materials—face a common information-theoretic challenge: stabilizing discrete, global identi- ties against continuous, local fluctuations. In this work, we propose a unified theoretical framework termed Dimensional Decoupling. We posit that for systems admitting a compact symmetry group and non-trivial cohomology, observable information flows decompose into two orthogonal channels: a Geometric Channel (encoding local metric variability and kinetic dissipation) and a Topological Channel (encoding global invariants). We derive a rigorous (...) Quantitative Bridge link- ing rotational symmetry breaking to information compression, demonstrating that Moir´e interference patterns in hexagonal lattices act as an effective low-pass projection that suppresses the geometric sector. We explicitly calculate the condition under which the leading-order geometric bandwidth vanishes (v∗ F → 0), placing the system in a regime where the Quantum Metric becomes the domi- nant constraint on response. In this limit, the system’s stability saturates the Peotta-T¨orm¨a bound, allowing information storage exclusively in topological invariants (Chern numbers). We further ex- tend this framework to quantum optics, deriving an explicit ”Magic Twist” condition for multicore fibers where dynamical propagation is suppressed in favor of Berry phase holonomy. This framework offers a falsifiable mechanism for the emergence of robustness in twistronics and optical computing, suggesting a universal protocol for analog-to-digital conversion in physical media. (shrink)

Sterelny's Thought in a Hostile World ([2003]) presents a complex, systematically structured theory of the evolution of cognition centered on a concept of decoupled representation. Taking Godfrey-Smith's ([1996]) analysis of the evolution of behavioral flexibility as a framework, the theory describes increasingly complex grades of representation beginning with simple detection and culminating with decoupled representation, said to be belief-like, and it characterizes selection forces that drive evolutionary transformations in these forms of representation. Sterelny's ultimate explanatory target is the evolution of (...) human agency. This paper develops a detailed analysis of the main cognitive aspects. It is argued that some of the major claims are not correct: decoupled representation as defined doesn't capture belief-like representation, and, properly understood, decoupled representation turns out to be ubiquitous among multicellular animals. However, some of the key ideas are right, or along the right lines, and suggestions are made for modifying and expanding the conceptual framework. (shrink)

Although inclusion in formal value chains extends the prospect of improving the livelihoods of rural small-scale producers, such a step is often contingent on compliance with internationally-promoted food safety standards. Limited research has addressed the challenges this represents for small rural producers who, grounded in culturally-embedded food safety conceptions, face difficulties in complying. We address this gap here through a multiple case study involving four public school feeding programs that source meals from local rural providers in the Bolivian Altiplan. Institutional (...) logics theory is used to describe public food safety regulations and to compare them to food safety conceptions in the local indigenous Aymara rural setting. We identify a value-based conflict that leads to non-compliance of formal food safety rules that jeopardizes the participation of small farmers in the market. These include: partial adoption of formal rules; selective adoption of convenient rules; and ceremonial adoption to avoid compliance. Decoupling strategies allow local actors to largely disregard the formal food safety regulations while accommodating traditional cultural practices and continuing to access the market. However, these practices put the long-term sustainability of the farmers’ participation in potentially favorable opportunities at risk. (shrink)

The literature on certifiable management standards has not paid sufficient attention to implementation of standard requirements in certified firms. Firms that obtain standard certification to achieve the legitimacy benefits of certification may not implement standard requirements sufficiently to realize the standard’s intended performance outcomes. We argue that such decoupling of implementation from certification threatens the effectiveness of certifiable standards as governance mechanisms for firms’ environmental conduct because standard certification may not accurately signal firms’ superior environmental performance to external stakeholders. (...) Empirical findings based on the ISO 14001 standard at the facility level support this view: Quality of standard implementation affects facilities’ environmental performance, and environmental performance of certified and non-certified facilities does not differ significantly for the overall sample and low-quality implementers, while high-quality implementers have better environmental performance than their noncertified counterparts. We provide recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of governance systems for firm conduct based on certifiable standards. (shrink)

AbstractEnduring unethical behavior in trading has generated much research interest, and scholars disagree on the reasons for this situation. According to MacIntyre (2015), this has to do with the personal traits of traders, whereas Rocchi and Thunder (2019) argue this is due to permissive work environment that can potentially be changed to favoring ethical trading. We contribute to this debate by exploring how interactions between organizational culture and management control systems (MCSs) may affect the enduring unethical behaviors of traders. We (...) conceptualize this with the concepts of organized hypocrisy (Brunsson 1986, 1989, 1993) and decoupling (Meyer and Rowan 1977). An in-depth case study of fraud (Jerome Kerviel at Societe Generale), informs the empirical inquiry. We develop the concept of organized decoupling to characterize how the MCSs are articulated with the organizational culture favoring unethical behavior, while being used as a ‘safety mechanism’ to manage the legal and reputational risk of the bank. The analysis highlights three key features of the organized decoupling of MCS: physical distance, technical distance and social distance. The study contribution lies in showing that decoupling is not only emergent but might be intended and therefore organized. The findings also raise doubts on the role of MCSs in monitoring trading activities as presented by investment banking institutions and regulators, suggesting more organized hypocrisy, and raising significant concerns regarding the creation of tolerable work environment welcoming ethical behaviors in the investment banking sector. (shrink)

A key element of the distinction between explicit and implicit cognitive functioning is the presence or absence of conscious awareness. In this review, we consider the proposal that neuropsychological disorders can best be considered in terms of a decoupling between preserved implicit or unconscious processing and impaired explicit or conscious processing. Evidence for dissociations between implicit and explicit processes in blindsight, amnesia, object agnosia, prosopagnosia, hemi-neglect, and aphasia is examined. The implications of these findings for a) our understanding of (...) a variety of neuropsychological disorders, b) the conceptualization of normal cognitive functioning, c) the neural basis of consciousness, and d) the clinical rehabilitation of brain-injured individuals are also discussed. (shrink)

We provide three innovations to recent debates about whether topological or “network” explanations are a species of mechanistic explanation. First, we more precisely characterize the requirement that all topological explanations are mechanistic explanations and show scientific practice to belie such a requirement. Second, we provide an account that unifies mechanistic and non-mechanistic topological explanations, thereby enriching both the mechanist and autonomist programs by highlighting when and where topological explanations are mechanistic. Third, we defend this view against some powerful mechanist objections. (...) We conclude from this that topological explanations are autonomous from their mechanistic counterparts. (shrink)

This study investigates the phenomenon of corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling, wherein firms' CSR disclosures diverge from their actual CSR performance, often resulting in misleading portrayals of environmental and social commitments commonly associated with greenwashing. Drawing on resource dependence and agency theories, the research examines how specific board attributes—board tenure, board-specific skills and board cultural diversity—function as governance mechanisms to reduce CSR decoupling by enhancing board effectiveness in aligning managerial actions with stakeholder expectations. Using a large international sample (...) of 14,004 firm-year observations from 34 countries between 2012 and 2023, the study also explores the moderating role of board gender diversity, an area underexplored in prior research. The results confirm that longer board tenure, greater board-specific skills, and higher board cultural diversity significantly reduce CSR decoupling. However, the presence of female directors unexpectedly weakens these beneficial effects, indicating a complex and nuanced interaction between board gender diversity and other board characteristics in shaping CSR outcomes. These findings contribute to the literature by clarifying how corporate governance mechanisms influence the authenticity of CSR engagement, highlighting the importance of considering gender diversity as a moderator in governance studies. (shrink)

The aim of the paper is to explore and assess the process of responsibility, decoupling point, and disengagement of moral responsibility, in combination with business sustainability in supply chains. The research is based on a qualitative approach consisting of two multifaceted case studies, each including multiple case companies and different empirical research characteristics, and a review of BSus in supply chain literature. The case studies apply moral disengagement to propose how moral responsibility can deteriorate in supply chains, and the (...) literature review identifies elements of BSus in supply chain management. The contribution of this paper is to compare these two research streams and evaluate the efficacy of the concepts proposed in the case studies. Through this study, BSus gains an entirely different and complementary toolkit which should facilitate further and more effective research in SCM. The theory of MDis also provides a foundation for reinforcing explanatory and prescriptive aspects of ‘best practices’ in the SCM literature. The findings also establish a basis for organizing and monitoring supply chains so as to improve BSus efforts. Considering moral responsibility as a flow this research explains why and how certain practices may impede BSus efforts in supply chains. Original and/or innovative outcomes include explanatory and prescriptive insights that emerge from a combination of empirical findings from two case studies, including seven companies and a framework for improving BSus management in supply chains, based on a typology of moral disengagement. (shrink)

In this paper, I propose to understand argumentative decoupling—that is, the structural fact of the argumentative chain self-referring to one of its constituents in subsequent arguments—as part of the way in which cognitive decoupling representation works. In order to support this claim, I make use of part of the discussion developed in cognitive studies and evolutionary theories that describes this phenomenon when explaining intentional communication. By using Toulmin’s model, I exemplify how decoupling representation may be seen as (...) part of a chain of arguments in which a second argumentative move is usually oriented to action. I conclude by reflecting on the relationship between this human cognitive capacity and the problem of recursion to hold that these two concepts are not synonymous but stand in a subordinated and complementary relation to each other. (shrink)

The current investigation was conducted to elucidate whether errors of commission in the Sustained Attention to Response Task are indicators of perceptual or motor decoupling. Twenty-eight participants completed SARTs with motor and perceptual aspects of the task manipulated. The participants completed four different SART blocks whereby stimuli location uncertainty and stimuli acquisition were manipulated. In previous studies of more traditional sustained attention tasks stimuli location uncertainty reduces sustained attention performance. In the case of the SART the motor manipulation , (...) but not the perceptual manipulation significantly reduced commission errors. The results suggest that the majority of SART commission errors are likely to be indicators of motor decoupling not necessarily perceptual decoupling. (shrink)

Characterizations of the Anthropocene often indicate both the challenges that our new epoch poses for human well-being and a sense of loss that comes from a compromised environment. In this paper I explore a deeper problem underpinning both issues, namely, that decoupling humanity from the world with which we are familiar compromises human flourishing. The environmental conditions characteristic of the Anthropocene do so, I claim, by compromising flourishing on two fronts. First, the comparatively novel conditions of the Anthropocene risk (...) rupturing our narratives, putting at risk our sense of self and connections to familiar environments. Second, by undermining the connections between our environmental background and the sense of well-being conditioned by that background our ability to exercise options that constitute a recognizable good life are compromised. This paper argues that to the extent humanity is decoupled from their environments humans are not only less able to access opportunities our understanding of who we are, our identities, and our capacity to make sense of the world around us through those identities is compromised. I conclude that the Anthropocene does more than challenge our ability to utilize resources, it challenges our understanding of who we are in the world. (shrink)

There is a lack of research on why certain international accountability standards (IAS) are more prone than others to being decoupled from organizational practices. Applying a neo-institutional theory perspective to IAS we theorize that the structural dimensions of the standards themselves can increase the likelihood of organizations adopting IAS standards in form but not in function.

Resumen: En este trabajo propongo entender el desacoplamiento argumentativo, esto es, el hecho estructural de la argumentación de presentar algo como dato y luego la misma información como conclusión en otro argumento, como desacoplamiento de representaciones. Para lograr tal aproximación, discuto perspectivas provenientes de teorías cognitivas y evolutivas que describen este fenómeno tanto en comunicación intencional en otras especies como en infantes humanos. Se concluye discutiendo la relación existente entre esta capacidad cognitiva humana y el problema de reflexividad.: In this (...) paper, I propose to understand argumentative decoupling, that is, the structural fact of presenting something as data in one argument and then the same information as a conclusion in another argument, as the decoupling of representations. To achieve this approach, I discuss perspectives from cognitive and evolutionary theories that describe this phenomenon in intentional communication in other species, as well as in human infants. I conclude by discussing the relationship between this human cognitive capacity and the problem of reflexivity. (shrink)

Means–ends decoupling, the institutionally induced implementation of ineffective practices, has become increasingly common. Extant theory suggests that means–ends decoupling has real consequences, which makes it unstable and difficult for organizations to sustain. Yet little is known of how, and with what outcomes, firms organize such means–ends decoupling. We examine organizing via multiple qualitative and longitudinal case studies of how Swedish fast fashion retailers implement and manage the collection of used garments. We find that firms combine two organizational (...) arrangements: structural and temporal core–compartment separations, which mitigate consequences of means–ends decoupling by obscuring and justifying efficiency gaps. Thereby we provide a theoretical explanation for how means–ends decoupling can persist over time. (shrink)

This paper presents an examination of the relationship between the presence and composition of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee on the corporate governance board and CSR decoupling. Using a sample of listed firms drawn from 41 countries, we found that the presence of a CSR committee on the corporate board is negatively associated with CSR decoupling. We also noted that the nature of the industry to which a firm belongs, a firm's level of CSR orientation, and corporate (...) governance quality strengthen such association. Further analysis of the relationship between the structure of the CSR committee and CSR decoupling shows that larger CSR committee size and a greater independence and longer tenure of its members negatively affect CSR decoupling. Our results are robust to various alternative specifications and offer important research and managerial implications. The findings of this study contribute to the growing literature on corporate governance and CSR. (shrink)

This article argues for separating the institutions of marriage and parenting, conceptually and legally. Marriage is neither necessary nor adequate for fostering cooperative and stable co-parenting. Because promoting marriage fails to protect all children, the state should develop a more suitable formal mechanism whereby co-parents can commit to cooperate in good faith in order to best serve the interests of their children. Like civil marriage, many of the terms of these contracts are aspirational and not enforceable, though they can guide (...) arrangements for custody and financial support. Co-parenting agreements need not be limited to two parents, nor need they be limited to legal parents, but can include de facto parents, such as stepparents, foster parents, and other support parents. One important aim of these agreements is to recognise and support the valuable work that married or unmarried co-parents perform, and to protect the parental rights of caregivers in different kinds of situations. (shrink)

This article examines joint action initiatives among small- and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing industries in developing countries in the context of the ascendancy of corporate social responsibility and the proliferation of a variety of international accountability tools and standards. Through empirical fieldwork in the football manufacturing industry of Jalandhar in North India, the article documents how local cluster-based SMEs stay coupled with the global CSR agenda through joint CSR initiatives focusing on child labor. Probing further, however, also reveals patterns (...) of selective decoupling in relation to core humanitarian and labor rights issues. Through in-depth interviews with a wide range of stakeholders involved in the export-oriented football manufacturing industry of Jalandhar in North India, the article highlights the dynamics of coupling and decoupling taking place, and how developing country firms can gain credit and traction by focusing on high visibility CSR issues, although the plight of workers remains fundamentally unchanged. The authors revisit these findings in the discussion and concluding sections, highlighting the main research and policy implications of the analysis. (shrink)

We investigate the occurrence and the persistence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) decoupling when firms are exposed to heterogeneity in shareholder proposal activism, reflected by the different orientation of shareholder activists and the competing nature of their demands. We find that the greater the extent that shareholder proposals blend financial and social logics, the more likely firms are to respond by adopting policies that are not fully implemented in practice. Our results also suggest that decoupling is more (...) persistent among targeted firms that are exposed to heightened heterogeneity in shareholder proposal activism. Our findings suggest that such heterogeneity not only prompts decoupling but also leads to its persistence, contributing to our understanding about why firms may place their legitimacy at risk to respond to shareholder activism, and the conditions that motivate (or inhibit) such behavior. Our study contributes to the symbolic management literature and the ongoing debate on whether and how shareholders impact societal challenges. (shrink)

This research illustrates dangers inherent in the gap created when organizations decouple ethics program adoption from implementation. Using a sample of 182 professionals in the pharmaceutical and financial services industries, we examine the relationship between structural decoupling of formal ethics programs and individual-level perceptions and behavior. Findings strongly support the hypothesized relationships between decoupling and organizational members’ legitimacy perceptions of the ethics program, psychological contract breach, organizational cynicism, and unethical behavior.

This article analyzes the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling and financial market outcomes. CSR decoupling refers to the gap between CSR disclosure and CSR performance. More specifically, we analyze the effect of CSR decoupling on analysts’ forecast errors, cost of capital, and access to finance. We also examine the moderating effect of forecast errors on relationships between CSR decoupling and cost of capital and access to finance. For a sample of U.S. firms consisting of (...) 7,681 firm-year observations for the period 2006–2015, our empirical evidence supports the idea that a wider gap results in higher analysts’ forecast errors, a greater cost of capital, and reduced access to finance. In addition, our results show that forecast errors enhance the effect of the CSR decoupling on cost of capital and access to financial resources. We also note that external monitoring, in the form of greater analysts’ coverage, reduces CSR decoupling. (shrink)

Digital philanthropy platforms are widely expected to enhance accountability by making charitable activities publicly traceable. Yet in China’s internet philanthropy, platform visibility yields uneven accountability consequences. Drawing on 90 in-depth interviews across six field sites (Chongqing, Guizhou, Shanghai, Qinghai, Hainan, and Taiwan as a relationally comparable contrast), this study advances a decoupling account of transparency reform under platformized visibility. I introduce managed transparency to describe how organizations manage the production of traceability through three practices—formatting, pacing, and routing—so that openness (...) is demonstrable while accountability remains manageable across audiences. Across sites, platform tools such as dashboards, rankings, and donation logs are rarely rejected; instead, they are integrated into routines that standardize disclosure, calibrate update rhythms, and coordinate where scrutiny and interpretation are handled. These practices generate recognizable decoupling outcomes, including ceremonial conformity, symbolic compliance, selective disclosure, and paper compliance, reorganized around digital interfaces where visibility itself becomes an object of organizational management. The study contributes to business and society research by specifying a platform-era mechanism of decoupling and by offering diagnostic implications for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, and other forms of platform-mediated accountability. (shrink)

Conventional wisdom situates the historical origins of social movements in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by attributing their emergence to the rise of democracy, capitalism, and the nation-state. In this article, I challenge this scholarly orthodoxy by presenting primary sources and historical scholarship that demonstrate how the German Peasants’ Revolt of 1524 and 1525 meets Charles Tilly’s criteria for a modern social movement. By challenging the standard narrative of social movements as a product of modernity, this article breaks with the (...) dichotomy between modern and premodern social movements and encourages us to rethink the concept of social movements. (shrink)

The founders of the modern energy paradigm operated under the assumption of nature as practically infinite (e.g., the ‘new’ world). Beginning with Thomas Malthus, critics have argued that this is a recipe for collapse: economic growth will hit the wall of planetary limits. This, however, is mistaken. Intellectual labor drives the modern high-energy world and this resource is infinite. This chapter explains how “Decoupling” a growing economy from environmental harms is the key to sustaining the successes of the modern (...) energy orthodoxy. Through measures such as energy efficiency and decarbonization, we can meet climate policy goals without sacrificing economic growth and development. (shrink)

Business and Society Review, Volume 127, Issue 1, Page 127-143, Spring 2022.

This paper investigates the influence of board network centrality on corporate social responsibility decoupling. CSR decoupling refers to the gap between corporate internal and external actions in CSR practices. Specifically, we measure CSR decoupling as the difference between corporate social disclosure and corporate social performance. This paper uses a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms during 2009–2018, takes the technical dimension score and content dimension score of RKS ratings as proxies of CSD and CSP, and obtains CSR (...) decoupling as the difference between CSD and CSP. Our results show that board network centrality is positively related to over-decoupling in the pre-adoption period of the new environmental law but negatively related to over-decoupling in the post-adoption period and centrality is not related to under-decoupling in the pre-adoption period but a significantly positive related in the post-adoption period. Our finding reveals a complex role of the board network in CSR practices in China. (shrink)

Several studies demonstrated that children younger than 3 years of age, who consistently fail the standard verbal false-belief task, can anticipate others’ actions based on their attributed false beliefs. This gave rise to the so-called “Developmental Paradox”. De Bruin and Kästner recently suggested that the Developmental Paradox is best addressed in terms of the relation between coupled and decoupled processes and argued that if enactivism is to be a genuine alternative to classic cognitivism, it should be able to bridge the (...) “cognitive gap”, i.e. to provide us with a convincing account of how low-level sensorimotor practices transform into higher-order representational skills. This paper defends, against De Bruin and Kästner, an enactive response to the Developmental Paradox. I argue that 3-year olds’ failure to verbally report their false-belief understanding does not arise from stronger decoupling demands. Rather, they fail because the elicited response false-belief trials involve representational decoupling tout court and what is more, under pressure. (shrink)

We focus on the core institution of the capital market and the institu­tional work of professional service firms that provide ratings on corporate issuers, initially in a bid to maintain this institution, which suffered when those involved relied solely on information from the issuers themselves. Through our analysis we identify a new type of decoupling—complicit decoupling. Complicit decoupling evolves over time, beginning with the creation of a new practice, here corporate ratings as a form of policing work, (...) which emerges to help to maintain a core institution. This practice is then adopted, implemented and later becomes decoupled. Exposure does not undermine the legitimacy of the practice because external actors collude in the ‘window dressing’ and, because it has become normalized, only partial repairs are enacted. It is by nature field-level institutional work, benefiting the majority of the field and inherently involves a violation of promise keeping. We conclude with implications for managers and behavioral ethics researchers. (shrink)

Getting consumers to adopt infection prevention measures is important for society to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. This research adopts a moral decoupling perspective to examine how consumers in Germany respond to perceived transgressions of COVID-19 infection prevention regulations. Focusing on two nonpharmaceutical measures (mask wearing, social distancing) as well as a pharmaceutical one (vaccination), two empirical studies indicate that transgression relevance influences intention to adopt the measure (in parallel) through judgment of performance and judgment of morality. Type of transgression (...) moderates the effect of transgression relevance on morality, but not on performance. In addition, effects weaken as a person’s fear of infection increases. Effects are robust, though, when controlling for moral decoupling and moral delegation (Study 1), and additionally for psychological reactance and political orientation (Study 2). Implications for research and practice evolve around new insights into how to get consumers to adopt infection prevention measures more effectively. (shrink)

This research replicates Bhattacharjee et al. :1167–1184, 2013) moral decoupling model and extends the original along the dimensions of theory, method, and context. Adopting a branding perspective and focusing on the corporate domain rather than the public figures investigated by Bhattacharjee and colleagues, this research examines the proposition that consumers dissociate judgments of morality from judgments of performance to justify purchasing from companies deemed to act immorally. The original study is further extended by applying the model in a different (...) cultural context and employing a more realistic stimulus to establish external and ecological validity. The results of the replication generally support the original findings, in particular, under conditions of higher product involvement, a theoretical extension. (shrink)

This chapter suggests that if the humanitarian goals of armed interventions are decoupled from coerced regime change and nation building, they can be carried out effectively and at rather low costs. In addition, it contends that the standard for justifying humanitarian interventions must be well-articulated and set at a high level, for normative reasons, not merely prudential ones. The thesis for narrowly crafted armed humanitarian interventions is supported in the following pages by showing that a mixture of idealism and hubris (...) drives the West to assume that it can achieve much more than it is equipped to, and that its repeated failure to accomplish these expansive goals is leading to a consensus around avoiding armed humanitarian interventions altogether— tragically including those missions whose normative standing is strong and which can be carried out effectively. The observation that nations can employ nonlethal (normative and economic) means to promote human rights and democracy further supports the thesis that the use of force should be reserved to large-scale saving of life and not to be allowed to morph into coerced regime change, not to mention futile attempts at nation building. (shrink)

Institutionalization occurs when organizations adopt policies and practices in an attempt to increase their legitimacy and competitive position. This process assumes that an organization's formal policies (macro‐level) are translated into organizational practices (micro‐level). This translation, however, can fail to occur, resulting in organizational decoupling and de‐institutionalization. Drawing on an institutionalization typology based on different levels of legitimacy (macro) and taken‐for‐grantedness (micro), the article draws on data from an assessment of theUnitedNations Global CompactLEADinitiative, assessing the extent to which this initiative (...) is being institutionalized in the member firms and examining the implications for theLEADinitiative and our thinking about institutionalization. (shrink)

Every year, the US government pays farmers billions of dollars not to grow anything. Especially within urban constituencies, politically and geographically distant from food production centers, these decoupled agriculture subsidies may seem to be unjust uses for public tax dollars. But can any argument be given in favor of such payments? I argue the affirmative by linking decoupled agricultural subsidies to the solution of pressing moral issues: obesity and food deserts. First, I argue that decoupled subsidies offer growers the economic (...) freedom to try to grow fruits and vegetables, and to develop their capacities growing such foods. Such changes to which crops are produced is essential to augmenting availability of fresh produce and thereby addressing food deserts and obesity. Second, I argue that because food deserts and obesity are actually byproducts of our agriculture and food distribution system, we have a social obligation to adopt policies like decoupled agricultural subsidies to resolve them. The essay closes with considerations about four objections, and my responses to them. (shrink)

The dissociation of fluid cognitive functions from g is implicit in the Cattell-Horn-Carroll gF-gC theory. Nevertheless, Blair is right that fluid functions are extremely important. I suggest that the key mental operation assessed by measures of gF is the ability to sustain mental simulation while keeping the relevant representations decoupled from the actual world – an ability that underlies all hypothetical thinking. (Published Online April 5 2006).

Although supply chain sustainability has attracted growing attention, little research examines how customers can effectively constrain unethical behavior in suppliers. Hence, this study investigates how social connections between customers and suppliers might influence CSR decoupling on the part of suppliers. CSR decoupling refers to the phenomenon where companies create a misleadingly positive impression of overall environmental and social performance. Based on data from Chinese listed firms from 2010 to 2020, the results show that social connections significantly reduce CSR (...) decoupling in suppliers. However, this effect weakens when customers have stronger bargaining power or when suppliers are located in more marketized regions. Conversely, social connections become more effective when customers are geographically more distant from suppliers, when suppliers are larger in size, when customers demonstrate stronger CSR engagement or operate in more environmentally sensitive industries. These findings highlight the role of social connections as an informal yet effective governance mechanism that enhances sustainable supply chain management. (shrink)

The question that motivates this article has been a matter of dispute: Is it possible to combine perpetual economic growth and longterm environmental sustainability based on the premise that economic growth can be fully decoupled from negative environmental impacts? The article addresses this question from the position of critical realism. An empirical study focusing on the housing sector is conducted, indicating that housing stock growth and economic growth have been, at best, weakly decoupled from environmental impacts. In the long run, (...) it seems implausible that the degree of decoupling can be increased at a rate sufficient to compensate for continual growth in the volume of housing stock. A further elaboration of the topic at an ontological level leads to the conclusion that continual economic growth and long-term environmental sustainability can hardly be combined. Content Type Journal Article Category Article Pages 438-461 DOI 10.1558/jcr.v11i4.438 Authors Jin Xue, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University Journal Journal of Critical Realism Online ISSN 1572-5138 Print ISSN 1476-7430 Journal Volume Volume 11 Journal Issue Volume 11, Number 4 / 2012. (shrink)

Comparable peers provide a critical benchmark for distinguishing genuinely responsible firms from those engaging in symbolic compliance, thereby reinforcing ethical accountability and the legitimacy of sustainability governance. Existing measures of environmental decoupling—the gap between firms' environmental claims and actions—typically standardize disclosure and outcome indicators along a single dimension, such as industry or firm size, while neglecting multi-level heterogeneity in corporate behavior. To address this limitation, we define firm comparability by integrating location, industry, size, and ownership into a multidimensional framework (...) that jointly captures institutional similarity in regulatory environments, normative expectations, and resource capacities. Using a recursive partitioning regression tree model based on 6348 Chinese firm-year observations, we identify six distinct claim-action patterns that produce a more consistent and reliable measure of environmental decoupling. Results reveal a structural shift from brownwashing to greenwashing, with a one standard deviation increase in disclosure corresponding to an improvement of less than 43% in actual performance. Greenwashing is most prevalent among newly disclosing and small firms in East and Northwest China, largely driven by short-term profit motives. Overall, our approach advances the understanding of environmental decoupling and provides a practical tool for classifying firms as greenwashing or brownwashing and for selecting comparable firm peers. (shrink)

Although performance pressure has desirable consequences, there is evidence that it can produce unintended outcomes as employees tend to engage in dysfunctional and unethical behaviors to meet performance goals. Thus, the process through which employees think and behave unethically under performance pressure deserves more research attention. This study goes beyond the stress-appraisal perspective and investigates whether and when performance pressure influences individual work mindsets and behaviors from a moral reasoning perspective. Specifically, we contend that performance pressure is related to employee (...) expediency through moral decoupling. We further hypothesize dialectical thinking and moral identity to be the boundary conditions of the proposed relationships. Analyses of data from a field study in three waves provide support for most of the hypotheses. In particular, we find that moral decoupling accounts for additional variance after we control for the stress-appraisal effect of performance pressure on employee expediency. The study offers several contributions to the literature on performance pressure and unethical behavior. (shrink)

Evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs) involve the formation of Darwinian collectives from Darwinian particles. The transition from cells to multicellular life is a prime example. During an ETI, collectives become units of selection in their own right. However, the underlying processes are poorly understood. One observation used to identify the completion of an ETI is an increase in collective-level performance accompanied by a decrease in particle-level performance, for example measured by growth rate. This seemingly counterintuitive dynamic has been referred to (...) as fitness decoupling and has been used to interpret both models and experimental data. Extending and unifying results from the literature, we show that fitness of particles and collectives can never decouple because calculations of fitness performed over appropriate and equivalent time intervals are necessarily the same provided the population reaches a stable collective size distribution. By way of solution, we draw attention to the value of mechanistic approaches that emphasise traits, and tradeoffs among traits, as opposed to fitness. This trait-based approach is sufficient to capture dynamics that underpin evolutionary transitions. In addition, drawing upon both experimental and theoretical studies, we show that while early stages of transitions might often involve tradeoffs among particle traits, later—and critical—stages are likely to involve the rupture of such tradeoffs. Thus, when observed in the context of ETIs, tradeoff-breaking events stand as a useful marker of these transitions. (shrink)