Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2016
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Signaling without Certification: The Critical Role of Civil Society Scrutiny

By: Susan A. Kayser, John W. Maxwell and Michael W. Toffel
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:37
ShareBar

Abstract

In response to stakeholders' growing concerns, companies are joining voluntary environmental programs to signal their superior environmental management capabilities. In contrast to the literature's focus on certification programs that require a third-party audit, we show that corporate participation in programs that lack certification but instead incorporate civil society scrutiny can, under certain conditions, serve as a credible signal of environmental management capabilities by discouraging firms with inferior capabilities from joining. Specifically, we hypothesize that (a) institutional environments that support civil society scrutiny and (b) organizational characteristics that increase the impact of that scrutiny enhance the credibility of the signal. We find empirical support for these hypotheses by examining the decisions by nearly 2,600 companies in 44 countries whether to participate in the United Nations Global Compact.

Keywords

United Nations; Labor Standards; Supplier Relationship; Procurement; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Quality And Safety; Risk; Globalization; Globalized Markets And Industries; Governance; Working Conditions; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility And Impact; Quality; Risk And Uncertainty; Safety; Reputation

Citation

Kayser, Susan A., John W. Maxwell, and Michael W. Toffel. "Signaling without Certification: The Critical Role of Civil Society Scrutiny." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-009, August 2014. (Revised July 2016.)
  • SSRN
  • Read Now

About The Author

Michael W. Toffel

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March–April 2021
    • Harvard Business Review

    Manage the Suppliers That Could Harm Your Brand: Know When to Avoid, Engage, or Drop Them

    By: Jodi L Short and Michael W. Toffel
    • February 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Assessing Prediction Accuracy of Machine Learning Models

    By: Michael Toffel and Natalie Epstein
    • February 2021
    • Faculty Research

    T-tests: Theory and Practice

    By: Michael Parzen, Natalie Epstein, Chiara Farronato and Michael Toffel
More from the Authors
  • Manage the Suppliers That Could Harm Your Brand: Know When to Avoid, Engage, or Drop Them By: Jodi L Short and Michael W. Toffel
  • Assessing Prediction Accuracy of Machine Learning Models By: Michael Toffel and Natalie Epstein
  • T-tests: Theory and Practice By: Michael Parzen, Natalie Epstein, Chiara Farronato and Michael Toffel
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College