The Adoption of ISO 26000 in Practice: Empirical Results from The Netherlands

Abstract

While scholars have investigated the adoption of standards relating to issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR), research into the adoption of comprehensive CSR standards is scarce. This observation especially applies when one looks at empirical studies. This article aims to contribute to filling this void by investigating the adoption of ISO 26000, the global comprehensive CSR standard launched in 2010, in practice. It aims to shed light on the adoption of comprehensive CSR standards by identifying five categories of determinants of organizations’ adoption of ISO 26000 and presents the results of original exploratory empirical research conducted among corporate CSR professionals in the Netherlands. The article may hence provide relevant insights complementing existing literature and have value for organizations wanting to adopt CSR standards. It also provides insights that may be relevant for standards developers and policy makers in the field of CSR that want to encourage CSR behaviour by organizations.