Accountability for sustainability – An institutional entrepreneur as the representative of future stakeholders

Abstract

Stakeholder views have often been presented as the source of sustainability while a lack of sustainability has been presented as a self-centered focus on the organization itself. The present paper reports a case in which a case organization, not present stakeholders, brings up sustainability and a concern for future stakeholders. We rely on interviews and archival data gathered in a case organization in the construction industry, and interview data from stakeholders. The study shows how the representatives of the case organization feel accountable to future (not present) stakeholders’ needs, as present stakeholders are considered to be short-term oriented. As it is organizational representatives, not stakeholders, who predominantly envision the future, the source of accountability for sustainability appears, surprisingly, to originate from the organization itself. The organization thus becomes an institutional entrepreneur in altering accountabilities in the industry. This is shown here particularly in the organization's “war against the gray economy”. It is suggested that the needs of certain stakeholders whose views cannot easily be expressed in existing accountability systems, such as future stakeholders, flora and fauna, can sometimes be legitimately represented by unexpected entities. The study also sheds light on an important paradox in sustainability: it requires dialogue with stakeholders while future stakeholders, considered important, cannot directly participate in a dialogue and it is uncertain who can speak for such stakeholders. In this study, the organizational representatives represent the future stakeholders, making true dialogue with outsiders demanding. Concerns for dialogue and the future can sometimes contradict each other.