Unintended Decoupling:The Role of Internal Conditions in Explaining Policy-Practice Misalignment

Since intentional decoupling as a deliberate strategic decision has become a less palatable choice for managers, given the wider disapproval it may attract if exposed, what is increasingly relevant is unintended decoupling. However, unintended decoupling has not been a focus of previous scholarly work. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the role of internal organizational conditions in explaining unintended decoupling. We interviewed MBA programme directors at 23 UK business schools intending to implement their explicit organizational commitments to sustainability in practice, to determine the internal conditions associated with tight coupling or unintended decoupling. Analysis of this primary data with fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) enabled us to identify the most important internal conditions and combinations of conditions that explain unintended decoupling. Agency in the form of capability and structure in the form of a strong unit identity together provide a strong organiza...