Table 7.

Strategic response adopted by Spanish public universities to institutional pressures for sustainability reporting

Type of university (No.)Institutional forcesStrategy/tactic (no.)Behaviour
Reporting universities (40)Normative forces
• Standards
• Networks
• Top management values
• Professionalization
Acquiescence/habit (9)Sustainability reporting as a taken for granted activity (publication of more than eight consecutive reports)
Coercive forces
• Policies and declarations (UN SDGs)
Acquiescence/compliance (16)Sustainability reporting driven by the UN SDGs (universities that have published between one and five reports)
Avoidance/concealment (9)Sustainability reporting to manage public impressions
Mimetic forces
• Imitating fashion-setters
From acquiescence/imitation to avoidance/concealment (6)Initial diffusion and subsequent decline of sustainability reporting
Non-reporting universities (10)Coercive forces
• Policies and declarations (CRUE)
• State and power (Spanish Government)
Compromise/balance (4)Sustainability-related practices to meet demands of powerful stakeholders
Defiance/dismiss (6)Lack of commitment to adopt sustainability actions
Source: Authors’ own creation

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