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Hervé Corvellec.

Hervé Corvellec

Professor

Hervé Corvellec.

Organizing Means–Ends Decoupling : Core–Compartment Separations in Fast Fashion

Author

  • Herman I. Stål
  • Hervé Corvellec

Summary, in English

Means–ends decoupling, the institutionally induced implementation of ineffective practices, has become increasingly common. Extant theory suggests that means–ends decoupling has real consequences, which makes it unstable and difficult for organizations to sustain. Yet little is known of how, and with what outcomes, firms organize such means–ends decoupling. We examine organizing via multiple qualitative and longitudinal case studies of how Swedish fast fashion retailers implement and manage the collection of used garments. We find that firms combine two organizational arrangements: structural and temporal core–compartment separations, which mitigate consequences of means–ends decoupling by obscuring and justifying efficiency gaps. Thereby we provide a theoretical explanation for how means–ends decoupling can persist over time.

Department/s

  • Department of Service Studies

Publishing year

2022-04-06

Language

English

Pages

857-885

Publication/Series

Business and Society

Volume

61

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Business Administration

Keywords

  • circular economy
  • corporate sustainability
  • decoupling
  • fashion
  • institutional theory

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0007-6503