IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v193y2022ics0921800921003578.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A tragedy of intangible commons: Riding the socioecological wave

Author

Listed:
  • Meisinger, Norman

Abstract

The socioecological discourse has recently gained strong attention. Suddenly, most firms now try to engage quickly with precarious issues because consumers demand an attitude toward our grand challenges, not merely products anymore. Starting from neo‐institutionalist critiques, which dominate the corporate green and socialwashing discourse, this essay argues from a largely neglected perspective by drawing attention to the impacts on the longstanding pioneers of socioecologically valuable business practices. Almost no research to date has illuminated the phenomenon whereby pioneering firms lose their unique selling propositions because others are ‘riding the wave’ and reaping where they have not sown. By applying a resource-based argumentation, the idea of a tragedy of intangible commons is unfolded to explain what made this phenomenon possible and why it could even occur.

Suggested Citation

  • Meisinger, Norman, 2022. "A tragedy of intangible commons: Riding the socioecological wave," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:193:y:2022:i:c:s0921800921003578
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107298
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800921003578
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107298?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pascual Berrone & Andrea Fosfuri & Liliana Gelabert, 2017. "Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 363-379, August.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    3. Eun-Hee Kim & Thomas P. Lyon, 2015. "Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 705-723, June.
    4. Marta Pizzetti & Lucia Gatti & Peter Seele, 2021. "Firms Talk, Suppliers Walk: Analyzing the Locus of Greenwashing in the Blame Game and Introducing ‘Vicarious Greenwashing’," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 21-38, April.
    5. Aguilera-Klink, Federico, 1994. "Some notes on the misuse of classic writings in economics on the subject of common property," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 221-228, April.
    6. Anonymous, 2013. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 243-243, December.
    7. Timothy M. Lenton & Johan Rockström & Owen Gaffney & Stefan Rahmstorf & Katherine Richardson & Will Steffen & Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, 2019. "Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against," Nature, Nature, vol. 575(7784), pages 592-595, November.
    8. Brett M. Frischmann & Alain Marciano & Giovanni Battista Ramello, 2019. "Retrospectives: Tragedy of the Commons after 50 Years," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 211-228, Fall.
    9. Thomas Lyon & A. Montgomery, 2013. "Tweetjacked: The Impact of Social Media on Corporate Greenwash," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 747-757, December.
    10. Marvin B. Lieberman & David B. Montgomery, 1988. "First‐mover advantages," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(S1), pages 41-58, June.
    11. Ohler, Adrienne M. & Billger, Sherrilyn M., 2014. "Does environmental concern change the tragedy of the commons? Factors affecting energy saving behaviors and electricity usage," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-12.
    12. Euler, Johannes, 2018. "Conceptualizing the Commons: Moving Beyond the Goods-based Definition by Introducing the Social Practices of Commoning as Vital Determinant," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 10-16.
    13. Anonymous, 2013. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 129-130, November.
    14. Lint Barrage & Eric Chyn & Justine Hastings, 2020. "Advertising and Environmental Stewardship: Evidence from the BP Oil Spill," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 33-61, February.
    15. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    16. Julien Daubanes & Jean-Charles Rochet, 2019. "The Rise of NGO Activism," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 183-212, November.
    17. Lucia Gatti & Peter Seele & Lars Rademacher, 2019. "Grey zone in – greenwash out. A review of greenwashing research and implications for the voluntary-mandatory transition of CSR," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-15, December.
    18. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    19. Eve Chiapello & Luc Boltanski, 2005. "The New Spirit of Capitalism," Post-Print hal-00678024, HAL.
    20. Brett Frischmann & Alain Marciano & Giovanni Battista Ramello, 2019. "Retrospectives: Tragedy of the Commons after 50 Years," Post-Print hal-02550362, HAL.
    21. Eve Chiapello & Luc Boltanski, 2005. "The New Spirit of Capitalism," Post-Print hal-00680089, HAL.
    22. Worden, Lee, 2010. "Notes from the greenhouse world: A study in coevolution, planetary sustainability, and community structure," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 762-769, February.
    23. Yue Wu & Kaifu Zhang & Jinhong Xie, 2020. "Bad Greenwashing, Good Greenwashing: Corporate Social Responsibility and Information Transparency," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(7), pages 3095-3112, July.
    24. Olivier Boiral, 2007. "Corporate Greening Through ISO 14001: A Rational Myth?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 127-146, February.
    25. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    26. Xingqiang Du & Yingying Chang & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du & Hongmei Pei, 2016. "Corporate environmental responsibility (CER) weakness, media coverage, and corporate philanthropy: Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 551-581, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rub?n Dar?o Sep?lveda Vargas & Mar?a Alejandra Taborda Caro & Deivi David Fuentes Doria & Carlos Eduardo Maldonado Casta?eda & Iv?n Dar?o Sep?lveda Calderin, 2023. "Socioecological practices and community resilience strategies for sustainable agriculture in lower Sinú, Colombia," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 25(1), pages 65-91.
    2. Mathieu Gomes & Sylvain Marsat & Jonathan Peillex & Guillaume Pijourlet, 2023. "Does religiosity influence corporate greenwashing behavior?," Papers 2312.14515, arXiv.org.
    3. Vargas, Rubén Darío Sepúlveda & Caro, María Alejandra Taborda & Doria, Deivi David Fuentes & Castañeda, Carlos Eduardo Maldonado & Calderin, Ivan Darío Sepúlveda, 2023. "Socioecological practices and community resilience strategies for sustainable agriculture in lower Sinú, Colombia," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 25(1), May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schriber, Svante & Löwstedt, Jan, 2015. "Tangible resources and the development of organizational capabilities," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 54-68.
    2. Alp Eren Yurtseven & Mehmet Teoman Pamukçu, 2022. "Innovation patterns in firms and intra-industry heterogeneity empirical evidence from Turkey," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 645-679, September.
    3. Victor Oladapo & Godwin Onyeaso, 2012. "An Empirical Investigation Of The Impact Of Luck On Small Business Performance: Dynamic Panel Data Evidence," International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 5(3), pages 29-41.
    4. Shuwaikh, Fatima & Dubocage, Emmanuelle, 2022. "Access to the Corporate Investors' Complementary Resources: A Leverage for Innovation in Biotech Venture Capital-Backed Companies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    5. Montserrat Boronat-Navarro & Alexandra García-Joerger, 2019. "Ambidexterity, Alliances and Environmental Management System Adoption in Spanish Hotels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Crane, Bret & Hartwell, Christopher J., 2019. "Global talent management: A life cycle view of the interaction between human and social capital," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 82-92.
    7. Francesca Bernini & Fabio La Rosa, 2024. "Research in the greenwashing field: concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 405-444, June.
    8. Yang, Yong & Driffield, Nigel, 2022. "Leveraging the benefits of location decisions into performance: A global view from matched MNEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 468-483.
    9. Mehmet Ali Köseoglu & John A. Parnell & Melissa Yan Yee Yick, 2021. "Identifying influential studies and maturity level in intellectual structure of fields: evidence from strategic management," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1271-1309, February.
    10. Suoniemi, Samppa & Terho, Harri & Zablah, Alex & Olkkonen, Rami & Straub, Detmar W., 2021. "The impact of firm-level and project-level it capabilities on CRM system quality and organizational productivity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 108-122.
    11. Paul Steffens & Per Davidsson & Jason Fitzsimmons, 2009. "Performance Configurations over Time: Implications for Growth– and Profit–Oriented Strategies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(1), pages 125-148, January.
    12. Pereira, Vijay & Bamel, Umesh, 2021. "Extending the resource and knowledge based view: A critical analysis into its theoretical evolution and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 557-570.
    13. Mehmet Altin, 2021. "Does resource-based view explain outsourcing intention: Revenue management perspective," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(2), pages 292-306, March.
    14. Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Dennis A. Yao, 2018. "Integrated Strategy: Residual Market and Exchange Imperfections as the Foundation of Sustainable Competitive Advantage," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 463-480, June.
    15. Javier Amores‐Salvadó & Gregorio Martin‐de Castro & Elisabeth Albertini, 2023. "Walking the talk, but above all, talking the walk: Looking green for market stakeholder engagement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 431-442, January.
    16. Marco Valeri & Rodolfo Baggio, 2021. "A critical reflection on the adoption of blockchain in tourism," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 121-132, June.
    17. Villalonga, Belen, 2004. "Intangible resources, Tobin's q, and sustainability of performance differences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 205-230, June.
    18. Michael K. Fung, 2019. "Fraudulent Financial Reporting and Technological Capability in the Information Technology Sector: A Resource-Based Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 577-589, May.
    19. Patnaik, Swetketu & Munjal, Surender & Varma, Arup & Sinha, Sujay, 2022. "Extending the resource-based view through the lens of the institution-based view: A longitudinal case study of an Indian higher educational institution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 124-141.
    20. Contractor, Farok J. & Ra, Wonchan, 2002. "How knowledge attributes influence alliance governance choices: A theory development note," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 11-27.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:193:y:2022:i:c:s0921800921003578. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.