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Bronke, J, Frederiksen, N, Christensen, C C and Madsen, H K (2025) Organisational Responses to Sustainability Demands: Exploring Response Variety in the Danish Construction Industry . In: Thomson, C (Ed.) and Neilson, C J (Ed.), Proceedings 41st Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2025, Abertay University, Dundee, UK. Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 782-791.
- Type: Conference Proceedings
- Keywords: decoupling, EU regulation, institutional demand, organisational response, sustainability
- ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-9955463-9-4
- URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/4b763f66c8e1faf581c4de423a256f3b.pdf
- Abstract:
Due to the construction industry's significant environmental impact; there is increasing pressure for more sustainable practices. This study explores how Danish construction companies experience and respond to sustainability demands. Drawing on institutional theory - particularly the concepts of institutional demands and organisational responses - the study is based on 100 questionnaire responses and in-depth interviews with company representatives. Findings show that companies face regulative; normative; and cultural-cognitive sustainability demands and respond in varied ways. Four distinct response types are identified: procedural; human resources; schematic; and reputational. These responses; mobilised by the companies; align sustainability demands with internal practices without directly affecting project execution. The study contributes by showing that companies experience sustainability pressures differently and therefore adopt diverse strategies. It also highlights the importance of understanding how internal organisational responses are shaped by external sustainability expectations. In line with this; we suggest that future construction management research should explore normative and cultural-cognitive responses to sustainability demands instead of focusing primarily on regulative ones; which have been the overarching focus in recent years.