New publication: Global diffusion of B Corp certification

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new article authored by Thilo Pollmeier, Mirko Hirschmann, and Christian Fisch in Business Strategy and the Environment (March 2026).

The study examines how national institutions shape the global diffusion of B Corp certification, one of the most prominent voluntary sustainability standards worldwide.

Title:
How National Institutional Configurations Shape the Global Diffusion of B Corp Certification

🔗 Free access to the publication:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/2R5HEU9GVKXHCKDETXNC?target=10.1002/bse.70706

Abstract

This study investigates why voluntary sustainability standards such as B Corp certification spread more rapidly in some countries than in others. Drawing on institutional theory, the authors analyze how different forms of national-level normative pressure shape the global diffusion of the certification.

Using panel data on 9,796 certifications across 92 countries between 2007 and 2023, the analysis shows that adoption increases with stronger climate policy, active sustainability movement organizations, and higher levels of environmental turbulence such as natural disasters.

Interestingly, the results indicate that environmental turbulence weakens the influence of climate policy while the role of sustainability movement organizations remains stable. These findings suggest that environmental disruptions do not simply intensify institutional pressures but can reconfigure which actors drive the adoption of sustainability standards.

Full citation

Pollmeier, T., Hirschmann, M., & Fisch, C. (2026). How National Institutional Configurations Shape the Global Diffusion of B Corp Certification.
Business Strategy and the Environment.
https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70706