Magali A Delmas
Biographic Data
| ID | 2323348 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Magali A Delmas |
| GIVEN NAMES | Magali A |
| FAMILY NAME | Delmas |
| SIGNATURE | DELMAS M A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Los Angeles |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8862-2482 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 120 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Can Climate Adaptation Be Sustainable
Climate impacts like heatwaves, droughts, and extreme storms increasingly force organizations to adapt. Many adaptation strategies are unsustainable: actions that protect firms today can deplete ecological resources, create new vulnerabilities, or shift risks onto other communities and future generations. We argue that adaptation becomes sustainable only when understood not as reactive adjustment but as organizational and institutional transforma…
Building on Sand? Third-Party Sustainability Measures in the Business Literature
Third-party sustainability measures, such as ESG scores and rankings, are central to research linking corporate sustainability and financial performance. However, these measures lack transparency and vary significantly across providers, raising reliability concerns. This systematic review of 82 business journal articles (1995–2024) assesses how scholars engage with and critically assess these measures. We distinguish two sources of uncertainty th…
The Past and Future of Corporate Sustainability Research
Despite the skyrocketing of corporate sustainability research in management, environmental grand challenges like climate change, persist. Given firms’ pivotal role in either improving or worsening these challenges, it is important to consider how corporate sustainability research can affect the resolution of these challenges. Understanding the historical evolution of the cognitive structure of the field facilitates the forecasting of the likely f…
Engagement With Air Quality Information: Stated Versus Revealed Preferences
Air pollution has a significant impact on health but is often invisible to the naked eye. Real-time air quality information can help people take action to protect their health. However, little is known on how to most effectively frame air quality information to promote public health. We conducted a field experiment to study people’s engagement with real-time air quality information provided through a smartphone application (app). We tested 12 dif…
Sustainable practices and product quality: Is there value in eco-label certification? The case of wine
Understanding the Role of the Corporation in Sustainability Transitions
The state of the planet calls for large-scale sustainability transitions involving systemic adoption of markedly better environmental and social practices. The objective of this symposium is to better understand the role of corporations in promoting such systemic change. We present four case studies—representing diverse industries and change mechanisms—-to investigate corporate leadership in sustainability transitions. The cases examine a wide ra…
Field Experiments in Corporate Sustainability Research: Testing Strategies for Behavior Change in Markets and Organizations
Experimental studies are a valuable tool to test effective strategies for encouraging sustainable behavior but have not been used much in corporate sustainability research. In this article, we describe the benefits and challenges of the randomized field experimental method for research in corporate sustainability. We draw on the examples of our own research in energy conservation behavior to illustrate some of the hurdles that need to be overcome…
Chapter 6. Scaling Up Solutions to State, National and Global Levels
Scaling-up solutions require learning and adapting lessons between locations and at different scales. To accomplish this, common metrics are vital to building a shared language. For California, this has meant careful financial, cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment methods leading to carbon accounting in many avenues of government (via the Low Carbon Fuel Standard or the Cap and Trade program). These methods themselves interact, such as the use o…
Nonprice incentives and energy conservation
Significance We investigate the effectiveness of nonprice incentives to motivate conservation behavior. We test whether tailored information about environmental and health damages produces behavior change in the residential electricity sector. In a randomized controlled trial with real-time appliance-level energy metering over 8 mo, we find that environment and health-based information strategies outperform monetary savings information to drive e…
Dynamics of Environmental and Financial Performance: The Case of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
While corporate sustainability has been defined as an approach that creates long-term value with minimum environmental damage, there is still little understanding of the time horizon over which improved environmental performance leads to improved financial performance. We investigate the relationship between environmental and financial performance under increasing likelihood of environmental regulation. We leverage longitudinal data for 1,095 U.S…
Information strategies and energy conservation behavior: A meta-analysis of experimental studies from 1975 to 2012
Governance for the Environment: New Perspectives
Environmental standards and labor productivity: Understanding the mechanisms that sustain sustainability
In the last decade, a rising number of firms have adopted voluntary international environmental management and product standards, such as the international ISO 14001 management standard or organic certification. Although emerging research analyzes the impact of these standards on environmental and financial performance, there is to our knowledge no empirical research on how they affect the productivity of employees. In this paper, we investigate …
The Drivers of Greenwashing
More and more firms are engaging in greenwashing, misleading consumers about their environmental performance or the environmental benefits of a product or service. The skyrocketing incidence of greenwashing can have profound negative effects on consumer and investor confidence in green products. Mitigating greenwashing is particularly challenging in a context of limited and uncertain regulation. This article examines the external (both institutio…
Voluntary agreements to improve environmental quality: Symbolic and substantive cooperation
Within the context of environmental voluntary agreements (VAs), this paper analyzes the determinants of the degree of participation by firms in collective corporate political strategies that aim to shape government policy. We demonstrate that substantive cooperative strategies are more likely to be pursued by firms that enter a VA close to its initiation, while symbolic cooperation is more likely behavior by late joiners. We show that late joiner…
Introduction: New perspectives on governahnce for sustainable development
We live in an era in which the demand for governance arising from human–environment interactions or, more broadly, the quest for sustainable development is growing, while confidence in the capacity of government – the conventional mechanism for handling such matters – to address problems of governance is waning. What are the sources of this paradox? What can we do to address the rising demand for governance under these circumstances? How can we e…
Organizational responses to environmental demands: Opening the black box
This article combines new and old institutionalism to explain differences in organizational strategies. We propose that differences in the influence of corporate departments lead their facilities to prioritize different external pressures and thus adopt different management practices. Specifically, we argue that external constituents—including customers, regulators, legislators, local communities, and environmental activist organizations—who inte…
The Diffusion of Voluntary International Management Standards: Responsible Care, ISO 9000, and ISO 14001 in the Chemical Industry
This article analyzes the factors that explain the international diffusion of voluntary international management standards. We argue that international management standards should not be analyzed in isolation but in conjunction with other standards and their institutional environment. We present two opposite views explaining how the previous diffusion of management standards facilitates or hampers the adoption of new management standards. We test…
Free riding in voluntary environmental programs: The case of the U.S. EPA WasteWise program
Regulatory commitment to negotiated agreements: Evidence from the United states, Germany, the Netherlands, and France
Negotiated Agreements (NAs) are arrangements between firms and regulators in which firms voluntarily agree to reduce their pollution. This article analyzes the institutional features that facilitate or hamper the implementation of NAs. We illustrate the analysis with case studies on the implementation of NAs in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. We find that NAs are implemented when regulators are able to commit credibly to …
The diffusion of environmental management standards in Europe and in the United States: An institutional perspective
Government Credible Commitment to the French and American Nuclear Power Industries
Backlash against nuclear power, although widespread, affected nuclear power programs differently in the United States than in France owing to their differing institutional setups. This article uses a transaction costs economics approach to examine government credible commitment to the French and American nuclear power industries. Positive political theory sheds light on the comparative institutional environment in each industry. The American comb…
Government Credible Commitment to the French and American Nuclear Power Industries
Backlash against nuclear power, although widespread, affected nuclear power programs differently in the United States than in France owing to their differing institutional setups. This article uses a transaction costs economics approach to examine government credible commitment to the French and American nuclear power industries. Positive political theory sheds light on the comparative institutional environment in each industry. The American comb…
The diffusion of environmental management standards in Europe and in the United States: An institutional perspective
Free riding in voluntary environmental programs: The case of the U.S. EPA WasteWise program
The Diffusion of Voluntary International Management Standards: Responsible Care, ISO 9000, and ISO 14001 in the Chemical Industry
This article analyzes the factors that explain the international diffusion of voluntary international management standards. We argue that international management standards should not be analyzed in isolation but in conjunction with other standards and their institutional environment. We present two opposite views explaining how the previous diffusion of management standards facilitates or hampers the adoption of new management standards. We test…
Environmental standards and labor productivity: Understanding the mechanisms that sustain sustainability
In the last decade, a rising number of firms have adopted voluntary international environmental management and product standards, such as the international ISO 14001 management standard or organic certification. Although emerging research analyzes the impact of these standards on environmental and financial performance, there is to our knowledge no empirical research on how they affect the productivity of employees. In this paper, we investigate …
Regulatory commitment to negotiated agreements: Evidence from the United states, Germany, the Netherlands, and France
Negotiated Agreements (NAs) are arrangements between firms and regulators in which firms voluntarily agree to reduce their pollution. This article analyzes the institutional features that facilitate or hamper the implementation of NAs. We illustrate the analysis with case studies on the implementation of NAs in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. We find that NAs are implemented when regulators are able to commit credibly to …
Government Credible Commitment to the French and American Nuclear Power Industries
Backlash against nuclear power, although widespread, affected nuclear power programs differently in the United States than in France owing to their differing institutional setups. This article uses a transaction costs economics approach to examine government credible commitment to the French and American nuclear power industries. Positive political theory sheds light on the comparative institutional environment in each industry. The American comb…
Government Credible Commitment to the French and American Nuclear Power Industries
Backlash against nuclear power, although widespread, affected nuclear power programs differently in the United States than in France owing to their differing institutional setups. This article uses a transaction costs economics approach to examine government credible commitment to the French and American nuclear power industries. Positive political theory sheds light on the comparative institutional environment in each industry. The American comb…
Government Credible Commitment to the French and American Nuclear Power Industries
Backlash against nuclear power, although widespread, affected nuclear power programs differently in the United States than in France owing to their differing institutional setups. This article uses a transaction costs economics approach to examine government credible commitment to the French and American nuclear power industries. Positive political theory sheds light on the comparative institutional environment in each industry. The American comb…
Regulatory commitment to negotiated agreements: Evidence from the United states, Germany, the Netherlands, and France
Negotiated Agreements (NAs) are arrangements between firms and regulators in which firms voluntarily agree to reduce their pollution. This article analyzes the institutional features that facilitate or hamper the implementation of NAs. We illustrate the analysis with case studies on the implementation of NAs in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. We find that NAs are implemented when regulators are able to commit credibly to …
The diffusion of environmental management standards in Europe and in the United States: An institutional perspective
Free riding in voluntary environmental programs: The case of the U.S. EPA WasteWise program
Organizational responses to environmental demands: Opening the black box
This article combines new and old institutionalism to explain differences in organizational strategies. We propose that differences in the influence of corporate departments lead their facilities to prioritize different external pressures and thus adopt different management practices. Specifically, we argue that external constituents—including customers, regulators, legislators, local communities, and environmental activist organizations—who inte…
The Diffusion of Voluntary International Management Standards: Responsible Care, ISO 9000, and ISO 14001 in the Chemical Industry
This article analyzes the factors that explain the international diffusion of voluntary international management standards. We argue that international management standards should not be analyzed in isolation but in conjunction with other standards and their institutional environment. We present two opposite views explaining how the previous diffusion of management standards facilitates or hampers the adoption of new management standards. We test…
Introduction: New perspectives on governahnce for sustainable development
We live in an era in which the demand for governance arising from human–environment interactions or, more broadly, the quest for sustainable development is growing, while confidence in the capacity of government – the conventional mechanism for handling such matters – to address problems of governance is waning. What are the sources of this paradox? What can we do to address the rising demand for governance under these circumstances? How can we e…
Voluntary agreements to improve environmental quality: Symbolic and substantive cooperation
Within the context of environmental voluntary agreements (VAs), this paper analyzes the determinants of the degree of participation by firms in collective corporate political strategies that aim to shape government policy. We demonstrate that substantive cooperative strategies are more likely to be pursued by firms that enter a VA close to its initiation, while symbolic cooperation is more likely behavior by late joiners. We show that late joiner…
The Drivers of Greenwashing
More and more firms are engaging in greenwashing, misleading consumers about their environmental performance or the environmental benefits of a product or service. The skyrocketing incidence of greenwashing can have profound negative effects on consumer and investor confidence in green products. Mitigating greenwashing is particularly challenging in a context of limited and uncertain regulation. This article examines the external (both institutio…
Governance for the Environment: New Perspectives
Environmental standards and labor productivity: Understanding the mechanisms that sustain sustainability
In the last decade, a rising number of firms have adopted voluntary international environmental management and product standards, such as the international ISO 14001 management standard or organic certification. Although emerging research analyzes the impact of these standards on environmental and financial performance, there is to our knowledge no empirical research on how they affect the productivity of employees. In this paper, we investigate …
Information strategies and energy conservation behavior: A meta-analysis of experimental studies from 1975 to 2012
Nonprice incentives and energy conservation
Significance We investigate the effectiveness of nonprice incentives to motivate conservation behavior. We test whether tailored information about environmental and health damages produces behavior change in the residential electricity sector. In a randomized controlled trial with real-time appliance-level energy metering over 8 mo, we find that environment and health-based information strategies outperform monetary savings information to drive e…
Dynamics of Environmental and Financial Performance: The Case of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
While corporate sustainability has been defined as an approach that creates long-term value with minimum environmental damage, there is still little understanding of the time horizon over which improved environmental performance leads to improved financial performance. We investigate the relationship between environmental and financial performance under increasing likelihood of environmental regulation. We leverage longitudinal data for 1,095 U.S…
Field Experiments in Corporate Sustainability Research: Testing Strategies for Behavior Change in Markets and Organizations
Experimental studies are a valuable tool to test effective strategies for encouraging sustainable behavior but have not been used much in corporate sustainability research. In this article, we describe the benefits and challenges of the randomized field experimental method for research in corporate sustainability. We draw on the examples of our own research in energy conservation behavior to illustrate some of the hurdles that need to be overcome…
Chapter 6. Scaling Up Solutions to State, National and Global Levels
Scaling-up solutions require learning and adapting lessons between locations and at different scales. To accomplish this, common metrics are vital to building a shared language. For California, this has meant careful financial, cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment methods leading to carbon accounting in many avenues of government (via the Low Carbon Fuel Standard or the Cap and Trade program). These methods themselves interact, such as the use o…
Understanding the Role of the Corporation in Sustainability Transitions
The state of the planet calls for large-scale sustainability transitions involving systemic adoption of markedly better environmental and social practices. The objective of this symposium is to better understand the role of corporations in promoting such systemic change. We present four case studies—representing diverse industries and change mechanisms—-to investigate corporate leadership in sustainability transitions. The cases examine a wide ra…
Engagement With Air Quality Information: Stated Versus Revealed Preferences
Air pollution has a significant impact on health but is often invisible to the naked eye. Real-time air quality information can help people take action to protect their health. However, little is known on how to most effectively frame air quality information to promote public health. We conducted a field experiment to study people’s engagement with real-time air quality information provided through a smartphone application (app). We tested 12 dif…
Sustainable practices and product quality: Is there value in eco-label certification? The case of wine
The Past and Future of Corporate Sustainability Research
Despite the skyrocketing of corporate sustainability research in management, environmental grand challenges like climate change, persist. Given firms’ pivotal role in either improving or worsening these challenges, it is important to consider how corporate sustainability research can affect the resolution of these challenges. Understanding the historical evolution of the cognitive structure of the field facilitates the forecasting of the likely f…
Can Climate Adaptation Be Sustainable
Climate impacts like heatwaves, droughts, and extreme storms increasingly force organizations to adapt. Many adaptation strategies are unsustainable: actions that protect firms today can deplete ecological resources, create new vulnerabilities, or shift risks onto other communities and future generations. We argue that adaptation becomes sustainable only when understood not as reactive adjustment but as organizational and institutional transforma…
Building on Sand? Third-Party Sustainability Measures in the Business Literature
Third-party sustainability measures, such as ESG scores and rankings, are central to research linking corporate sustainability and financial performance. However, these measures lack transparency and vary significantly across providers, raising reliability concerns. This systematic review of 82 business journal articles (1995–2024) assesses how scholars engage with and critically assess these measures. We distinguish two sources of uncertainty th…
Business (19 works) · Economics (15 works) · Environmental Sustainability in Business (15 works) · Political science (15 works) · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting (9 works) · Sustainability (8 works) · Management (7 works) · Politics (6 works) · Economic growth (5 works) · Engineering (5 works)