“Sustainability comes first”: an institutional entrepreneur enacting its principles to challenge a dominant norm

Institutional entrepreneurs abound in sustainability. Although the hybridity and balance of economic, social, and environmental goals have received scholarly attention, little is still known about how these institutional entrepreneurs approach the new norm where business organizations favor social and environmental sustainability over economic sustainability. The authors examined an established resource-constrained institutional entrepreneur and how that organization enacts a new norm in its attempt to challenge the dominant one. Drawing on data from a qualitative case study about an outdoor apparel retailer, it was examined how the business enacts the norm “sustainability comes first.” This norm is based on two principles: (1) challenge, which alludes to being different, and (2) candor, which alludes to being open. The authors deliver novel insights about how a business organization can prioritize social and environmental sustainability.