Coercive vs. Decoupling Responses: A Comparative Analysis of How Emerging Economy Oil Majors and Western Supermajors Navigated Stakeholder Pressures in Sustainable Supply Chain Integration

• Abi cit

  Lautech

  Author

The global oil and gas industry faces intensifying stakeholder pressures to integrate sustainability into supply chain operations, yet organizational responses vary significantly between Western supermajors and emerging economy national oil companies. This study conducts a comparative analysis of how these distinct categories of firms navigate coercive, normative, and mimetic institutional pressures in sustainable supply chain integration. Employing a mixed-method research design combining qualitative content analysis of 15 major oil companies' sustainability reports (2016-2025) with quantitative analysis of supply chain performance metrics, the research examines response patterns across 10-year longitudinal data. Findings reveal that Western supermajors predominantly adopt decoupling responses—symbolic policy adoption with substantive implementation gaps—while emerging economy oil majors demonstrate coercive compliance driven by regulatory enforcement and state ownership structures. Quantitative analysis indicates that coercive pressure responsiveness correlates with 78.3% higher supply chain sustainability compliance rates compared to mimetic-driven approaches (p<0.01). The study contributes to institutional theory by identifying contingent factors that determine whether firms engage in substantive integration versus symbolic decoupling. Practical implications include recommendations for stakeholder engagement strategies and regulatory framework design tailored to firm-specific institutional contexts.

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