An Original Investigation of the Institutional Logics of Sustainable Business Practice Adoption in the Nigerian Private Sector

Sustainable business practice adoption in the Nigerian private sector is shaped by competing institutional logics, and an original investigation of how organisations navigate these logics provides a theoretically rich contribution to sustainability management scholarship in the developing world context. This study investigates the institutional logics governing sustainable business practice adoption in Nigerian private sector organisations, drawing on institutional logics theory, stakeholder theory, and legitimacy theory to develop an original Contested Sustainability Logics Model for the Nigerian business environment. The model identifies four competing logics: the Regulatory Compliance Logic (responding to NESREA and SEC requirements), the Market Legitimacy Logic (responding to investor and customer sustainability expectations), the Community Accountability Logic (responding to host community sustainability demands, particularly in the Niger Delta), and the Islamic Sustainability Logic (responding to Shariah-compatible sustainability principles in Northern Nigeria). A qualitative comparative case study methodology was adopted, with 30 Nigerian companies selected across sectors and geopolitical zones representing varying positions on a sustainability practice adoption spectrum. Data from 150 executive interviews, 200 employee questionnaires, documentary analysis, and ethnographic site observations over 24 months provided empirical material for framework development and testing. Qualitative Comparative Analysis using fuzzy set methods identified the necessary and sufficient combinations of logic combinations associated with high sustainability practice adoption. Results show that Community Accountability Logic combined with Market Legitimacy Logic is the strongest driver of genuine (vs. performative) sustainability practice adoption in South South and South West companies. Regulatory Compliance Logic alone predicts performative adoption. The study produces original theoretical and empirical contributions to sustainability management in the Nigerian institutional context.

Keywords: institutional logics, sustainable business practices, Nigeria, legitimacy theory, qualitative comparative analysis