Invisible barriers to success decoupling risk and structural variation in international accountability standards

International Accountability Standards have become the primary instruments for supporting firms in becoming more accountable in terms of their sustainability performance. However, there is evidence suggesting that firms who adopt such standards, frequently fail to achieve compliance. Rather, the formal policies prescribed by these standards tend to be decoupled from daily practice. Such decoupling may lead to situations where standards are not effectively implemented or regularly violated. The purpose of this study is to comparatively assess the risk of decoupling across a sample of 50 well-known standards. We find that certain types of standards are more prone than others to being decoupled. Furthermore, we identify three main components explaining the relative differences between standards with regard to decoupling risk, notably comparability, measurability and implementability. We conclude by contextualising our findings and elaborating on their implications for the quality and effectiveness of International Accountability Standards.