Challenging Institutional Path Dependence Through Field Configuring Events: Exploring the Collective Institutional Entrepreneurship of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative

ABSTRACT Research Question/Issue How can a global social movement, mobilized through a multi‐stakeholder initiative, promote the uptake of novel governance practices in distinct national institutional environments? Research Findings/Insights Using data from all 114 of the world's stock exchanges, covering over 99% of global stock market capitalization as of 2018, I find that exchanges in common‐law countries were more likely to become early partners of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSEI) after its launch in 2012. However, exchanges based in civil‐law countries experienced a higher likelihood (i.e., risk) of adoption, as measured by the hazard ratio, particularly during a series of sustained field‐configuring events (FCEs) promoted by the SSEI. Over time, this increased hazard ratio indicated a rising likelihood of adoption for civil‐law‐based exchanges, eventually surpassing that of their common‐law counterparts. Theoretical/Academic Implications While institutional environments' path dependency can facilitate or hinder the adoption of governance practices, collective institutional entrepreneurship (CIE) can moderate this path dependency and reveal new information regarding the structural fit between promoted governance practices and their institutional environments. Practitioner/Policy Implications The insights provided by this study can help practitioners understand why some practices face resistance in specific institutional environments, while others are more readily accepted. These insights also help practitioners communicate the elements of governance practices that implicitly align with the institutional environments in which they are seeking adoption.