This article explores differences in the degrees of agreement regarding sustainability among adopters and nonadopters of environmental certified management standards (ECMS). Utilizing a mixed methodological approach called cultural consensus modeling, I investigate whether and how the adoption of ECMS is associated with how organizations understand the broad and imprecise concept of sustainability. I find that organizations with an ECMS have higher average cultural competencies regarding shared meanings of sustainability. Furthermore, the highest average cultural competencies surrounding meanings of sustainability are held by those organizations that have adopted an ECMS program that provides a high level of detail in practice descriptions, sets demanding objectives to achieve, and tailors practices specifically for the wine industry. Adoption of such ECMS programs is associated with nuanced patterns in organizations’ understandings of sustainability, aligning meanings and practices surrounding the otherwise imprecise issue of sustainability.
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