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The Recursive Production of Unlabeled Social Sustainability

Gerbers, Dvonia Roos Eleonora LU and Meinders, Carien LU (2026) BUSN49 20261
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
Social sustainability remains the least institutionalised pillar of the Triple Bottom Line. While organisations commit to people, planet and profit, the social dimension is consistently less visible and less reproduced in everyday practice than its environmental counterpart. This thesis examines how social sustainability is practised, recognised and reproduced in operational teams of a hospitality organisation, and under what conditions it moves from individual practice to institutionalised practice.
Drawing on Giddens' structuration theory, Self-Determination Theory and Communities of Practice, a qualitative single-case study was conducted at The Summer, a Dutch boutique hotel group, through twelve interviews, two observations and... (More)
Social sustainability remains the least institutionalised pillar of the Triple Bottom Line. While organisations commit to people, planet and profit, the social dimension is consistently less visible and less reproduced in everyday practice than its environmental counterpart. This thesis examines how social sustainability is practised, recognised and reproduced in operational teams of a hospitality organisation, and under what conditions it moves from individual practice to institutionalised practice.
Drawing on Giddens' structuration theory, Self-Determination Theory and Communities of Practice, a qualitative single-case study was conducted at The Summer, a Dutch boutique hotel group, through twelve interviews, two observations and internal ESG documentation.
The findings show that social sustainability is already practised at the operational level but travels without a name, leaving it dependent on intrinsically motivated individuals rather than on structures that persist independently. The study identifies a recursive dynamic between motivated practice, shared vocabulary and enabling structures as the mechanism through which social sustainability either becomes, or fails to become institutionalised. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Gerbers, Dvonia Roos Eleonora LU and Meinders, Carien LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
The Duality of Structure and the Institutionalisation of Social Sustainability in a growing hospitality company
course
BUSN49 20261
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Duality of structure, Structuration, Social Sustainability, hospitality operations, Triple Bottom Line
language
English
id
9240230
date added to LUP
2026-06-18 16:39:54
date last changed
2026-06-18 16:39:54
@misc{9240230,
  abstract     = {{Social sustainability remains the least institutionalised pillar of the Triple Bottom Line. While organisations commit to people, planet and profit, the social dimension is consistently less visible and less reproduced in everyday practice than its environmental counterpart. This thesis examines how social sustainability is practised, recognised and reproduced in operational teams of a hospitality organisation, and under what conditions it moves from individual practice to institutionalised practice.
Drawing on Giddens' structuration theory, Self-Determination Theory and Communities of Practice, a qualitative single-case study was conducted at The Summer, a Dutch boutique hotel group, through twelve interviews, two observations and internal ESG documentation.
The findings show that social sustainability is already practised at the operational level but travels without a name, leaving it dependent on intrinsically motivated individuals rather than on structures that persist independently. The study identifies a recursive dynamic between motivated practice, shared vocabulary and enabling structures as the mechanism through which social sustainability either becomes, or fails to become institutionalised.}},
  author       = {{Gerbers, Dvonia Roos Eleonora and Meinders, Carien}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Recursive Production of Unlabeled Social Sustainability}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}