Comparative Institutional and Cultural Analysis of B Corp Certification in France and Japan

This thesis explores how institutional and cultural factors shape the adoption and meaning of B Corp certification across national contexts. The analysis divides the external environment into a two-level analytical framework. The first one is the Institutional-Policy Level, which integrates state regulations, corporate law, and economic governance; the second level is the Cultural-Cognitive one, encompassing social norms, shared beliefs, and indigenous philosophies of corporate purpose. The thesis applies this two-level comparative framework to France, a state-led market economy characterized by explicit, legally mandated mission governance (such as the entreprise à mission under the PACTE Law and the EU CSRD), and Japan, a relationally coordinated economy where corporate purpose is historically implicit and embedded in management philosophies like keiei rinen (deeply embedded values such as collective purpose, organisation loyalty, and long-term responsibility toward stakeholders) and sanpo-yoshi (commercial transaction must benefit the seller, the buyer, and society at large). Using an exploratory, qualitative multiple-case design, this research examines four companies (Back Market, Swile, Life is Tech!, and Fabric) to analyse how institutional and cultural forces shape B Corp adoption and operational scaling. Ultimately, this thesis contributes a cumulative cross-national perspective to the comparative capitalism and B Corp diffusion literature, illustrating how globally standardized sustainability frameworks undergo local translation as they navigate diverse national frameworks. The findings suggest that B Corp certification performs different functions across national context. In France, certification appears closely linked to regulatory legitimacy, public procurement opportunities, and the demand for explicit accountability. In Japan, certification seems to serve as a mechanism for translating stakeholder-oriented philosophies into an internationally recognised governance framework and for aligning with global ESG expectations. The study further indicates that institutional and cultural influences operate simultaneously, shaping both the motivations for certification and its organisational meaning.