The institutional design of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) has been recognized as an important determinant of compliance with VSS rules, which partly explains heterogeneity in VSS sustainability impacts. However, the current understanding of how VSS institutional design generates compliance is scattered and lacks systematic operationalization. This paper brings together different strands of literature and identifies three main mechanisms through which VSS institutional design can generate compliance: enforcement, market incentives, and capacity-building. We propose an integrated analytic framework that operationalizes these mechanisms into specific, identifiable design attributes. We apply it in an empirical analysis of 13 agrifood and forestry VSS to assess the extent to which these mechanisms are used in VSS institutional design. While enforcement appears necessary for VSS to operate, we find heterogeneity in how these mechanisms are used and combine, which is partly explained by contextual factors. This provides avenues for analyzing their respective effectiveness in generating compliance.

中文翻译：

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通过制度设计促进对自愿性可持续性标准的遵守：分析框架和实证应用


自愿可持续性标准 （VSS） 的制度设计已被认为是遵守 VSS 规则的重要决定因素，这在一定程度上解释了 VSS 可持续性影响的异质性。然而，目前对 VSS 机构设计如何产生合规性的理解是分散的，并且缺乏系统的可操作化。本文汇集了不同的文献，并确定了 VSS 制度设计可以产生合规性的三种主要机制：执行、市场激励和能力建设。我们提出了一个集成的分析框架，将这些机制操作成特定的、可识别的设计属性。我们将其应用于对 13 个农业食品和林业 VSS 的实证分析，以评估这些机制在 VSS 制度设计中的应用程度。虽然执行似乎是 VSS 运行所必需的，但我们发现这些机制的使用和组合方式存在异质性，这在一定程度上是由上下文因素解释的。这为分析它们各自在产生合规性方面的有效性提供了途径。