Integrating ESG : Mapping Individual Responses to Conflicting Institutional Logics

Previous studies have called for more research into the human dimension of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. Drawing on formal interviews and informal conversations with 35 fund managers and investment analysts working in the city of Edinburgh, UK, this study explores how traditional investors have responded to the growth of ESG investing. We derive inductively six different positions which investors adopt: the Idealist, the Jaded Idealist, the Enthusiastic Mediator, the Tempered Mediator, the Moderniser and the Traditionalist. The paper contributes to the ESG investing literature by identifying and discussing these different positions; the main theoretical contribution is the study of micro-level processes as a means of understanding how conflicting institutional logics are accommodated in variegated individual practices