Many voluntary sustainability standards govern opaque environmental and social issues, which are difficult to understand and address. Extant studies show mixed evidence around the effectiveness of such standards. We develop a theoretical framework that relates different degrees and types of opacity to standard effectiveness. Systemic opacity results from issues embedded in complex, diverse, and dynamic settings, whereas behavioral opacity stems from human challenges in interpreting and acting upon focal issues. Rigid sustainability standards, oriented toward compliance, are effective for addressing issues that are transparent or enshrouded by behavioral opacity, but are counterproductive for issues with systemic opacity. The trade-off between rigidity and flexibility leads to optimal effectiveness when standards governing systemically and behaviorally opaque issues are moderately rigid. Our ideas are illustrated with two leading sustainability standards in the fisheries and real estate sectors, which effectively address transparent issues but show limited success when facing opacity. We conclude that unpacking issue opacity is instrumental in designing and implementing more effective sustainability standards.

中文翻译：

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问题不透明度和可持续性标准有效性

许多自愿性可持续发展标准管理着不透明的环境和社会问题，这些问题难以理解和解决。现有研究显示这些标准的有效性的证据不一。我们开发了一个理论框架，将不同程度和类型的不透明度与标准有效性联系起来。系统性不透明源于复杂、多样和动态环境中嵌入的问题，而行为不透明则源于人类在解释和处理焦点问题时面临的挑战。以合规为导向的严格的可持续发展标准对于解决透明或行为不透明的问题是有效的，但对于系统性不透明的问题却适得其反。当管理系统性和行为不透明问题的标准适度严格时，刚性和灵活性之间的权衡会带来最佳效果。我们的想法通过渔业和房地产领域的两项领先的可持续发展标准得到体现，这些标准有效地解决了透明问题，但在面对不透明问题时却收效甚微。我们的结论是，揭开问题的不透明性有助于设计和实施更有效的可持续发展标准。