Elucidating the Paradox of Regulating Environmental Sustainability (Mis)management and Motivations: The Case of Thai Fisheries

This article introduces and elucidates a new sustainability management paradox by examining the difficulties of applying the European Union’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing regulations in Thai waters. Interviews were conducted with key stakeholders of Thailand’s fishery sector to explore the particularities of the area. Configuration theory—from a strategic management perspective—was used to guide empirical research and extend it to the context of environmental regulation. The research finds that when it makes more business sense for stakeholders to engage in sustainability matters, more explicit engagement might take place of the wrong type, but the true sustainability objectives become performed more poorly and mismanaged, perhaps resulting in a worse-off position than started with. This is because regulation is astute at setting targets, but ineffective at engaging with key stakeholders. A composite model of how configuration theory fits within discussions of sustainability motivations is posited as the theoretical contribution to knowledge.