Of Mimicry and Use in Sustainability Reporting: A Multi‐Method Analysis of ISSB Adoption Intention in Morocco

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines ISSB sustainability reporting standards adoption intention in Morocco by addressing a central theoretical problem: why similar institutional pressures lead to heterogeneous adoption outcomes. We argue that external pressures translate into adoption intention primarily when they are cognitively internalised by organisational actors through perceived usefulness and feasibility. Using data from 335 Moroccan accounting professionals, the study tests a multi‐level behavioural model linking mimetic and normative pressures to individual adoption intention through perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). A multi‐method design combining Covariance‐Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB‐SEM), Generalized Structured Component Analysis (GSCA), Multi‐Group Analysis (MGA), Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and machine learning models (Random Forest and XGBoost supported by SHAP values) is employed. Results show that institutional pressures significantly influence individual adoption intention, but primarily through PU and PEOU. Importantly, PEOU emerges as a necessary condition, indicating that a minimum threshold of perceived feasibility is required before individual accounting professionals express an intention to adopt ISSB standards. PU is the strongest predictor but not indispensable. The study contributes by demonstrating that heterogeneous adoption intentions are not driven by institutional pressures alone, but by the way these pressures are cognitively interpreted and evaluated by individual accounting professionals, offering a more precise explanation of variability in ISSB adoption intention in emerging economies.