Applying Institutional Theory to Environmental Auditing: Empirical Evidence from Industrial Parks in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam

Abstract

This paper explores how environmental auditing contributes to sustainable industrial transformation in Vietnam, focusing on institutional change within industrial parks in Phu Tho Province. 1) Introduction with rationale: This study examines how environmental auditing shapes governance and sustainability performance in industrial parks in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, addressing the practical need to align provincial industrial growth with international Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) standards through an Institutional Theory lens. 2) Objectives: It clarifies why environmental auditing matters in developing contexts by specifying the policy and implementation gaps it can close-compliance deficits, weak coordination, and slow diffusion of EIP practices. 3) Methodology: A qualitative case study synthesizes documentary evidence and stakeholder insights from two state-led audits (2021, 2025), evaluating four dimensions (management, environmental, social, economic). 4) Results and Discussion: Auditing functions as both a coercive compliance instrument and a catalyst of institutional change: coercive pressures strengthened enforcement; normative pressures fostered inter-agency collaboration and stakeholder engagement; mimetic pressures accelerated convergence with international EIP practices. However, persistent weaknesses remain in transparency, infrastructure provisioning, and the internalization of sustainability values. 5) Conclusions: Environmental auditing can drive institutional transformation where regulatory capacity and coordination are uneven, offering actionable policy levers to integrate auditing with sustainable industrial governance and to operationalize EIP frameworks in similar developing regions.