External and internal decoupling: how performance evaluation shapes environmental responsibility_data

This dataset was used for LDA topic modeling in a study examining why South Korean state-owned energy companies continue to present activities with uncertain environmental benefits as evidence of their environmental responsibility. It includes a data file that has been cleaned for the purposes of the study’s analysis. Based on institutional theory and the concept of decoupling, this study demonstrates that performance evaluation acts as an internalized rule that determines which activities are presented externally as environmental performance. This provides insights for the design of an evaluation-based system of accountability that can distinguish between evidence of activity implementation and evidence of actual environmental improvement.