Institutional ambiguity and its dimensions in anti-enslavement arena

Purpose This paper aims to examine how institutional ambiguity enables the persistence of contemporary enslavement. The authors analyze organizations engaged in eradicating slave labor as well as those resisting such efforts. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on interviews, shadowing and documentary analysis, the authors applied Constructivist Grounded Theory to develop a framework linking ambiguity and conflict, and their manifestations within, through, over and against organizations. Findings The findings show that institutional ambiguity not only legitimizes exploitative labor practices but also undermines efforts to combat them. Social implications By addressing the Decent Work and Economic Growth Sustainable Development Goal, this study contributes to organizational theory by demonstrating how ambiguity operates as power that shapes organizational responses to contested social issues and restructures institutional fields. Originality/value This paper derives its originality from being based on previously unexplored data regarding the “Dirty List” and from within an organization that managed the National Pact.