Izabela Jędrzejowska-Schiffauer

Faculty of Law and Administration, Adam Mickiewicz University,

Poznań, Poland

izabela.schiffauer@amu.edu.pl

ORCID 0000-0002-2189-5144

Beyond tick-box compliance: The procedural-substantive gap in human rights due diligence

Jarl K. Kampen

Biometris, Wageningen University and Research Centre,

The Netherlands

jarl.kampen@wur.nl

ORCID 0000-0002-2213-4777

Łukasz Szoszkiewicz

Faculty of Law and Administration, Adam Mickiewicz University, 

Poznań, Poland

l.szoszkiewicz@amu.edu.pl

ORCID 0000-0001-6671-2893

Abstract. This paper examines the implementation of human rights due diligence (HRDD) by business enterprises, drawing on unique survey data from 120 companies operating in Poland. Applying empirical and normative lenses, we test institutional theory assumptions underlying the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Our findings reveal a troubling disconnect between business performance on procedural and substantive HRDD. While institutional factors such as size, listing status, and UN Global Compact membership predict endorsement of procedural HRDD measures, the latter fail to ensure proportionate responses to human rights and environmental impacts. Moreover, companies in high-risk sectors do not show proportionately higher diligence, suggesting a fundamental misalignment between UNGPs framework and organizational practice. By integrating procedural and substantive dimensions of HRDD, we challenge the dominant managerial approaches to HRDD and expose how they create a false sense of compliance, while failing to address the underlying social and governance problems.

Received: August, 2025

1st Revision: April, 2026

Accepted: June, 2026

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2026/19-2/1

JEL Classification: D01, D22, K31, K32, K38

Keywords: human rights due diligence, Poland, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, proportionality, corporate governance