Syfte: Det har tidigare forskats mycket på om och hur hållbarhet(CSR) och hållbarhetsredovisning påverkar det finansiella resultatet. Det har också gjorts några mindre studier på om det i nästa steg också påverkar investerare och aktievärdet hos ett företag. Dock har dessa studier varit på en mindre grupp företag samt att måtten på CSR har varierat från studie till studie. Vi anser att detta är ett ämne det går att forska mer på och då vi fick möjligheten att använda oss av Datastream gjorde det att vi kunde få ett betydligt större dataunderlag än tidigare studier. Metod: Denna studie utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi med en deduktiv ansats inom den kvantitativa forskningsmetoden. Vi har använt oss av en tvärsnittsdesign för att samla in sekundärdata som sedan har bearbetats genom korrelation och regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet SPSS. De värden vi använt oss av är Asset4 för att mäta hållbarhet samt totalt marknadsvärde. Dessa siffror är insamlade från Thomson och Reuters Datastream. Resultat och slutsats: Vår studie visar på att det inte finns någon nämnvärd korrelation mellan CSR (Asset4) och företagens marknadsvärde. Detta tror vi i huvudsak beror på att investerare fokuserar mer på finansiella resultat och företaget i helhet än specifikt CSR. Förslag till vidare forskning: Vi har använt oss av 2328 företag i Europa och USA vilket ger en väldigt stor datamängd. Det hade varit intressant att göra en studie på exempelvis de 100 bästa företagen inom CSR kontra de 100 med lägst betyg för att se om resultatet blir lika. Det vore även intressant att göra fortsatta studier inom detta efter att EU´s lag om hållbarhetsredovisning träder i kraft. Bidrag: Denna studie bidrar med en större studie på en större population än vad som tidigare genomförts. Vi använder också av det objektiva måttet på CSR, Asset4 vilket vi tidigare inte sett att någon annan använt i sin forskning. / Aim: It has previously been researched extensively on whether and how sustainability (CSR) and Sustainability rapports affect the financial results. There have also been some smaller studies on how it in the next step also affects investors and the market valueof a company. However, these studies have been on a smaller group of companies, and the dimensions of CSR have varied from study to study. We believe this is a subject that can be researched more and we got the opportunity to use Datastream which meant wecould get a much larger datasets than previous studies. Method: This study is based on a positivist research philosophy with a deductive approach of the quantitative research method. We have used a cross-sectional design to collect secondary data which is then processed by correlation and regression analyzes in SPSS. The values we use are Asset4 to measure sustainability and the total market value. This data is collected from Thomson and Reuters Datastream. Results and conclusion: Our study shows that there is no significant correlation between CSR (Asset4) and total market value of the company. We believe this is mainly because investors are focusing more on financial performance and the company as a whole than for CSR in specific. Suggestions for further research: We have used 2328 companies in Europe and the United States giving our study a very large data set. It would have been interesting to do a study on the 100 best companies in CSR versus the 100 with the lowest scores to see if the result is the same. It would also be interesting to do further studies in this area after EU's law on Sustainability comes in effect. Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes with a larger study on a larger population than previous studies. We also use the objective measurement of CSR, Asset4 which we have not seen that someone else has used in their research.

This thesis consists of three empirical studies investigating, from various perspectives, the corporate motivations to join one of the largest voluntary initiatives promoting sustainability: the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). I employ three different statistical techniques, logistic regression analysis, event history analysis and structural equation modelling. The first study provides evidence from a field experiment on shareholder engagement effectiveness in general and on which tactics are more effective in engaging publicly traded firms. The experiment consists of an invitation letter sent by the Principles for Responsible Investment Clearinghouse, one of the largest worldwide coalition of investors, to encourage companies to sign up the United Nations Global Compact. I use a theoretical model for investor salience in order to understand the impact of the engagement. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first large-scale research on engagement using randomized controlled trials in the academic literature and in practice. The aim of the second study is three fold. First, most academic literature focuses on how the adoption of the UNGC impacts on the implementation of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance; this study addresses how ESG performance shapes the CSR strategy, namely, the UNGC. Next, I explore to what extent the ESG performance of firms adopting the UNGC change over time. Finally, this paper investigates whether the existence of controversies is a determinant for joining the initiative. Results show that, in all cases, ESG performance is significant and positively related to the adoption of the Ten Principles. Furthermore, results show that ESG performance differs across different points in time. Contrary to my expectations, controversies have no influence on UNGC membership. The third and final study examines the effect of the characteristics of the board of directors on the adoption of the UNGC/GRI by US-based firms. I investigate whether and how a CSR oriented board chooses the UNGC/GRI as part of their firms reporting strategy. I also consider the level of environmental and social performance as a mediator for such a decision. Results show that there is a positive and significant relationship between the board and environmental and social performance, and between environmental and social performance and the adoption of voluntary CSR initiatives. This relationship is stronger for social performance and for the GRI. Overall, this thesis provides further evidence about motivations to join the UNGC. The outcomes of this thesis are of relevance for shareholders and investor coalitions, policy makers, and other groups of stakeholders. Theoretically, this thesis adds to the literature on shareholder engagement, strategy and corporate governance.

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