Abstract Seventy percent of small and medium-sized U.S. companies experience negative performance because of leaders' lack of knowledge of corporate social responsibility (CSR) program implementation. CSR implementation is complex and requires organizational resources such as expertise, personnel, time, and money. Implementing CSR programs is challenging for many leaders. Research on CSR implementation in the U.S. financial services industry is scarce, and leaders of financial services firms do not have a clear understanding of how to make CSR implementation successful. The purpose of this study was to explore optimal strategies for making corporate social responsibility program implementation effective. The central research question that drove this study was determining how leaders can make CSR program implementation effective. Data collected from a purposeful sample of 10 face-to-face interviews, direct observations, and document review were coded and analyzed. One of the emergent themes suggests that leaders lack the knowledge to understand how CSR activities contribute to a better world. The lack of knowledge for successful CSR implementation causes 60% of leaders to treat CSR programs as side projects. Another theme for successful CSR programs was the leaders' commitment to transparency. Without trust, leaders cannot align stakeholders' interests with CSR activities. Implications for positive social change included opportunities for leaders to define key CSR stakeholders, establish CSR goals, and select CSR activities to meet the CSR goals. This could lead some leaders to gain the knowledge of how to integrate CSR into their firms' daily operations.

Researchers and companies are paying increasing attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and the reaction to them by consumers. Despite such corporate efforts and an expanding literature exploring consumers' response to CSR, it remains unclear how consumers perceive CSR and which "Gestalt" consumers have in mind when considering CSR. Academics and managers lack a tool for measuring consumers' perceptions of CSR (CPCSR). This research explores CPCSR and develops a measurement model. Based on qualitative data from interviews with managers and consumers, the authors develop a conceptualization of CPCSR. Subsequently, model testing and validating occurs on three large quantitative data sets. The conceptualization and the measurement scale can assist companies to assess CPCSR relative to their performance. They also enable managers in identifying shortcomings in CSR engagement and/or communication. Finally, the paper discusses implications for marketing practice and future research.

The rapid increase of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has led to a large numbers of programs that have failed to meet the expectations of stakeholders (McShane & Cunningham 2012). The reason being that stakeholders are becoming more sceptical about firms true purpose for engaging in CSR activities (Arendt & Brettel 2010). It may fuel worries that firms are acting in self-interest and trying to look good instead of doing good and not acting in line with the communicated CSR (Porter and Kramer 2011). Despite this downside, a well-executed CSR can lead to an increased company attractiveness and stakeholder identification. CSR is acknowledged as one of the most important tools for companies to use for creating corporate reputation (Arendt and Brettel 2010). This thesis wants to understand and evaluate the development of CSR, given that organizations must continuously look at both the tensions between profit seeking and the conflicting demands from different stakeholder groups. Authenticity can be seen as an appropriate view or perspective since stakeholders want to know if the communicated CSR is a reflection of the organization’s true self (Harvey et al. 2006). The aim of this study is to investigate CSR as a marketing practice and to explore how authenticity is constructed in relation to internal CSR communication. By answering this aim, there will be an enhanced understanding of how authenticity can be constructed and how CSR can be communicated within organizations. A qualitative approach has been conducted for this thesis. The primary data has been collected from semi-structured interviews at Grant Thornton and the interviews consisted of eight respondents with different positions in the company. Five mechanisms have been developed, showing how the work of constructing CSR is carried out, as well as how Grant Thornton integrate CSR into the organisation. Furthermore, three features have been developed showing how authenticity can be created within organizations. / Corporate social responsibility (CSR) har ökat kraftigt bland organisationer vilket har lett till ett stort antal CSR program som inte kunnat uppfylla intressenternas förväntningar (McShane & Cunningham 2012). Anledningen är att intressenterna blir allt mer skeptiska gällande vilket organisationers verkliga syfte är till att driva CSR program (Arendt & Brettel 2010). Intressenternas skepticism grundas i att företag kan välja att agera i eget intresse för att skapa en förbättrad image istället för ren välvilja. Därmed agerar inte företagen i linje med deras kommunicerade CSR (Porter & Kramer 2011). Däremot kan en välutvecklad CSR öka attraktionskraften och skapa samhörighet mellan organisationen och intressenterna. CSR har därför blivit erkänt som ett av de viktigaste verktygen för företag att använda för att förbättra företagens image (Arendt & Brettel 2010). Den här uppsatsen ämnar att skapa en förståelse för utvecklingen av CSR eftersom organisationer måste kontinuerligt välja mellan att följa vinstdrivande initiativ eller följa krav från olika intressentgrupper. För att avgöra om den CSR som kommuniceras är i linje med vad organisationer utger sig för att vara, kan autenticitet ses som ett lämpligt verktyg att utgå från (Harvey et al. 2007). Syftet med studien är att undersöka CSR ur ett marknadsföringsperspektiv samt hur autenticitet kan konstrueras inom intern CSR kommunikation. Genom att undersöka syftet kommer teori att skapas för att visa hur autenticitet kan alstras i intern CSR kommunikation samt hur CSR kan kommuniceras inom organisationer. Ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt har använts. Primär data har samlats in med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer som utfördes på företaget Grant Thornton. Respondenterna bestod av åtta individer med anställning på olika positioner inom företaget. Fem mekanismer har kunnat påvisas som beskriver hur företag kan arbeta med att integrera CSR i organisationen. Tre funktioner har också utvecklats som påvisar hur autenticitet kan skapas inom organisationer i samband med CSR.