Recently there has been a broad discussion with regards to Corporate Social Responsibility, its general purpose, and how it is publicly disclosed. The responsibilities for the engagement in CSR activities have been primarily vested with the CEO of organizations. Previous studies suggested an existing link between CEO’s CSR Engagement and TBL Performance. The dissertation aimed to explore the relationship between the CEO’s CSR Engagement and TBL Performance and to investigate the role of a decentralized organizational structure in this relation. A quantitative research approach in the form of archival data was carried out to measure CEO CSR Engagement and Decentralization of the 50 largest German stock-listed corporations by analyzing annual financial reports. Also, to measure total TBL Performance, media disclosure of the 50 largest German stock-listed corporations in the German newspaper Handelsblatt was analyzed. The results of the study showed that increased levels of the aspect Stakeholder Responsibility (a component of CEO CSR Engagement) positively impacted TBL Performance. Also, the study results indicated that a low level of Decentralization positively moderated the relationship between the aspect External Risk and Engagement (a component of CEO CSR Engagement) and TBL Performance. The dissertation extends already existing CEO leadership literature and measures organizational sustainability performance based on the concept of the Triple Bottom Line. Also, the application of organizational structure of Decentralization as a moderator between CEO CSR Engagement and TBL Performance contributes to already existing literature. By applying factor analysis to the CEO CSR related aspects to objectify the gathered data, this dissertation contributes methodologically.

<p>  </p> <p>Prior research assumes that employees have positive attitudes toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) and are affected positively by their organization’s CSR practices. However, given the sometimes controversial and paradoxical nature of CSR, assuming purely positive attitudes may be overly simplistic. To challenge this assumption, I examine CSR attitudes to illuminate various views employees may hold toward CSR. To do so, I first develop measures of CSR Attitudes that includes four subscales to assess the extent to which employees hold positive, negative, ambivalent, or indifferent attitudes toward CSR. Next, drawing on social information processing theory, I examine subjective (ethical climate perceptions and CSR attributions) and objective (CSR messages) social information antecedents to employee CSR attitudes. Further, I examine behavioral (physical withdrawal, in-role and extra-role CSR performance, and helping behaviors) and cognitive (psychological withdrawal, volunteering intent, and perspective taking) responses to CSR attitudes. I also consider two relevant individual differences that affect these pathways. To test my hypotheses, I conducted an experimental vignette study to test the relationship between subjective and objective social information antecedents and the full range of CSR attitudes. Additionally, I conducted a field study to test the full model presented in this dissertation. Results demonstrate mixed support for hypotheses. However, strong support was found for the positive effect of values-driven CSR attributions on employee positive CSR attitudes. Further, positive CSR attitudes were found to relate to the prosocial behaviors of extra-role CSR behaviors and volunteering intent. Lastly, CSR ambivalence related to both positive and negative employee outcomes, demonstrating that CSR ambivalence may be more complicated than extant ambivalence research would suggest.</p>

Abstract Date:  31 May 2023 Level: Bachelor theses in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Aliza Butt (020130), Muhammad Abdul Rehman (001115) Title: Social Responsibility Engagement At Times Of  Crisis  Supervisor: Dr Stylianos Papaioannou Keywords: CSR, CSR Engagement, Market crisis, Impact, Ethical, Philanthropic  Research Questions: How are CSR engagements of companies impacted in times of market crisis? Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to conduct an analysis of how CSR engagements within companies are impacted by a market crisis. The main objective will be to ensure there is enough data which will fulfill this purpose of the study.  Method: The study’s method approach is a qualitative approach in which there have been interviews conducted to gather primary data. After gathering the empirical data the authors used thematic analysis to analyze the data accordingly. The themes were made up from coding the data and finding similar patterns. Ethical considerations were of importance due to there being different respondents within the research, their choice to remain anonymous was considered, which is why the interviewees are anonymized in the research study. To ensure the highest quality of the study, the researchers ensured they collected and presented reliable and valid data, for the reader to read a trustworthy and interesting study.  Conclusion: Overall, companies tend to prioritize their CSR engagements, even during times of crisis, to maintain their reputation and contribute to society. But companies look to find new ways of engaging in CSR and continue their efforts but they prioritize their economic responsibility, which made them change focus on some aspects regarding their engagements. The focus was found to be shifted even though the CSR engagements were continued mostly. The most obvious impact was that prioritization of companies changed from the crisis, and reduced new CSR engagements by companies was a consequence.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to generate a broader understanding of how and why SMEs works with CSR activities. Method – The methodological choice for this thesis is based on a qualitative research approach. A case study is conducted at one Swedish SME, and the data is primarily collected through an interview with two respondents from the case company who have active roles within the CSR plan. A document study was used as a complement source of data to strengthen the data collected from the interview. Findings – The findings indicated that it can be preferable that an SME’s owner-manager champions the implementation of CSR activities. It is also evident that the reasons behind CSR engagement are dependent on the owner-manager ability to see the organizational benefits generated through the implementation of CSR activities. The research also finds that SMEs tend to lack a clear strategy when it comes to CSR implementation, which is performed on a more ad hoc basis as SMEs typically do not have the resources for deliberate ’strategizing’. Limitations – The research has investigated how a manufacturing SME works with CSR beyond requirements from law and regulations, as well as receive a better understanding of what motivates them to implement CSR activities. Moreover, this research project has not included participant observations as the circumstances made them impossible to perform. Keywords - Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Small- to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), CSR Activities, Managerial Values, Manufacturing, CSR Engagement.

Bakgrund &amp; problem: CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, är sedan länge ett väl utforskat område, både i Sverige och internationellt, där många tidigare studier behandlar dess koppling till finansiell prestation, framförallt inom stora företag. Ett område som är relativt outforskat är CSR inom idrottsvärlden och vidare inom fotboll, framförallt ur en svensk kontext. I vilken utsträckning engagerar sig svenska fotbollsföreningar i CSR-relaterade aktiviteter och vilken effekt har det för deras prestation? Syfte: Syftet med studien är att testa och förklara CSR-engagemangs påverkan på svenska fotbollsföreningars HR- och sociala prestation samt om organisationsstruktur i termer av formaliserings-, centraliserings- och komplexitetsgrad påverkar detta samband. Vidare är det praktiska syftet att bidra med vägledning för hur svenska fotbollsföreningar kan arbeta med CSR-engagemang för att uppnå en högre prestation. Avsikten är att belysa och förklara kopplingarna mellan CSR-engagemang, prestation och organisationsstruktur och på så sätt fylla det gap som existerar inom forskningsområdet. Metod: Studien utgår från en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv forskningsansats och tvärsnittsdesign. Insamlande av data har skett genom utskick av en enkät och studiens urval består av 223 fotbollsföreningar från Allsvenskan till Division 2. Slutsatser: Studiens resultat visar tydligt att CSR-engagemang påverkar såväl HR- som social prestation positivt inom svenska fotbollsföreningar. Vidare tyder resultatet på att organisationsstruktur i termer av formaliserings- och centraliseringsgrad samt komplexitet hierarki inte påverkar detta samband. Däremot finns det, trots viss osäkerhet i resultaten, en påverkan av komplexitet socialt kapital i relationen mellan CSR-engagemang och HR- prestation. / Background &amp; problem: CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, is since long ago a well explored area, both in Sweden and internationally, where many previous studies deal with the connection to financial performance, especially in large companies. An area which is relatively unexplored is CSR within the sports industry and further on within football, especially from a swedish context. To which extent do swedish football clubs engage in CSR-related activities and what effect does it have on their performance? Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to test and explain the impact of CSR-engagement onswedish football clubs’ HR- and social performance and if organizational structure in terms of formalization, centralization and complexity affects this relationship. Furthermore, the practical purpose is to contribute with guidance on how swedish football clubs can work with CSR- engagement in order to accomplish a higher performance. The intent is to highlight and explain the connections between CSR-engagement, performance and organizational structure and thus fill the gap that exists within the research area. Method: The thesis is based on a quantitative research strategy with a deductive research approach and cross-sectional design. Data collection has been done by sending out a survey and the selection of the thesis consists of 223 football clubs from Allsvenskan to Division 2. Conclusions: The result of the study clearly shows that CSR-engagement positively affects both HR- and social performance in Swedish football clubs. Furthermore, the result indicates that organizational structure in terms of formalization, centralization and complexity hierarchy does not affect this relationship. However, despite some uncertainty in the results, there is an impact of complexity social capital in the relationship between CSR-engagement and HR- performance.