Företags samhällsansvar (Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR) är ett väl debatterat begrepp som uppmärksammats allt mer i bland annat media, men även av företag. Däremot är begreppet konsumenters samhällsansvar inte lika uppmärksammat trots att det finns en interaktion mellan konsumenters- och företags samhällsansvar. Forskare framhåller att det finns bristfälligt med teorier om konsumenters samhällsansvar samt att definitionen är viktig för att fortsätta driva CSR-debatten, vilket gör ämnet relevant att studera. Studien syfte är att med utgångspunkt i samhällsansvarsmodeller på företagsnivå, utveckla en definition och en tentativ samhällsansvarsmodell på konsumentnivå. Slutsatsen baseras på en kvalitativ undersökning utifrån 15 intervjuer samt teorier som behandlar definitioner och modeller om samhällsansvar. De ansvarsområden som identifierats och illustreras i KSA-modellen, konsumentens samhällsansvarsmodell, är det legala ansvaret som är tvingande och de två frivilliga områdena socialt ansvar och miljöansvar. Dessa tre områden består av en etisk grund och ett hållbart tidsperspektiv. Det sociala ansvaret och miljöansvaret består även av två underkategorier, ekonomi som visar förutsättningarna för att ta samhällsansvar och filantropi som visar på hur de två ansvarsområdena kan tas. De ansvarsområden som illustreras i KSA-modellen har framtagits med hjälp av konsumenters faktorer och motiv till att ta samhällsansvar. De faktorer som har identifierats är kunskapsfaktorn, hälsofaktorn, omsorgsfaktorn, tvingande faktorn, ”ta-ställningsfaktorn”, certifieringsfaktorn, självkänslofaktorn, empatifaktorn och inkomstfaktorn. / Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, is a concept that is gaining more attention in the media as well as by companies. However, the consumer social responsibility has not gained the same attention, even though there exists an interaction between the corporate social responsibility and the consumer social responsibility. Researchers emphasize that there is a shortage of theories on consumer social responsibility, and that there is a need for a definition to drive the CSR debate. The purpose of this thesis report is to define such a definition as well as define a tentative social responsibility model on a consumer level, based on models for social responsibility on a corporate level. The conclusion is based on 15 interviews as well as theories, definitions and models of social responsibility. The areas of responsibilities that have been identified and that are illustrated by our CNSR (consumer social responsibility) model are the enforcing legal responsibility and the two voluntary social responsibility and environmental responsibility. These three areas of responsibility consist of an ethical foundation as well as dimension of sustainability. The social and environmental responsibilities further consist of an economical aspect that show the conditions to take responsibility and philanthropic aspect that show how these responsibilities can be taken. The areas of responsibility in the KSA model have been derived from consumer factors and motives for taking a social responsibility. The factors that have been identified are knowledge factor, health factor, care factor, enforcement factor, "take-a-stand"-factor, certification factor, self-esteem factor, empathy factor and income factor.

Στην μελέτη αυτή εξετάζονται μία σειρά από συναφή ζητήματα τα οποία συνδέονται άρρηκτα μεταξύ τους: Α) Πως μετριούνται οι κοινωνικές επιδόσεις των εταιρειών; Β) Ποιες συνέπειες μπορεί να έχει μία καλή κοινωνικώς απόδοση; Γ) Ποιες σχέσεις τεκμηριώνονται εμπειρικώς ανάμεσα στην απόδοση σε κοινωνικούς όρους και στην απόδοση σε οικονομικούς όρους. Δ) Είναι εφικτό ένα κοινωνικό συμβόλαιο μεταξύ επιχειρήσεων και κοινωνίας; Ποια μορφή μπορεί αυτό να πάρει; Ε) Τι ρόλους καλείται να παίξει και πως η Κοινωνική Λογιστική των Εταιρειών; Ποια επιμέρους είδη Κοινωνικής Λογιστικής έχουν αναπτυχθεί και ποιες σκοπιμότητες-χρησιμότητες υπηρετούν; ΣΤ) Τι εννοείτε ως ηθική συμπεριφορά στον Τραπεζικό τομέα; Ζ) Case-Study: «Η Alpha Bank» / In this study i examine, throw desk research, a series of related issuew which are closely connected: A) How the Corporate Social Performance is measured? B) What consequences can have a socially good performance? C) Which relationships are empirically documented between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance? D) Is it feasible a social Contract between corporation and society? E) Which roles has been called the Micro-Social Accounting to play? What kinds of Micro-Social Accounting have been developed and which scope does each serve? F) What do we mean as ethical behaviour in banking sector? G) Case-Study: “Alpha Credit Bank”

Following the increase of transnational organisations, global governance today is mainly relying on voluntary standards. One standard is the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This motivates a need to understand how such an idea unfolds within organisations and what impact global CSR standards have, leading to the research question: How are CSR standards deriving from global ideas translated into organisations and influencing sustainability activities? Based on a literature review of Scandinavian institutionalism, soft rules and standards, CSR, traveling of ideas, translation, identity and image, decoupling and aspirational talk, five assumptions were formulated as to what implications the standard might have. These are examined qualitatively through multiple case studies in the Swedish food industry using semi-structured interviews and examining CSR reports. The analysis find partial support for all assumptions. Main findings include the use of the 2030 Agenda mainly as a communication tool, constituting a common sustainability language and a platform for collaborations. The standard is thus interpreted as being symbolically translated. This open up possibilities for future research regarding the translation of standards and the implications of an facilitated way of framing sustainability work, adding the concept of symbolic translation to translation theory.

Background: Existing literature suggests research about sustainability and Small- and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to be limited. SMEs tend to have less resources than large companies and as a result of this sustainability integration may be challenging. Despite these resource restrictions, some SMEs still succeed in integrating sustainability. Some literature suggests that organisational culture could influence the integration of sustainability. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how organisational culture attributes influence the integration of sustainability in Swedish SMEs. Method: To fulfil the purpose of this thesis, a multiple case study consisting of six SMEs in the Jönköping region is performed. Qualitative semi-structured interviews are conducted with the manager and/or head of sustainability. Furthermore, structured interviews are conducted with managers and employees, in an attempt to gain insights into the values and cultural attributes of the organisational culture of the SME.   Main Findings: The results reveal that an organisational culture which emphasises internal relationships, stability and goal-setting and planning seem to facilitate the integration of sustainability. SMEs with the attribute of valuing internal relationships are aided in the integration of sustainability through the existence of tightly knit groups that work together toward the long-term goal of integrating sustainability. The positive influence of stability stems from the fact that the attribute provides structure, economic stability, and a stable employee base. A high focus on goal-setting and planning may enable the integration of sustainability through providing clear missions and objectives which the company strives toward.  Managerial Implications: This study urges three implications for managers of SMEs; 1. It provide managers with some understanding of how their organisational culture may affect sustainability integration. 2. It provide insight into the challenges companies may face as the result of lacking certain cultural attributes. 3.  It provide indications of which attributes that could be beneficial to develop or incorporate into the organisational culture in order to aid the integration of sustainability.

Some retail companies have been facing boycotts and negative criticism due to their association with sweatshop practices and human rights scandals. In order to deal with such criticism, it has become common for these garment sector businesses to implement corporate responsibility projects in countries in which their independent suppliers are located. These projects fall within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, more specifically on how the private sector can contribute to the achievement of the 8th goal, which is related to decent work and economic growth. In this sense, this work analyzes how the understanding of problems related to work processes influence the design and outcome of an initiative partially implemented by the private sector. A project implemented in Cambodia by H&M, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) was used as case study.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) offer a framework to shed a new light on whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance enhances corporate financial performance (CFP). Using ASSET4 data as a measurement of CSR performance in a sample of worldwide deals for the period 2004-2017, I find evidence that the environmental performance of target firms enhances acquirers’ shareholder wealth. No influence is found for different value implications in different institutional contexts. Additionally, shareholders reward (disvalue) acquirers even stronger if the target is outperforming (underperforming) the acquirer in environmental performance. These findings suggest that shareholders reward the acquirer for making environmental investments and support the stakeholder view, which indicates that fulfilling stakeholder interests can be combined with shareholder wealth creation.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has received growing attention, both in academic and corporate area. Companies often define their approach to CSR in different views, being influenced by different factors at the regional, industrial and national levels. This study aimed to identify how the largest companies in Latin America are presented by terms of CSR, and is justified by the fact that, despite the increasing pressure on companies to develop an active role in promoting well-being social, there are few studies that seeks to identify how the Latin American companies approach this type of action. The research was conducted by analysis of organizational documents available on the websites of the top 100 Latin American companies listed in the ranking of "The biggest 500 " prepared by the magazine American Economy . The study is characterized as a cross-section analysis, where countries and sectors were analyzed as individual cases. To the data collection, we used the model proposed by Silberhorn and Warren (2007), which includes motivation principles of CSR, CSR processes and issues related to Stakeholders. For the analysis of results, comparisons were made among the countries surveyed and among the sectors to which firms belong. It was found that, in general, firms of Brazil were more concerned in terms of socially responsible actions than the other firms in other countries of Latin America. Among the economy sectors, Commerce/Trades and Oil/Gas stood out positively about the process and socially responsible actions, while the Automotive/repair-parts fell behind, becoming the sector that has shown less interest in CSR issues. / A Responsabilidade Social Empresarial (RSE) tem recebido crescente atenção, tanto na área acadêmica quanto corporativa. As empresas geralmente definem sua abordagem de RSE sob diferentes visões, sendo influenciadas por distintos fatores em nível regional, industrial e nacional. O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar como as maiores empresas da América Latina se apresentam em termos de RSE, e se justifica pelo fato de que, apesar da crescente pressão exercida sobre as empresas para que estas exerçam um papel ativo na promoção do bem-estar social, ainda são escassos os estudos que buscam identificar como as empresas latino-americanas abordam este tipo de ação, não sendo suficientes para que se compreenda a real situação existente. A pesquisa foi realizada mediante a análise de documentos organizacionais disponibilizados nos websites das 100 maiores empresas da América Latina que figuram no ranking As 500 Maiores , elaborado pela revista América Economia. O estudo se caracteriza como uma análise cross-section, onde países e setores foram analisados como casos específicos. A coleta de dados foi realizada a partir do modelo proposto por Silberhorn e Warren (2007). Para a análise de resultados, foram realizadas comparações entre os países pesquisados e entre os setores aos quais as empresas pertencem. Verificou-se que, em geral, as empresas situadas no Brasil apresentaram-se mais preocupadas em termos de ações socialmente responsáveis do que as empresas situadas nos demais países da América Latina. Dentre os setores da economia, Comércio/SVGerais e Petróleo/Gás destacaram-se positivamente quanto aos processos e ações socialmente responsáveis, enquanto o Automotivo/Autopeças ficou em desvantagem, constituindo-se no setor que menos mostrou interesse pelas questões de RSE.

Hållbarhet är idag ett högaktuellt ämne och svenska bolag är bland de bättre i världen på att redovisa sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Hållbarhetsredovisning har länge varit frivilligt och det kan vara svårt att se de bakomliggande motiven till bolagens frivilliga redovisning. Om motiven bakom den frivilliga redovisningen är svårbedömda minskar möjligheterna för intressenter att ta välinformerade investeringsbeslut. Genom en kvantitativ undersökning på svenska börsnoterade bolag är syftet med studien att undersöka hur branschtillhörighet, storlek och lönsamhet påverkar mängd hållbarhetsrelaterad information bolaget förmedlar. I den multivariata regressionsanalysen finner vi positiva samband mellan mängd hållbarhetsredovisning och de faktorer som undersökts vilket ligger i linje med tidigare forskning. Det starkaste variabelsambandet är det mellan storlek och mängd hållbarhetsredovisning. Däremot uppmättes inte signifikant samband för variabeln lönsamhet.

This thesis is a moral disengagement theory approach to CSR improvements in Swedish companies. The purpose is to investigate what and how justifications are a barrier for middle managers’ contributions to a firm's CSR improvements in Swedish companies. There is a shift towards a need for a new CSR and on a more personal bases where individual contributions are crucial. Bandura, Bero and White’s (2009) moral disengagement mechanisms will be used to explain how and why middle managers justify avoiding CSR initiating and improvements. The main purpose with this thesis is to answer the questions of what justifications are used and how they are barriers for middle manager’s contribution to CSR improvement in companies? This has been conducted through qualitative semi-structured individual interviews with middle managers in 10 Swedish companies. The findings show that only six of Bandura et al’s. (2009) moral disengagement mechanisms were used by middle managers, Moral Justification, Euphemistic Labelling, Advantageous Comparison, Displacement of Responsibility, Diffusion of Responsibility, Distortion of Consequences, together with one new justification unique to these findings, Lack of Demand. Findings shows that the more justifications used, the weaker CSR the firm shows, both through their own records/publications and during the interview. It is clear that one barrier for CSR improvements can be the thought about barriers itself. Middle managers easily identify material, strategic and financial barriers but fail to acknowledge that their thoughts on barriers can actually be a barrier. Findings show that justifications used by middle managers appear to be a key factor in why companies do not pursue ambitious CSR improvements. This thesis has contributed to existing literature by expanding the research field regarding new CSR approaches and Bandura et al.’s (2009) moral disengagement mechanisms. These findings could be of value for companies with the need to improve CSR since our findings show that justifications are barriers in the development of CSR within a company.

This Master´s Thesis is focused on reporting of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR reporting). The purpose of this thesis is to create CSR report for company Siemens Czech Republic for the year 2014. Theoretical part is dedicated to introduce the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Stakeholder concept. The next part is focused on relation between CSR concept and CSR reporting, its benefits and trends. The last theoretical part introduces applicable standards regarding CSR reporting, the attention is put on company GRI and its reporting framework. Practical part deals with Siemens Czech Republic, there is described process of reporting with disclosed CSR report for this chosen company. The version G3.0 of GRI standard was used for create this report.