Mining activities have impacted on the health and safety of mining communities for many decades. Despite the economic contributions of mining to its surrounding communities, there is also a huge amount of environmental and social harm to be associated with the industry. Much attention has recently fallen on reducing health and safety risks, but there is still a long way to go before working and living in the mining environment would be regarded as healthy and safe. The lack of proper accountability has been a significant factor in the damaging effects of corporations on society. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is essential for the mining industry to ensure that there is an adequate balance between economic development and the well-being of people and the environment. Mining companies have recently started implementing different health programmes around mines [e.g. NIHL (noise induced hearing loss), HIV/AIDS and TB - programmes]. It is, however, the long-term impacts (such as mental health impacts) of mine activities that will remain long after the company closes and there is little evidence that these long-term responsibilities are being addressed. This study examines the impact of mining on the mental health of mining communities (including the mine workers) as experienced by community members, mine employees, as well as other role players involved in the industry. By doing so, the aim of this study is to determine the need for the inclusion of mental health care in the CSR programmes of mining companies, in order to advance sustainable development of mining communities. The study was done by means of qualitative methods undertaken in the North-West and Limpopo Provinces of South Africa, where different stakeholders from the mining industry were interviewed. It has been found that "mental health care" is still a huge gap that needs and waits to be filled in terms of mining companies' CSR performance. / Thesis (M.A. (Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Mining activities have impacted on the health and safety of mining communities for many decades. Despite the economic contributions of mining to its surrounding communities, there is also a huge amount of environmental and social harm to be associated with the industry. Much attention has recently fallen on reducing health and safety risks, but there is still a long way to go before working and living in the mining environment would be regarded as healthy and safe. The lack of proper accountability has been a significant factor in the damaging effects of corporations on society. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is essential for the mining industry to ensure that there is an adequate balance between economic development and the well-being of people and the environment. Mining companies have recently started implementing different health programmes around mines [e.g. NIHL (noise induced hearing loss), HIV/AIDS and TB - programmes]. It is, however, the long-term impacts (such as mental health impacts) of mine activities that will remain long after the company closes and there is little evidence that these long-term responsibilities are being addressed. This study examines the impact of mining on the mental health of mining communities (including the mine workers) as experienced by community members, mine employees, as well as other role players involved in the industry. By doing so, the aim of this study is to determine the need for the inclusion of mental health care in the CSR programmes of mining companies, in order to advance sustainable development of mining communities. The study was done by means of qualitative methods undertaken in the North-West and Limpopo Provinces of South Africa, where different stakeholders from the mining industry were interviewed. It has been found that "mental health care" is still a huge gap that needs and waits to be filled in terms of mining companies' CSR performance. / Thesis (M.A. (Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Corporate Social Responsibility is attracting more public attention in business world nowadays. It has evolved well in developed countries while there still remains some CSR issues in emerging economies such as China and Turkey. Thus, when some multi- national enterprises select suppliers in China and Turkey they come with CSR requirements and pressure. In this supplier-buyer context, less study has been carried out from suppliers’ perspective on how they implement the CSR pressure and whether it has positive or negative impact on their relationship with the buyer and impact on themselves. In addressing this problem in this particular supplier-buyer environment, the purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives and practices of suppliers regarding CSR in emerging economies like China and Turkey with strong export relationships to companies in developed countries. In order to achieve this purpose, this thesis presents a qualitative study supported by primary data gathered by interviews and secondary data gathered by examining company documents. One Chinese supplier and one Turkish supplier were chosen as two cases in this study. Both have supplier-buyer relationships with the same buyer which has a large role in the textile industry. Interviews were conducted with two suppliers respectively to gain research data. The result of the study shows that: (1) CSR is perceived differently by Turkish and Chinese supplier. The Chinese supplier emphasizes their CSR perspectives on only economic and philanthropic levels while the Turkish supplier includes also ethical and legal levels. (2) In supply chains, both suppliers comply with codes of conduct from the buyer and additionally conduct CSR activities voluntarily. Both suppliers focus on philanthropy and community contribution but the Turkish supplier work on environmental friendly products. (3) There is no direct positive impact linked with CSR compliance in terms of supplier-buyer relationship for both suppliers. In other words, requirements on CSR from the buyer do not contribute much to their supply chain relationships. (4) CSR practices bring competitive advantages for both suppliers. Those competitive advantages include innovation capability and positive corporate reputation.

This dissertation is grounded in the belief that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is good for society. However, current indicators stemming from the marketplace raise concerns as to CSR's long term viability. In this dissertation, I argue that corporate social responsibility has reached a tipping point from which it may move to become a fully informed and dominant practice or recede into the status of a passing fad. This project is driven by the question,"What might be done to better ensure a fuller adoption of CSR as a standard business practice?" I am particularly interested in (1) why society needs CSR and (2) how CSR can be sustained. To answer this question, it will be necessary to engage the marketplace of commerce, understand CSR as it is currently implemented, and explore the relationship between CSR and neoclassical economic thought. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD / Dissertation

This study investigates the effectiveness of public sector roles in facilitating corporate social responsibility (CSR) in commercial banks in the United States and the United Kingdom and the role of national context in CSR activities of commercial banks. It examines CSR as measured by MSCI ESG (environmental, social and governance) Global Socrates ratings across five categories of ESG (environment, employee & supply chain, customers, corporate governance & ethics, and community & society) in six commercial banks. The study compared differences in ESG rankings to categorized CSR-related government bodies, legislation and policies according to four possible public sector roles as outlined by the World Bank: mandating, facilitating. endorsing or partnering for CSR. The principal conclusion is that national context seems to play a role in CSR activities of commercial banks and that certain CSR-related public policy tools appear to be more effective at supporting CSR than others. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Graduate Center for Social and Public Policy / MA / Thesis

H Εταιρική Κοινωνική Ευθύνη (ΕΚΕ) είναι η οικειοθελής δέσμευση των επιχειρήσεων για ένταξη στις επιχειρηματικές τους πρακτικές δράσεων κοινωνικής, περιβαλλοντικής και οικονομικής διάστασης, χωρίς δέσμευση από τη νομοθεσία και έχουν σχέση με όλους όσους επηρεάζονται από τις δραστηριότητές τους. Ο κύριος σκοπός μιας εταιρείας είναι η μεγιστοποίηση των κερδών της, αλλά μέσα από τη διασφάλιση μιας βιώσιμης ανάπτυξης. Οι επιχειρήσεις διαπιστώνουν ότι η κοινωνική αποδοχή τους δεν συναρτάται μόνο με τις καλές οικονομικές επιδόσεις, την τήρηση των νόμων και κάποιο φιλανθρωπικό έργο ή χορηγίες. Η φιλοσοφία και οι δράσεις Εταιρικής Κοινωνικής Ευθύνης αποτελούν σήμερα την πιο ολοκληρωμένη επιχειρηματική στρατηγική που μπορεί να εγγυάται μακροπρόθεσμη οικονομική βιωσιμότητα σε μια εταιρεία και ταυτοχρόνως ευημερία για όλη την κοινωνία. Στην παρούσα εργασία, συλλέξαμε τις απαντήσεις στο ερωτηματολόγιο που κατασκευάσαμε από 16 φαρμακευτικές εταιρείες και έπειτα τις επεξεργαστήκαμε με το στατιστικό πρόγραμμα SPSS. Τα αποτελέσματα μας έδειξαν, ότι οι φαρμακευτικές εταιρείες που δραστηριοποιούνται στον ελλαδικό χώρο, εντάσσουν προγράμματα ΕΚΕ στις επιχειρηματικές τους πρακτικές δίνοντας μεγάλη έμφαση στον τομέα της υγείας και των ευαίσθητων κοινωνικών ομάδων. Οι περισσότερες από αυτές δήλωσαν ότι δεν έχουν μείωση στον προϋπολογισμό τους, όσον αφορά τα προγράμματα ΕΚΕ παρά την περίοδο οικονομικής κρίσεως που διανύουμε. / -

The question of companies’ social responsibility taking, called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has been widely debated in research since the 1900s. However, the research connecting CSR to sport was not started until the beginning of the 2000s, meaning that there are still many gaps in sport research that has to be filled. One such gap is research on CSR in a Swedish football context. Accordingly, the purpose of the study was firstly to examine how and why Swedish football clubs – organised as non-profit associations or sports corporations – work with CSR, and secondly whether or not there was a difference in the CSR work of the two organisational forms. A multiple case study of four clubs in Allsvenskan was carried out, examining the CSR work – meaning the CSR concept and activities, the motives for engaging in CSR and the role of the stakeholders – in detail. In addition, the CSR actions of all clubs of Allsvenskan were briefly investigated. The findings of the study showed that the four clubs of the multiple case study had focused their CSR concepts in different directions and performed different activities. As a consequence, they had developed different competences and competitive advantages. Furthermore, the findings suggested that the motives for engaging in CSR were a social agenda, pressure from stakeholders and financial motives. For the two clubs organised as sports corporations, the financial motives were of greater importance than for the non-profit associations, who instead highlighted the social motives. Accordingly, the study has helped filling the gaps in the research field, by expanding the knowledge about CSR in a Swedish football context. Sport managers might use this study for gaining more knowledge about football related CSR and also for receiving inspiration for future CSR actions.

Previous studies by Cornforth (2003, 2004), Cornelius et al. (2008), Cornelius and Wallace (2010), and Wallace and Cornelius (2010) highlight the need for further research in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for social enterprises and how their governance systems facilitate social outcomes when aligned to organisational mission. Against this backdrop, the main aim of this study is: to investigate the extent to which social enterprises (not-for-profit social providers) pursue ethical practices and social policies underpinned by their CSR agendas that enhance their stakeholders’ capabilities. The conceptual framework for the study is built on Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach (Sen 1991, 1999). Primary data were collected from face-to-face, in-depth, semi structured interviews with twelve owner-managers of small social enterprises from Bradford, UK. These were designed to understand their enterprise’s ethical views towards the development of deprived communities and the role this has in formulating their enterprise’s CSR agenda. The interview data were transcribed and analysed using constructivist grounded theory. The findings suggest that external CSR provision is often prompted as an immediate reaction to problematic issues arising in society. In general, it consequently lacks sustainability and is insufficiently evaluated for long term social impact. It is therefore argued that the CSR agenda for social enterprises should be based more on the organisation’s social ethos than the current process. Moreover, the findings emphasise the importance of social strategy emanating from governance mechanisms as this was identified as critical for the implementation of the CSR agenda so that social value is created in a structured and planned manner. These findings make a contribution to knowledge by providing conceptual and empirical insights regarding the consequences of social enterprises incorporating capabilities into their CSR policies and practices, and its social impact. Moreover, a conceptual model is developed that reflects the strategic importance of such a convergence in achieving this dual purpose.

From the moment the concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV) was introduced in 2011, it was by some considered to be an evolutionary way of contributing to society whereas for others it initiated an ongoing critical debate. This debate that is taking place on the academic scene has, among other things, focused on defining what CSV really is and differentiating it from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This is mainly because the critical side believes that CSV is unoriginal and strikingly similar to CSR. Interestingly, in practice companies are implementing CSV in many different ways and some are adding it to their CSR strategy. The fact that these two concepts are closely related has led to a blurry line, which in return has caused disagreements in the mentioned debate. Given the above, we aim at understanding how managers interpret and implement CSV in comparison to CSR and what the differences between these two concepts are in practice. Data was collected by employing case studies which entailed semi-structured interviews with company informants. The findings indicated that managers interpret CSV as a way of contributing to society as well as the firm’s business simultaneously, and thus the implementation of the concept is highly industry-specific. CSR on the other hand, was mostly interpreted as a way of conforming to external pressures and is therefore implemented in relatively similar ways across the companies interviewed. In contrast to academia, it was indicated that managers are more interested in infusing the above two concepts than separating and differentiating them.

The refugee crisis is a current and wildly debated topic in the Swedish society today. As a result, companies that engage themselves in the topic experience both positive and negative reactions. Theory suggests that CSR initiatives in a western context suffer a greater risk of being interpreted as political. However, research on political CSR’s influence on brand image is scarce.       The purpose of this thesis is therefore to explore if brand image is influenced differently when companies engage in sensitive issues than with other CSR initiatives. In order to do so, a conceptual framework was developed through an extensive literature review of previous theorization about political CSR and brand image. A qualitative approach were implemented using an exploratory design, applied on an experimental method using online focus groups.    The findings suggest that when CSR becomes politically sensitive, stakeholders have a hard time to see the purpose of the initiative. They question whether the company is involved because of genuine interest. When an initiative’s genuineness is questioned the positive responses in regards to brand image, weakens. This genuineness is determined by four themes: self-interest, consistency, public celebration and sensitivity. However, the results in this thesis are somewhat inconclusive making it difficult to determine whether there is a difference between sensitive CSR and other CSR. The fictitious cases, however, indicate that there are differences relating to all four themes, however, the real cases cannot verify this.    For future research we suggest three different options. Firstly, to examine the relation between sensitivity and responsibility, quantitatively. Secondly, to conduct a study examining other politically sensitive topics. Lastly, to conduct a similar study in hindsight of the refugee crisis, evaluating the effect involvement in sensitive political CSR has on brand image.