Ce travail doctoral s’intéresse principalement  aux concepts d'éthique commerciale, du développement durable et de la responsabilité des entreprises.  Cette recherche souligne l'émergence d'un monde globalisé où les pays, les citoyens et les entreprises sont connectés les uns aux autres, par des liens économiques, politiques, sociaux et technologiques. La mondialisation de nos sociétés et de nos économies posent des défis complexes à multiples facettes. Afin de faire face à ces défis, les entreprises doivent assumer les nouveaux rôles, et redéfinir leurs responsabilités. Ces responsabilités proviennent de l'évolution des attentes sociétales concernant les entreprises et leurs devoirs. C'est pourquoi le discours social sur la responsabilité des entreprises met en évidence les attentes sociétales émergentes. En outre, au sein des entreprises, le discours de la responsabilité illustre la réaction des entreprises face à ces nouvelles attentes. Enfin, ces discours influencent le développement cognitif des consommateurs et, par conséquent, impactent leurs attitudes et leurs comportements. Les défis du développement durable et de la responsabilité des entreprises sont complexes, conflictuels, et parfois contradictoires. Il est impératif d’accentuer nos efforts sur notre capacité à écouter, à délibérer et à créer ensemble des principes applicables universellement. Ainsi, je suis une approche discursive et mobilise la théorie de l’agir communicationnel de Habermas (1981) en tant que cadre global théorique. Ma thèse contient trois études de recherche, chacune se concentrant sur un axe de la responsabilité : la société, les entreprises et les consommateurs. Le premier article présente une analyse thématique sur la responsabilité sociale des entreprises et sur le développement durable. Une analyse de contenu a été réalisée, elle nous a permis d'obtenir les thèmes - manifestes et latents - de la responsabilité. Le deuxième article porte sur les déclarations sociales parmi les grandes entreprises françaises. Le discours sur la responsabilité est étudié à travers la méthode d'analyse de contenu des rapports annuels des sociétés de CAC-40. Le dernier article a pour objectif de comprendre l'adoption de comportements éthiques par les consommateurs. L'article présente d'abord un modèle quantitatif de décision éthique des consommateurs et puis le valide empiriquement par les méthodes d'équations structurelles / I position my doctoral thesis in the broad field of organization science; it stands within the domains of business ethics, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. I appreciate the emergence of a globalized world whereby countries, people, and businesses are connected to each other through economic, political, social, and technological ties. The globalized economies and societies pose complex and multifaceted challenges. To cope with these challenges, businesses will have to assume newer responsibilities and roles. These responsibilities originate from the evolving societal expectations about businesses and their duties. Hence social discourse on business responsibility should highlight the emerging societal expectations. Further, within businesses, the responsibility discourse should give an insight to the reaction of businesses to these emerging responsibilities. And, finally these discourses should affect the consumers’ cognitive development, and consequently impact their attitudes and behaviors. The challenges of sustainability and corporate responsibility are complex, conflicting and at times contradictory. It is imperative to bank on our ability to communicate, to discuss and to co-create universally applicable rules. Therefore I adopt a discursive approach in my thesis, and use Habermas’ theory of communicative action (1981) as an overarching theoretical framework. The thesis contains three research studies, each focusing on one aspect of responsibility, thus covering the three levels of responsibility discourse: societal, corporate and individual. The first article presents a thematic analysis of the business responsibility discourse in popular CSR and sustainability books. Content analyses is used to elicit the apparent and latent responsibility themes of the sample books. The second article focuses on the patterns of social disclosure among large French corporations. The responsibility discourse is analyzed through content analyses of the annual reports of CAC-40 companies. The last article is aimed to comprehend the adoption of ethically conscious behaviors by the consumers. The article first presents a quantitative model of consumers’ ethical decision making and then validates it empirically by structural equation modeling.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-06-26T14:59:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 GuilhermeMachado.pdf: 1086460 bytes, checksum: b94320cb60145c8bb354d504eb4322ff (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-26T14:59:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GuilhermeMachado.pdf: 1086460 bytes, checksum: b94320cb60145c8bb354d504eb4322ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-31 / Nenhuma / As Organizações Hospitalares de Ordem Religiosa convivem com uma crescente competição no segmento em que atuam, necessitando de representativos investimentos não só em tecnologia ou estrutura física, mas de metodologias de gestão que as auxiliem na obtenção de diferenciais competitivos e o devido cumprimento das estratégias e missão organizacionais. Contudo, tais métodos necessitam serem colocados em prática e esta implementação em ambientes dinâmicos, como a Saúde, requer um posicionamento estratégico institucional voltado para a Profissionalização, Responsabilidade Corporativa e Inovação na Gestão quanto se trata de Governança Corporativa. Portanto, neste estudo, procuramos analisar e propor melhorias no modelo de Governança Corporativa praticado na Organização Hospitalar de Ordem Religiosa, foco deste estudo de caso, a partir das práticas referenciadas pelo IBGC e sua conjugação com os modelos preconizados por Clayton Christensen e Lester Salamon. Um estudo exploratório-qualitativo foi realizado para alcançar esses objetivos. Inicialmente, dados secundários foram coletados a partir de relatórios. Observações participantes de reuniões do Conselho de Administração (Direção) da organização foram realizadas. Em seguida, dados primários foram coletados através de entrevistas em profundidade com Conselheiros, Consultores do Conselho, Executivos e Associadas. Todas as informações foram gravadas e transcritas e seus conteúdos analisados, utilizando-se um programa de análise de dados qualitativos (NVivo 10 ®). Os resultados sugerem a aplicabilidade das boas práticas de governança na Organização Hospitalar de Ordem Religiosa. O modelo de governança proposto para organização a partir do diagnostico realizado à luz da teoria, oferece a condição de que estudos futuros possam levar em consideração a aplicação deste modelo, de forma a analisar seus impactos e resultados. / The Hospital Organizations of Religious Order face an increased competition in the segment in which they operate, requiring significant investments not only in technology or physical structure, but also in management methodologies that help them to obtain competitive advantages and the due enforcement of the strategies and the organizational mission. However, such methods need to be put into practice and this implementation in dynamics environments, such as Health, requires an institutional strategic position facing the Professionalization, the Corporate Responsibility and the Innovation in Management when it comes to corporate governance. Therefore, the focus of this case study was analyze and propose improvements in the corporate governance model practiced in the Hospital Organization of Religious Order from the practices referenced by IBGC and its combination with models advocated by Clayton Christensen and Lester Salamon. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted to achieve these objectives. Initially, secondary data were collected from reports and participant observations were held in meetings of the Board of Directors (direction) of the organization. Then, primary data were collected through in-depth interviews with Directors, Consultants Council, Officers and Associates. All information were recorded and transcribed and their contents analyzed, using a program of Qualitative data analysis (NVivo ® 10). The results suggest the applicability of good governance practices in the Hospital Organization of Religious Order. The governance model proposed for the organization from the diagnostic based in the theory provides the condition that future studies may consider the application of this model in order to analyze their impact and results.

State responsibility is central to modern politics and international relations. States are commonly blamed for wars, called on to apologize, punished with sanctions, admonished to keep their promises, bound by treaties, and held liable for debts and reparations. But why, and under which conditions, does it make sense to assign responsibilities to whole states rather than to individual leaders and officials? The purpose of this thesis is to resurrect and develop a forgotten understanding of state responsibility from the political thought of Thomas Hobbes. Chapters 1 and 2 examine the two dominant theories of state responsibility and propose a Hobbesian alternative. According to the agential theory, states can be held responsible because they are moral agents like human beings, with analogous capacities for deliberation and intentional action. According to the functional theory, states can be held responsible because they act vicariously through their organs, much as principals act vicariously through agents. What makes Hobbes unique is that he considers states to be 'persons'-entities to which actions, rights, and responsibilities can be attributed-even though they are neither agents nor principals. Hobbes' idea of state personality relies on the concepts of authorization and representation, not of agency and intentionality, nor of functions and organs. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 develop the Hobbesian theory of state responsibility and apply it to three sets of problems. Chapter 3 addresses problems of attribution, such as whether the actions of dictators count as acts of state and whether states can commit crimes. Chapter 4 addresses problems of identity, such as whether revolutions and annexations negate the state's identity and hence its responsibilities. Chapter 5 addresses problems of distribution, such as whether the subjects of the state ought to bear the costs of debts and reparations that their state incurred before they were born. I argue that the Hobbesian theory provides better answers to each set of problems than the agential and functional alternatives.

<p>Niska svest zainteresovanih strana o aktivnostima korporativno odgovornog poslovanja preduzeća ukazuje na potrebu da preduzeća efikasnije komuniciraju korporativnu odgovornost sa zainteresovanim stranama. Disertacija predstavlja novinu u istraživanjima u na&scaron;oj zemlji u okviru globalnog menadženta i menadženta ljudskih resursa, jer je istražen značaj i uticaj interne i eksterne komunikacije za prihvatanje, implementaciju, sprovođenje i razvijanje koncepta korporativne odgovornosti preduzeća.<br />Dru&scaron;tveno odgovorna interna i eksterna komunikacija preduzeća su sagledane kroz komunikaciju o korporativnoj odgovornosti prema zaposlenima, prema tržistu, prema životnoj sredini i prema &scaron;iroj dru&scaron;tvenoj zajednici.<br />Rezultati istraživanja su potvrdili istraživačke hipoteze, na osnovu čega je dat predlog mera za unapređenje korporativne odgovornosti preduzeća u internom i eksternom komuniciranju, kao i predlog budućih istraživanja.</p> / <p>Low awareness of the stakeholders concerning activities of the corporately responsible management of the company highlights a need for companies to provide more efficient corporately responsible communication with the stakeholders.<br />This Dissertation represents a novelty in the research in our country within the global management and human resources management, because of the importance and influence of internal and external communication for the acceptance, implementation, realization and development of the concept of corporate responsibility of the company.<br />Socially responsible internal and external communications of the company are evaluated through the communication of corporate responsibility towards employees, market, environment and wider community.<br />Outcome of this research confirmed the research hypotheses and based on those results, it was proposed to take measures for the improvement of the corporate responsibility of the company in internal and external communication as well as to make the future researches.</p>

<p>A growing number of companies realise that to achieve their environmental goals and satisfy stakeholder expectations, they need to look beyond their own facilities and to involve their suppliers in environmental initiatives. A life cycle approach means that the production system should be optimised as whole, across national boarders and individual organisations taking part all the way from extraction to disposal. This study is a Life Cycle Inventory of resources used when producing a piece of cotton garment and the method is based on the standardisation series of ISO 14040-43. The area of study, Tamil Nadu the most southern state of India, accounts for more than 90% of India’s knitwear exports to Western Europe. The main conclusion is that the Life Cycle Inventory could bean appropriate method to be used within the textile industry but the main advantage may not be in solving problems but instead framing them in a distinctive way and making people aware of them. An approach that combines life cycle and sustainability concepts could be a way towards enhanced corporate responsibility.</p>

Att ta ett större ansvar inom miljömässiga, ekonomiska och sociala frågor blir en allt viktigare punkt på många företags agendor, och en allt betydelsefullare aspekt för konsumenter att ta hänsyn till när de överväger köp av produkter eller tjänster. Företagsansvar, internationellt benämnt som corporate social responsibility eller CSR, har också fått ett genombrott bland myndigheter och andra officiella organ såsom FN och EU, som jobbar för att underlätta för företag genom olika riktlinjer och redovisnings­standarder för CSR. Fristående intresseorganisationer har också en viktig del i CSR-frågan, både som samarbetspartner och som granskare. Många av företagens intressenter är intresserade just av statistik och resultat, men hur kommunicerar ett konsumentföretag till sina kunder att de satsar på CSR-frågor? Hur kan företag använda av olika typer av strategier, kanaler och budskap för att stärka sitt varumärke och nå ut med sitt ansvarstagande? Trots att arbetet med CSR ofta föregås av noggranna strategiska överväganden och diskussioner om hur CSR påverkar varumärket, är det inte alla företag som har en tydlig plan för hur de ska kommunicera CSR mot konsumenter. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hur kommunikationen kring företags CSR-arbete sker, ser ut och uppfattas hos den intressentgrupp som företagets produkter eller tjänster riktar sig mot ­– konsu­menterna. I en form av nulägesanalys har fallstudier utförts på två svenska konsumentföretag, Arla och Löfbergs Lila, som båda har inledda CSR-åtaganden och har certifierade produkter i sitt sortiment. I fallstudierna ingick djupintervjuer med företagens CSR-ansvariga, kvalitativa innehålls­analyser av deras marknadsföringsmaterial och en enkätundersökning om konsumenternas kännedom och agerande inom området samt deras uppfattning av fallstudieföretagens ansvarstagande. Kopplat till en referens­ram innehållandes teorier om CSR som begrepp, CSR i dagens samhälle och hur CSR-orienterad kommunikation kan ske har frågor och modeller för dessa metoder tagits fram och analyserats. Analysen visar på att inget av företagen ännu har en tydlig strategi för sin CSR-kommunikation. Företagen har implementerat CSR-arbetet väl internt inom företaget, men kommunicerar bara i liten utsträckning externt mot konsumenter. Det finns en svårighet i att involvera konsumenter i CSR-frågan och låta denna dialog influera och ingå i CSR-kommunika­tionen. Båda företagen ger tillgång till mycket information kring sitt ansvarstagande via sina webbsidor, men webbsidornas information tycks inte nå fram till konsumenterna då de inte är en välintegrerad del av marknadsföringen. Primärt knyts CSR-värden till företagens pro­dukter, och konsumenter relaterar företagens ansvarstagande med deras certifierade produkter framför­allt. Företagen använder sig av olika typer av kommunikations­budskap, vilka i Arlas fall är för vaga och visionsfokuserade, och i Löfbergs Lilas fall har svårt att väcka känslor för varumärket och ansvarstagandet. Konsumenterna visar på ett intresse för att agera i ansvars­frågor samt en viss kunskap inom området, men när det kommer till hur de uppfattar företagens ansvars­tagande finns det en stor osäkerhet och låg kännedom om vad företagen faktiskt gör inom CSR-området. En stor del av respondenterna har inte fått reda på någon information om hur företagen tar ansvar, och det är ännu inte många bland konsumenterna som aktivt söker upp information eller deltar i en dialog med företagen. / To take greater responsibility in environmental, economic and social issues is an increasingly important item on many companies' agendas, and an increasingly important aspect for consumers to take into account when considering purchase of a product or a service. This field, internationally called corporate social responsibility or CSR, has also made a breakthrough among authorities and other official orga­nizations such as the UN and the EU, which are facilitating for companies engaging in CSR by provi­ding various guidelines and accounting standards for CSR. Non-governmental organizations are also an important part of the CSR issue, both as partners and as reviewers. Many of the companies' stakehol­ders are interested in statistics and results, but how do consumer businesses communicate to their customers that they are investing in CSR issues? How can companies use different kinds of strategies, channels and messages to strengthen their brand and make the public notice their responsibility? Although the work with CSR is often preceded by careful strategic considerations and discussions about how CSR affects the brand, not all companies have a clear plan how to communicate CSR to consumers. This thesis paper aims to examine how information concerning the companies' CSR initiatives is communicated, designed and perceived by the stakeholder group which the products or services are made for – the consumers. In the form of a situation analysis, case studies have been conducted on two Swedish consumer companies, Arla and Löfbergs Lila, both of which have initiated CSR commitments and have certified products in their range. The case studies included interviews with corporate CSR managers, qualitative content analysis of the companies' marketing materials and a survey of consumer knowledge and behavior in CSR issues as well as of the customers' view of the case study companies' responsibility. Linked to a theoretical framework including theories of CSR as a concept, CSR in today's society and how CSR-oriented communication can be designed, the issues and models for these methods have been developed and analyzed. The analysis shows that neither of the companies have a clear strategy for their CSR communication. The companies have implemented CSR well within the organisation, but communicate only to a small extent externally. There is a difficulty in involving consumers in CSR issues and making this dialogue influence and be part of the CSR communication. Both companies provide access to much information about their responsibility through their web pages, but this information does not appear to reach consumers as the web pages are not well-integrated in the marketing. Primarily, the CSR values are connected to the companies' products, and consumers in particular relate the companies' CSR involvement to their certified products. The companies use different types of communication messages, which in Arla's case are too vague and vision focused, and in Löfbergs Lila's case have difficulties to arouse fee­lings for the brand and the CSR issues. Consumers show an interest to act on CSR issues and have a certain knowledge in the field, but when it comes to how they perceive the companies' CSR initiatives, there is a great uncertainty and low knowledge of what companies actually do in the CSR field. A large proportion of the respondents has not found out any information about how the companies are taking responsibility, and it is at this time not many among the consumers who actively seek out information or participate in a dialogue regarding CSR issues with companies.

Despite the growing consensus on the importance of an extended responsibility for business, both the conceptual and practical understanding of “corporate responsibility” has remained limited. Corporate responsibility is still often understood as an add-on to business-as-usual or as a strategy to enhance business performance. In fact, in recent years, the concept of corporate responsibility has become associated with corporate deceit instead of corporate contributions to society, and tends to engender cynicism rather than a sense of hope. In this study I sought to explore a more hopeful and more “radical” conceptualisation of corporate responsibility. By looking at an international sample of “exemplary” values-driven businesses, this study provides insight into corporate responsibility not primarily as a means towards commercial ends but as an expression of a desire to “do good” and create social and/or environmental value. This study paints a picture of the rich, responsible reality of values-driven businesses. It describes their generous, human-centred approach to employees and the internal environment. It explores their deep sense of interdependence with the wider community in which they find themselves, and their extensive engagement with a wide variety of external parties, many of which are not “naturally” connected to business. It creates an understanding of the iterative, emerging and evolutionary nature of the CSR implementation process and the inherent impermanence of CSR “solutions”. While this study gives a comprehensive insight into various, generous and progressive practices, it shows that the essence of a “responsible existence” is not the implementation of certain practices alone, but relates to the willingness and ability to continuously question the established ways and practices of business in light of the higher business aspirations, which, for many, leads to a fundamentally different way of organising, managing and governing the business. At the same time, this study does not provide a glorified account of some kind of “utopian” responsible existence. Instead, it shows the “messy” reality of trying to implement social and environmental values, while faced with multiple demands and when embedded within a social and business context that does not necessarily hold the same values. The thesis describes the various conflicts and compromises related to the implementation of multiple, conflicting commitments and demands, and the different ways in which the sample businesses approach such situations. While the sample businesses are quite capable of gracefully navigating these conflicts in creative and pragmatic ways, the research also indicates that significant compromises are seemingly inevitable, and can, almost imperceptibly, move a company away from its envisaged values and commitments. Finally, this study argues that the currently dominant approach to corporate responsibility in organisational studies, which reflects a rationalised and economic perspective on CSR and business, will be insufficient to describe the rich reality found within these businesses, as it will edit out some of its most essential elements. I conclude this dissertation by proposing an alternative, human existential lens through which corporate responsibility in values-driven businesses can be understood. Through a review of the research findings in relation to three existential themes, I show that a human existential perspective is better suited to explore both the beauty and the struggle of values-driven businesses.

I position my doctoral thesis in the broad field of organization science; it stands within the domains of business ethics, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. I appreciate the emergence of a globalized world whereby countries, people, and businesses are connected to each other through economic, political, social, and technological ties. The globalized economies and societies pose complex and multifaceted challenges. To cope with these challenges, businesses will have to assume newer responsibilities and roles. These responsibilities originate from the evolving societal expectations about businesses and their duties. Hence social discourse on business responsibility should highlight the emerging societal expectations. Further, within businesses, the responsibility discourse should give an insight to the reaction of businesses to these emerging responsibilities. And, finally these discourses should affect the consumers' cognitive development, and consequently impact their attitudes and behaviors. The challenges of sustainability and corporate responsibility are complex, conflicting and at times contradictory. It is imperative to bank on our ability to communicate, to discuss and to co-create universally applicable rules. Therefore I adopt a discursive approach in my thesis, and use Habermas' theory of communicative action (1981) as an overarching theoretical framework. The thesis contains three research studies, each focusing on one aspect of responsibility, thus covering the three levels of responsibility discourse: societal, corporate and individual. The first article presents a thematic analysis of the business responsibility discourse in popular CSR and sustainability books. Content analyses is used to elicit the apparent and latent responsibility themes of the sample books. The second article focuses on the patterns of social disclosure among large French corporations. The responsibility discourse is analyzed through content analyses of the annual reports of CAC-40 companies. The last article is aimed to comprehend the adoption of ethically conscious behaviors by the consumers. The article first presents a quantitative model of consumers' ethical decision making and then validates it empirically by structural equation modeling.

For business organizations the concept of risk has always been important. Lately, this importance has been enhanced due to a number of corporate and societal circumstances. New and previously unconsidered risks are gaining increased significance in the overall risk management of many companies. This doctoral thesis takes a wide approach and examines factors relating to the evolving area of operational risk management. It focuses on risks that concern firms’ operations rather than merely financial risk exposures. The thesis consists of four empirical studies that address diverse but interrelated aspects of operational risk in Swedish industry settings. Building on four sets of independent data collections, they apply both quantitative and qualitative methods. The thesis reports results of operational risk management regarding organizational aspects, perceived challenges, the regulative environment, current societal and business trends, and various stakeholders. Issues like trust, risk perception, risk communication, corporate value, reputation, and brand value are also discussed. On the whole, the empirical findings indicate that a new risk paradigm has emerged. As society has boosted the management of various risks as a corporate responsibility, the costs of failing to manage such risks have increased substantially. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009 Sammanfattning jämte 4 uppsatser

The focus of this thesis was to develop a simplified framework for future sustainability reports. The traditional approach to corporate reporting is limited in its ability to meet expectations of stakeholders for what drives value creation in a business. Sustainability performance reports are aimed at providing stakeholders information regarding a company’s non-financial performance and to provide stakeholders some information regarding the future performance that can be expected. The idea behind sustainability and the triple bottom line is that a company’s ultimate success can and should be measured not just by the financial bottom line, but also by its social, environmental and economic success. Sustainability reporting, also known as triple bottom line reporting incorporates the economic, social and environmental performance of a company, but there is no universally accepted definition of the subject. Sustainability is a contested subject and defined differently by different groups to suit their purposes. This places the phenomenon in a situation where its future is threatened. / D.B.L.