The prominence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives today suggests that the corporate perception of such policies has shifted from an unnecessary addition to a critical business function. Using a reliable source of data on corporate social performance (CSP), this study explores and tests the relationship between CSP and corporate financial performance (CFP). Unlike prior research, this study additionally tests the impact CSP has on sales and gross margin in hopes of providing insight on sales strategies that can be implemented to maximize the impact of the relationship. The dataset includes most of the S&P 500 firms and covers years 2001-2005. The relationships are tested using time-series regressions. Results indicate that CSP and CFP have a significantly positive relationship in both directions, supporting the view that CSR programs have positive impacts on the bottom-line. Results also indicate that increased CSP leads to increases in gross margin, indicating that some customers are willing to pay a premium for the products and/or services of a company with CSR initiatives. Lastly, results also indicate that increases in CSP leads to a decrease in sales, which implies a decrease in customer base because less people are willing to buy the products at premium. Despite the result on sales, I argue in this paper that firms can increase sales by increasing CSR investments—assuming increases in CSR investments leads to higher CSP—as long as the perception of programs transform from socially responsible, philanthropic actions to programs promoting corporate shared value (CSV).

Corporate social responsibility or CSR is a phenomenon that has steadily been growing for the past decade. CSR is generally considered as activities performed by a company in order to strengthen its positive image. Previous research has indicated that there is a connection between a company’s CSR actions and its consumer’s reactions towards the company and its different product/s. However, few studies have investigated university students’ attitudes towards CSR as well as different CSR initiatives. Therefor the aim of this dissertation is to study the knowledge, attitudes and the importance of CSR initiatives among young university business students. A second aim is to study the influence of CSR activities on the decision making process when in a buying situation.  In order to investigate this a quantitative survey was conducted among young business students at the University of Kristianstad. The survey consisted of 18 questions regarding CSR knowledge, attitudes and attributes. A total of 87 respondents participated and handed in the survey. The results demonstrated that even though the students were unsure as to what the abbreviation CSR stands for, when given examples the majority answered correctly. It also became evident that females considered CSR to be more important than the male respondents in many aspects. Especially the CSR initiative “Against animal testing” proved to be seen as much more important among the females than with the males. The results also reveled differences between the age groups. The age group 18-21 was the one that differed the most compared to the other three age groups (22-25, 26-30, 30+). In conclusion the students have a generally positive attitude towards CSR but it does not affect their purchasing decisions.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is about facing responsibilities towards a company’s employees, customers, stakeholders, suppliers and the environment. As customers and consumers came to seek companies that were dealing with CSR a rapid wave of ”forced” implementations of social responsibility began. Fair Travel Tanzania, which has CSR as the foundation of the company, says that they are transparent about what they do and how they give back to the locals, could it be a problem with this? And how do they actually give back to the locals? Is it possible to measure the impact of CSR activities within the company? And if so, how?

Bakgrund: I dagens samhälle ökar medvetenheten om vår omgivning mer och mer. Miljö, samhälls- och etiska frågor blir allt viktigare att ta hänsyn till, både för privatpersoner och för företag. Banksektorn har länge legat på efterkälken när det kommer till hållbarhetsredovisning. Dock blir bankernas intressenter mer och mer medvetna om hållbarhetsfrågor och för att vara konkurrenskraftiga har bankerna därför börjat engagera sig i detta. Dock kostar engagemanget både tid och pengar för bankerna så därför gäller det att mervärdet av hållbarhetsarbetet är större än de resurser som läggs ner. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka varför endast vissa banker väljer att hållbarhetsredovisa enligt GRI, samt varför de banker som redovisar enligt GRI väljer att stanna på en B- eller C-nivå. Syftet är även att utreda varför de undersökta bankerna anser att granskning av revisor är nödvändigt eller inte samt på vilket sätt bankerna anser att mervärde skapas genom arbete med hållbarhet. Metod: För att kunna förklara och belysa syftet med hållbarhetsredovisningen genomför vi en explorativ undersökning där vi använder oss av den kvalitativa metoden, dock med vissa inslag av kvantitativ metod. Denna metod ämnar skapa djupare förståelse och insyn i vilka faktorer som drivit hållbarhetsredovisningens utveckling. Uppsatsens syfte kommer besvaras av en genomgång av utvalda företags hållbarhetsredovisningar och med hjälp av intervjuer. Teoretiska perspektiv: Den teoretiska referensramen innefattar Carrolls pyramid av CSR, Carrolls trefaldiga modell, Intressentteorin, Legitimitetsteorin och Institutionell teori. Empiri: Det empiriska materialet består dels av granskning av hållbarhetsredovisningar upprättade av sex olika företag som bedriver bankverksamhet, Nordnet, Swedbank, Länsförsäkringar Uppsala, Handelsbanken, Danske bank och SEB, dels av intervjuer med personer från dessa företag som arbetar med hållbarhetsfrågor. Resultat och slutsatser: Engagemang inom hållbarhet ses idag som otroligt viktigt för att lyckas uppnå en konkurrenskraftig verksamhet. Eftersom bankerna hela tiden strävar efter att uppfylla intressenternas förväntningar innebär det att hållbarhetsarbetet har blivit en viktig del för att vara samhälleligt legitima. Redovisning enligt GRI ses av bankerna öka legitimiteten, dock upplevs inget krav på ökad nivå från intressenternas sida i dagsläget. På samma sätt menar bankerna att extern granskning av revisor inte ses som nödvändig. Dock tyder studiens resultat på att bankerna sannolikt skulle erhålla mervärde genom att ta hjälp av en extern part på den nivå de ligger på i dag istället för att vänta tills de kommit upp i en högre nivå. Bankernas upplevda mervärde kan här ses som den grad av legitimitet som uppnås. Genom att uppfylla intressenternas förväntningar och därmed skapa mervärde för dem kan bankerna långsiktigt erhålla ekonomiskt mervärde. / Background: In today’s society, the knowledge of our environment is increasing. Environmental, social and ethical issues are important to take into account, both for individuals and businesses. The banking sector has traditionally lagged behind when it comes to sustainability. Today, banks are becoming more interested and more aware of sustainability issues and in order to be competitive, banks have begun to engage in this. However, engagement in sustainability means investments in both time and money for the banks; therefore they need to have a belief that the invested resources brings added value for them. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate why only some banks' choose to work with sustainability reporting in compliance with GRI, and why the banks' that have submitted GRI choose to stay at a B or C level. It also aims to investigate why some banks' believe that an external audit is necessary and how the banks' perceive that added value is created within engagement with sustainability. Methodology: In order to explain and illustrate the purpose of sustainability reporting, we perform an explorative study where we use the qualitative method, but with some elements of quantative methodology. This choice will create a deeper understanding and insight into the factors which have driven the development of sustainability reports. Purpose of this essay will be answered by a survey of selected corporate sustainability reports and through interviews. Theoretical perspectives: The theoretical framework includes Carrolls pyramide of corporate social responsibility, Carrolls three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance, Stakeholder Theory, Legitimacy Theory and Institutional Theory. Empirical foundation: The empirical material consists of the review of sustainability reports by six companies engaged in banking, Nordnet, Swedbank, Lansforsakringar Uppsala, Handelsbanken, Danske Bank and SEB. It also consists of interviews with people from these companies that work with sustainability issues. Conclusions: Involvement in sustainability issues is seen as extremely important to be able to reach competitiveness in the market. Since banks' are constantly striving to meet stakeholder expectations, sustainability work is almost seen as a must in order to be socially legitimate. Reporting by GRI is seen by the banks' to increase legitimacy; however, they have not experienced any demands for increased levels of GRI from stakeholders in the current situation. Similarly, the banks' mean that external review by auditors is not seen as necessary today but probably in the future. Conclusions drawn from this report is that the banks would probably earn economic value by using an external audit in a lower level of GRI instead of waiting until they have reached a higher level. The banks' perceived value can be seen as the degree of legitimacy that is obtained. By meeting stakeholder expectations, thereby creating value for them, the banks' may obtain long-term economic value.

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Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur två företag inom energibranschen arbetar och kommunicerar Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) internt. Vi har i vår studie undersökt, genom dels intervjuer och dels annat material, hur två kommunalt ägda energiföretag arbetar med CSR, samt undersökt varför de arbetar som de gör. Vidare undersöks hur dessa företag kommunicerar CSR inom företaget och om det finns några skillnader och likheter i sättet att arbeta med CSR-frågor. Tidigare forskning indikerar att arbetet med CSR ser likartat ut för företag inom samma bransch. Vårt resultat pekar dock på att så inte alltid är fallet. Anledningarna till att det kan se olika ut är flera. Dels att företagen bedömer arbetet med CSR på olika sätt, att de har olika intressenter som de anser har mer eller mindre inflytande och att de kommunicerar CSR på olika sätt. Då denna uppsats endast undersöker hur två kommunalt ägda företag arbetar med CSR kan det vara intressant för framtida studier att undersöka två privata företag alternativt ett kommunalt och ett privat företag inom samma bransch och jämföra om det finns skillnader och likheter i deras sätt att ta och arbeta med socialt ansvar.

Introduction: Over the last few decades there has been a great increase in the attention to Corporate Social Responsibility. Organizations that up until recently have had profit maximization and shareholder value as their only concerns have found themselves in a position where stakeholder demands have created pressure to produce and act on sustainability agendas. Concepts like intergenerational equity, wealth distribution, equality and macroeconomic stability became a part of everyday business language and these days the majority of firms communicate a variety of CSR related issues through annual or separate sustainability reports. Up until recently the construction industry has managed to avoid such demands, however lately, the pressure from various stakeholders such as society, activist groups, governments and external competition, has put the industry among the more environmentally sensitive sectors. Although industry wide CSR involvement has increased within environmental construction management, much is still left to be done. Problem: One area which has received little attention is recycling after demolition. Most companies focus on making new building projects as environmentally friendly as possible, however hardly any attention is geared towards what happens to old buildings being torn down and the lifecycle of the old material. Although construction companies have the legal obligation to recycle hazardous material, much can be improved within the other areas especially regarding the reusing of materials from the demolishing sites which means both environmental and economical aspects are so far being overlooked.  Purpose: The authors aim to examine the complexities and challenges facing the construction industry in environmental management of demolition projects, and more specifically the effect this has on the recycling and reusing of materials. Methodology: In order to research the waste management practices on demolition sites the research employs interview studies conducted through qualitative mostly face-to-face and a few telephone interviews. Complementary cases were selected within different categories of the construction industry sectors related to demolition projects: client, construction, demolition and waste management companies’ employees were interviewed. Conclusion: The results show that companies within the construction industry realize the potential negative effects their line of business has on the environment. Sustainability agendas in all cases focus extensively on environmental management, which includes proper disposal of demolition waste. The main benefits for recycling and reusing (in some cases reselling) the material were financial incentives and generated competitive advantage, which resulted in better competitiveness concerning procurement. The main challenges identified are time and monetary constraints. Lack of regulation, common standard that would enable firms to compete equally, and lack of common effort and cooperation towards more efficient waste management practices on demolition sites were identified as main hindering factors for industry wide improvement.

The performance of the companies in corporate sector is reliant greatly on the practices of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); therefore in today’s business environment companies are paying more attention to the sense of CSR. These companies also consider the aspects of socio-culture environment into business practices and compliance with other regulatory and ethical issues. However, it has been found that CSR is being practiced in Pakistani firms in tobacco industry because the concept is new for the emerging economies like Pakistan. The paper consists of brief study about the CSR practices on stakeholder dimension of Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC). The basic aim of this paper is to examine that how companies engage their stakeholders in CSR activities and what is the role of stakeholders in CSR policies. This research was conducted by using a qualitative method and the case study of PTC. Data has been collected from relevant scientific articles, research books, and online resources regarding CSR and stakeholders theoretical framework while empirical data was gathered through interviews and company annual reports. However, PTC products are injurious for customers’ health but their efforts for the environment and community make a good image of the company in the minds of customer and stakeholders.

ABSTRACT   Title:                 The dialogue of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility  Subtitle:            Based on entrepreneur’s values-based vision   Keywords:        Corporate governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Values-Based Service, Values, New Governance   Problem:          Scholars and the business world have often viewed CG and CSR as parallel. But because globalization and the existence of MNEs has weakened government control, NGOs and other stakeholders are pressuring MNEs for transparency, accountability and disclosure in their global activities which involve social, environmental and ethical dilemmas. Stakeholders are also pressuring companies for values resonance.        Purpose:           The purpose of this research is to assess the integration of corporate governance and CSR based on an entrepreneur’s values-based vision.   Methodology:  This exploratory research was conducted using a qualitative approach and the case study research method. Data collected included IKEA annual reports from 2003-2010 and external reports as well as information from relevant scientific articles and research books. A deductive approach was taken to analyze data through an interpretative procedure.    Conclusions:    The VBS of a company takes into consideration CSR and all resource integrators. However, CSR is not sufficient in itself to create a fully VBS company. There is need for CG principles to accomplish CSR strategies, goals and values that must be in resonance with other stakeholders’ values. Thus New Governance which is empowered by NGOs is a catalyst for the convergence and integration of CG and CSR in companies. We think that the business case of IKEA needs new governance to become a complete VBS.

Disasters can occur anywhere in the world and when they do, human lives as well as infrastructure are affected in diverse ways. The impact of disasters usually warrant an immediate response from aid agencies because human lives are at stake and that is where humanitarian logistics comes into play. Humanitarian organizations involved in relief efforts have an enormous task of responding to emergencies in a very swift manner and are constantly seeking for new and innovative ways to reach their beneficiaries with utmost satisfaction. One way of doing this is through collaboration and engaging in partnerships with private sector companies. Given the fact that humanitarian organizations and private sector companies operate in different sectors, such partnerships could be challenging yet beneficial in diverse ways. The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the cross-sector partnership between humanitarian organizations and the private sector. In order to achieve this aim, a frame of reference was developed with an operational partnership model and theory whislt examining and contrasting both humanitarian and business supply chains. Our methodology involved both primary and secondary data collection with empirical data collected from two private companies and one humanitarian organization. Data collected for the study were then analyzed in relation to the literature and models outlined in the frame of reference. The results of the study showed that the partnerships between the firms of the two sectors studied were philanthropic, long-term and mutually beneficial in diverse ways. Whilst the private companies benefit through improvements in Corporate Social Responsibility, creating public awareness of their corporate image, and brand among other benefits by engaging in the partnership, humanitarian organizations on the other hand, partner with companies which fit their expressed needs and gain benefits in both monetary and non-monetary terms. Moreover, knowledge transfer through the sharing of skills, experiences, resources and expertise are also very important elements which add to the benefits gained by both partners. In addition, the findings obtained from the respondents of the study demonstrated that trust, personal connection, regular communication and working together are very important elements which can be considered as critical success factors which sustain partnerships.