Both academic and practical attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been increasing over the past few decades. Past research on CSR largely focuses on the positive side of corporate social issues management, explaining why and how firms engage in CSR activities and how such engagement influences corporate financial performance. Paying little attention to the negative side of social issues management, this research has generated little understanding as to why firms, even those with a strong record of CSR investment, commit irresponsible activities. In this study, we focus on corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) and explore the antecedents and consequences of CSiR. From a strategic management perspective, we propose four key antecedents of CSiR, including selective management of stakeholders, technical orientation, past history, and performance pressure. We also propose that CSR moderates the negative effect of CSiR on corporate financial performance. We used an unbalanced dataset of large U.S. corporations from 1991 – 2009 to test our theory, and most of the hypotheses were supported. We discuss the implications of our findings and the contributions of this study to research on organizational misconduct, stakeholder theory and strategic management.

Titel: Corporate Social Irresponsibility och Finansiell Prestation - En kvantitativ studie om relationen mellan Corporate Social Irresponsibility och finansiell prestation   Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi   Författare: Malin Månsberg   Handledare: Catherine Lions   Datum: 2018 – maj   Syfte: Många forskare har undersökt hur företags sociala ansvarstagande (CSR) påverkar den finansiella prestationen (FP). Denna studie riktar istället fokus på den negativa motsvarigheten, Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI), som länge varit i skuggan av de positiva effekter som CSR påstås ha på företagens lönsamhet. Studiens syfte är att undersöka om socialt oansvariga handlingar påverkar företags finansiella prestation, ur både intressentteorin och den neoklassiska teorins perspektiv. Frågeställningar som tas upp är: Är det viktigt att undvika kontroverser? Får CSI ekonomiska konsekvenser? I så fall, vilka?   Metod: Som följd av en positivistisk tradition har en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats med kvantitativ metod baserat på sekundärdata och en tvärsnittsdesign använts för att undersöka sambandet mellan CSI och FP. Hypotesen prövas genom multivariatanalys och förväntas kunna besvara frågan om det existerar ett samband och om så, vilken riktning sambandet har.   Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet bekräftar att CSI leder till en högre finansiell prestation. Således gynnas företag som är inblandade i kontroverser på ett ekonomiskt plan. Resultatet indikerar att den neoklassiska teorin är mer användbar för att förklara relationen än vad intressentteorin är. Av det kan slutsatsen dras att omgivningen inte är benägen att ”straffa” företag som beter sig illa, eftersom resultatet indikerar att CSI leder till en högre finansiell prestation.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Resultatet utmanar den rådande trenden att undersöka CSI utifrån intressentteorin. Den positiva korrelationen bekräftar även att CSI är ett eget fenomen vars effekter inte är analoga med CSR, vilket vidgar den tidigare forskningen om socialt ansvar.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien begränsning finns främst i att CSI ofta hålls dolt. Effekten av CSI som inte uppmärksammas i media kan därför ha en annan relation till FP.   Nyckelord: Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI), Financial Performance (FP), Intressentteorin, Neoklassisk teori

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Given the increasingly complex nature of contemporary companies, the risk of corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) behaviours is increasing; it is important for organisations to prevent incidences of CSI to maintain competitive advantage. This study investigates the impact of CSI behaviour on both corporate image and consumer buying behaviour.    Adopting a quantitative research approach, 241 valid questionnaires using the Luckin Coffee financial fraud case as primary data were collected and analysed using SPSS to determine the effects of CSI on corporate image and consumer buying behaviour, along with the role of consumers’ genders and educational- and income levels in terms of the influence of CSI on corporate image.    The findings show that CSI has a negative effect on both corporate image and consumer buying behaviour, and corporate image partially mediates the process by which CSI influences consumer buying behaviour. Gender, educational- and income levels all play a moderating role in the process of CSI influencing corporate image. This thesis complements the research dimension on CSI’s effects on consumer buying behaviour, filling the research gap on CSI in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and provides relevant insights in order to encourage companies to avoid CSI and thus achieve sustainable development.

In this dissertation, including three papers, I examine the business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the hospitality industry. The first paper provides a systematic review of the business case for CSR based on 170 articles published in leading hospitality journals. The review paper serves as a literature review of this dissertation, leading to the second and third papers. In the second paper, I examine CSR as a strategic tool to offset corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) in the hospitality industry. Findings indicate sector differences within the hospitality industry. The third paper examines corporate philanthropy, focusing on the notion of strategic philanthropy. Results indicate the predominance of strategic philanthropy especially in hospitality companies, compared to companies in other industries. Findings of the dissertation as a whole suggest the need for hospitality-specific business case for CSR. In practical terms, this dissertation provides better informed decisions for hospitality mangers in terms of using CSR as a corporate strategy to achieve competitive advantages in the highly competitive industry. / PHD / This dissertation examines corporate social responsibility (CSR), specifically, why hospitality companies engage in CSR and how they can achieve social and financial performance at the same time. The first paper reviews the relevant literature. And based on the findings and gaps in the extant literature, I conducted the 2nd and 3rd studies. In the 2nd paper, I examine whether hospitality companies do something good in response to something bad (to society). Findings indicate that hospitality companies do good to offset their wrong doing. However, it appears to be less salient in casinos and fast-food restaurants, which are controversial with the possible harms of operating their businesses to society. The 3rd paper examines corporate philanthropy, which can be considered as altruistic activities to help people in need. Arguably due to lack of resources in hospitality companies, corporate philanthropy in the industry seems to be used as a marketing-tool, increasing firm sales.

Syfte: Intresset för företags sociala ansvarstagande har ökat markant sedan millennieskiftet och har sedan dess varit föremål för en intensiv debatt bland forskare, intressenter och företag. Det existerar en mängd forskning som undersöker förhållandet mellan företags sociala ansvarstagande (CSR) och finansiella prestation, medan företags sociala oansvarstagande (CSI) är ett i stort sett outforskat område. Samtidigt finns bevis för att intressenter och investerare tenderar att reagera starkare på negativ information kontra positiv information, där frågor som rör ESG-betygets sociala dimension är extra utmärkande. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka förhållandet mellan sociala kontroverser och företags marknadsvärde.    Metod: Studien utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi, där en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats med kvantitativ metod brukats. En longitudinell design har genomförts på 1152 företag över en tioårsperiod. Studien bygger på sekundärdata hämtat från Refintiv Eikon, vilken har analyserats med hjälp av statistikprogrammet SPSS.   Resultat & slutsats: Studiens resultat ger bevis för att sociala kontroverser leder till ett högre marknadsvärde, där synlighet har en modererande effekt på sambandet. Därmed gynnas högt synliga företag som är inblandade i sociala kontroverser, där den ökade uppmärksamheten som kontroverserna ger upphov till leder till ökad kännedom om företagets tidigare CSR- arbete vilket gynnar marknadsvärdet.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Genom studiens empiriska bevis bidrar denna uppsats till en ökad förståelse för effekterna av CSR-relaterade problem på marknadsvärdet, vilket givit såväl ett praktiskt som teoretiskt bidrag.    Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Ett förslag till vidare forskning är att studera sambandet mellan marknadsvärdet och dimensionen bolagsstyrning respektive miljödimensionen. Ytterligare något som skulle vara intressant att undersöka är vilken påverkan sociala kontroverser har på marknadsvärdet under en annan tidsperiod, exempelvis flera år efter att kontroversen uppdagats. / Aim: Interest in corporate social responsibility has increased significantly since the turn of the millennium and has since been the subject of intense debate among researchers, stakeholders and companies. There are numerous studies that examine the relation between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and financial performance, while corporations’ lack of social responsibility is a largely unexplored area. Although this area remains unexplored, there is evidence that stakeholders and investors tend to react more strongly to negative information versus positive information, especially regarding questions concerning the social dimension of the ESG rating. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine the relationship between social controversies and companies' market value   Method: The study is based on a positivist research philosophy, where a hypothetical-deductive approach with a quantitative method has been used. A longitudinal model design has been implemented at 1152 companies over a ten year period. The study is based on data of secondary art collected from Refintiv Eikon. Thereafter, this data has been analyzed using the statistics program SPSS.   Result & Conclusion: The results of the study provide evidence that social controversies lead to a higher market value, where visibility has a governing effect on the relationship. This benefits companies with higher visibility that are involved in social controversies. The increased attention that the controversies give rise to, leads to increased knowledge of the companies’ previous CSR work, which benefit market value.   Contribution of the thesis: Through the empirical evidence of the study, the thesis contributes to an increased understanding of the effects of CSR-related problems on the market value. This results in a practical and theoretical contribution.   Suggestions for future research: Further research within the area that examines the relationship between the market value and the corporate governance dimension and the environmental dimension would be beneficial. Another aspect that would be interesting to investigate is the impact of social controversy on the market value during another period of time, for example several years after the controversy was discovered.

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Corporate social irresponsibility (CSI), as an opposite of corporate social responsibility (CSR), refers to corporation’s failure to act responsibly. To address the actions connected to CSR and CSI, corporations need to overcome the challenges of communicating to their stakeholders and to be transparent. Stakeholders have become more skeptical regarding if the corporations are actually living up to the communicated standards. In other words, if corporations are ‘doing as they say’ and if they are ‘walking the talk’.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how top-listed corporations communicate CSR, as compared with what is communicated in media.  Method: This study used a qualitative content analysis method, by studying sustainability reports from 12 corporations over a five-year period. The study also examined media reports concerning the chosen corporations in order to get another view of the corporation’s CSR activities.  Findings: The findings showed that most of the corporation’s reports regarding CSR were in line with what media reports. There were some corporations, however, which were more aligned with media than others. This differences might be due to the fact that the corporations are acting in different industries which can affect how the corporations are focusing their CSR activities. Practical Implementations: This study can aid the understanding of how well corporations are communicating its CSR activities. It can help the corporations included in the study to understand how well its communication is perceived, as well as, to help stakeholders see if the corporations are ‘doing as they say’.

Problem Formulation: The clothing industry is characterised by fierce competition and booming growth. Since the start of the century, clothing consumption has increased tremendously. While consumers are demanding more clothes at cheaper prices, interest for sustainable sourced clothes is also on the rise, especially amongst the younger population. Thus, engaging in CSR could offer potential brand advantages for companies competing in the clothing industry. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explain the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of the organisational actions that are perceived as “doing good”, “avoiding bad” and “doing bad”, and Consumer-Based Brand Equity. Methodology: This thesis adopts a quantitative research method with questionnaires distributed physically at universities and shared in student Facebook-groups. The data collected from the questionnaire consists of 205 valid answers from students at Swedish universities. Findings/Conclusions: The findings based on multiple regression analyses on the results of the distributed questionnaire suggest that organisational actions that are perceived as “avoiding bad” can positively affect Consumer-Based Brand Equity. Furthermore, the findings did not support that engagement in activities that are perceived as “doing bad” is detrimental to Consumer-Based Brand Equity, nor that philanthropic activities that are perceived as “doing good” positively affect Consumer-Based Brand Equity.

Background and Problem: CSI is a topic with a limited amount of research despite it being a very relevant issue and that its counter pole CSR is one of today’s most popular subjects to study. In both areas there is a gap in the literature regarding the apparel industry where there CSI can be evident in many different aspects, especially in the production process. In the FMCG market, the demand for apparel that has been produced ethically has increased over the years. Still, the importance that the consumers place on ethical attributes in their purchase decisions is rather unknown. Purpose: The study's purpose is to investigate the young consumers’ emotions towards FMCG apparel corporations in order to see if CSI actions give them a negative attitude. It will further be explored to see if the attitude towards the corporations reflects in their intentional purchase behavior and their actual behavior. This will provide insight to the young consumers’ knowledge and interest for CSI, aiding corporations in their quest for excellence when it comes to consumer relationships. Method: This research is done through a deductive, qualitative research. A literature review is done to create a great understanding to the concepts of CSI, consumer attitudes and planned behavior. Four focus groups are conducted as a base for the empirical findings. Further, these two chapters are compared in an analysis to get an understanding about the young consumers’ attitudes towards corporations acting unethically and the affects it may have on their planned behavior. Conclusion: Based on the analysis, the study found clear evidence that the participants have a negative attitude towards corporations’ CSI activities. However, these attitudes did not, as theory suggests, have any effect on the participants’ intended and actual purchasing behavior. Instead it is shown that young consumers base their decisions on contextual factors, where the most significant one is price.