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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a topic of rising importance in the current human rights discussion. As multinational supply chains have a growing impact on people’ lives, both in more developed and developing countries the question of how to regulate the behaviour of the companies that engage in these supply chains becomes increasingly important. States have tried to do this through both national and international law, by introducing hard law regulations as well as voluntary frameworks, so called soft law initiatives. The general legal framework of international law will first be introduced and subsequently focus will lie on the United Nations Principles on Business and Human Rights (The UN Guiding Principles) concerning the social responsibility of companies. In this thesis, the second of these sections is explored through an investigation into what responsibilities financial institutions, institutions that provides financial services for its clients or members, can be considered to have according to the legal framework associated with the corporate responsibility of human rights. The position of financial institutions is unique in a supply chain due to their distance to the production and hence to the country wherein the most fundamental human rights risks are present. Meanwhile, these financial institutions are also key to the trade operating throughout the supply chain. The thesis will identify the human rights issues along a supply chain and investigate the subsequent responsibilities that are tied to the financial institutions. The primary objective of the thesis is to clarify how to apply the international framework to the financial institutions and provide an answer to the question of what the human rights responsibilities of financial institutions are along a supply chain and to answer the question: what are the human rights responsibilities of financial institutions along a supply chain?

This study uses a quantitative method that aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm risk within Swedish public companies. Despite previous research at Anglo-Saxon companies with similar results, authors found cause for further investigation. Authors identified differences in the Swedish context that could affect the earlier found negative relation between CSR and firm risk, thereby legitimizing further examination. The research is built on secondary data collected from Nasdaq, Morningstar, Orbis and the CSRhub database. Through theory of relevance and current research, it develops a hypothesis which states that as CSR increases, firm risk is reduced in accordance with previous research. Testing was done with Pearsons bivariate correlation table and a multivariate regression analysis, controlling for various firm characteristics. The study found no connection between market risk and CSR, but could not determine whether a relationship between CSR and total risk exists within the population, only partly rejecting the hypothesis. The study raises attention as to how the relation between CSR and risk could be different in a context outside the typical Anglo-Saxon population. It could also be used as a base to further research on the cause to the lack of relation between CSR and market risk, in this study’s particular population.

Syfte: Under de senaste åren har det skett ett fokusskifte i redovisningslitteraturen, från utgångspunkten att CSR-rapportering bedrivs för att vinna legitimitet och anseende, till att rapporteringen i huvudsak sker för att informera investerarna. Studiens syfte är att undersöka om motivet till CSR-rapportering på samma sätt som för litteraturen har förändrats i praktiken för företag mellan årtalen 2004-2014. Metod: Med grund i den positivistiska forskningsfilosofin har vår studie en hypotetiskt-deduktiv ansats med en deskriptiv-förklarande forskningsdesign och en longitudinell tidshorisont. I studien har vi använt oss av kvantitativ sekundärdata, insamlad från databasen Datastream. Studiens två urval har varit stora företag från å ena sidan USA och Kanada, å andra sidan 17 europeiska länder. Alla statistiska analyser - parade t-test och multipla regressioner - har utförts i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat och slutsats: I vår första analys fann vi att det skett en signifikant ökning av CSR-rapporteringen mellan 2004 och 2014 för båda urvalsgrupperna. Våra två andra analyser visade på att legitimitetsmotivet hos företagen är oförändrat, medan styrkan på sambandet mellan CSR-rapportering och marknadsvärde är oförändrat eller har minskat i styrka, beroende på urvalskategori. Att en ökad rapportering inte nödvändigtvis leder till en ökad finansiell nytta, visar även det på att företag i praktiken inte följt samma motivskifte som litteraturen. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Det område som tidigare studiers resultat skiljer sig mest kring är huruvida CSR-rapportering lönar sig ekonomiskt för företagen. Vår studie lämnar bidrag gällande detta, men mer studier behövs göras på området. Uppsatsens bidrag: Våra resultat visade att det fokusskifte som litteraturen genomgått inte motsvaras av ett skifte även i praktiken. Det är därmed lika viktigt för företagen med legitimitet 2014 som 2004. Vår första analys bidrar även med en kartläggning av rapporteringsomfattningen med över 630 observationer för två kontinenter. Slutligen bidrar vi med empiriska resultat som visar att CSR-rapportering korrelerar positivt med företagens marknadsvärde. / Title: CSR-reporting - from legitimacy towards market information? A comparison of the motives for sustainable reporting between accounting research and large corporations Aim: During recent years, there has been a shift in focus among accounting researchers, from the premise that CSR-reporting is primarily used for gaining legitimacy and a better reputation, towards the view that reporting is mainly used to inform investors. The aim of this study was to examine whether the motives for CSR-reporting for large corporations between the years 2004-2014, has shifted in the same way. Method: Our study has its basis in the philosophy of positivism, with a hypothetical-deductive approach and a descripto-explanatory purpose and a longitudinal time horizon. We have used quantitative secondary data from the database Datastream, from large companies in the US and Canada in one sample, and 17 European countries in the other sample. All our analyses - paired t-tests and multiple regressions - have been made using the statistical program SPSS. Result and conclusions: In our first analysis, we found that the CSR-reporting of the companies had increased significantly between the years 2004 and 2014. Our other two analyses showed that the companies’ motive for legitimacy was unchanged, while the strength of the correlation of the CSR-reporting and market value was unchanged or weakened, depending on the sample. Since an increase in reporting did not necessarily equal financial gain, these results also supported that the companies’ motive for reporting was not primarily about informing the market. Suggestions for future research: The area where the results of most previous studies differ most is whether CSR-reporting has any financial benefit for the company. Therefore, that area is still the one most in need of further studies. Contribution of the thesis: Our results showed that the accounting researcher’s shift in focus concerning the motives for CSR-reporting, did not correspond with a similar shift in the companies’ motives for reporting. Our first analysis also contributes with over 630 observations showing the extent of CSR-reporting in North America and Europe. Lastly, our study contributes with empirical data showing a positive correlation between CSR-reporting and market value.

Referring to the Corporate Citizenship responsibility from the consumers perspective, consumers should be informed about Corporate Citizenship responsibility actions in order to educate them and make them more sensitive towards the dynamic role they are given.

Problemformulering och syfte: I denna studie har vi undersökt hur Åhléns kommunikativt arbetar med sina värderingar i samband med deras luciabild. Eftersom denna typ av värderingsdriven kommunikation har fått utstå kritik är studien relevant och intressant för omvärlden. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka Åhléns omstridda luciabild, organisationens värderingar, samt utvalda tidningars rapportering kring luciabilden. Metod och material: I denna studie har semiotisk bildanalys och kvalitativ innehållsanalys tillämpats. Med dessa metoder har studiens syfte och frågeställningar kunnat besvarats. Resultatet är baserat på undersökningen av Åhléns luciabild och den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen av ”Åhlens röst” samt av fyra Svenska tidningars rapportering inom den valda tidsperioden. Huvudresultat: Huvudresultatet visar att Åhléns har med sin luciabild kommunicerat sina uttalade värderingar och således kan detta betraktas som värderingsdriven kommunikation. Genom att undersöka deras luciabild, uttalade värderingar via deras kommunikationskanaler och fyra Svenska tidningars rapportering av fallet har vi kunnat framställa detta huvudresultat. Huvudresultatet visar även de reaktionerna som uppstod under den valda tidsperioden där publiker och grupper kunde identifierats

De ökade utmaningarna världen står inför och det växande intresset för hållbara investeringar gör att företagens sociala ansvar blir en allt viktigare fråga. Forskare menar att detta sociala ansvar som förväntas från intressenterna har blivit ett problem för företagen, och som följd av detta har rapportering av sådan verksamhet blivit vanligare. Då det inte finns någon klarhet i definitionen för vad CSR innebär så är det upp till företagen själva att tolka uttrycket vilket kan leda till stora skillnader i vad de väljer att prioritera i linje med deras moraliska kriterier och värderingar. Vissa företag har en tendens att anpassa CSR-arbetet för att skapa uppmärksamhet efter de fördelar som finns, andra som ett sätt att tillfredsställa sina intressenter. Detta kritiseras för att ske istället för att genuint arbeta med socialt ansvarsfulla handlingar och implementera dessa i organisationen. Syftet med denna studie var att studera det existerade sambandet mellan CSR-arbete och lönsamhet, med fokus på europeiska företag. Vidare har studien inriktat sig på att studera detta samband tillsammans med tre kontrollvariabler, storlek, sett till antal anställda, sektor och geografisk position.Urvalet i studien bestod av 352 europeiska företag fördelade inom 11 sektorer som är kategoriserade efter Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). Dessa har testats genom en stiganalys som är en sammansättning av bivariata- och multivariata regressionsanalyser, där även samtliga variabler inkluderades. Resultatet i studien indikerar bland annat att större företag arbetar mer med CSR men att det nödvändigtvis inte leder till högre lönsamhet. Vidare visar resultatet att sektor inte har någon betydelse för varken mängden CSR-arbete eller lönsamheten, resultatet visar snarare att sektor har en negativ effekt på lönsamheten. Slutligen visade studiens resultat att europeiska företags geografiska position inte innebär en större mängd CSR-arbete. Detta visar att oberoende av det land företaget är beläget i så innebär det nödvändigtvis inte mer CSR-arbete, samtidigt som resultatet visade att geografisk position kan ha en positiv inverkan på lönsamheten. / The increased challenge the world is facing and the growing interest and demands in sustainable investment make corporate social responsibility an increasingly and important questions for companies. Researchers even argue that this social responsibility that is expected from different stakeholders has become an issue for the companies, and as a result, reporting of such activities has become more common. Since there is no clear definition for what CSR means, it is up to the companies themselves to interpret the expression, which can lead to large differences in what they prioritize and work with. Some companies tend to adapt CSR in a way to draw attention to the benefits that exist, others as a way to satisfy their stakeholders. This is criticized for happening instead of genuinely working with socially responsible actions and implementing them in the organization. The purpose of this study was to examine the existing relationship between the CSR and profitability, focusing on European companies. Furthermore, the study has focused on examine this connection together with three control variables, firm size, in terms of number of employees, sector and geographical position.The selection in the study consisted of 352 European companies distributed in 11 sectors categorized according to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) which has been tested in a path analysis which is a composition of bivariate and multivariate regression analysis, including all the variables. The results of the study indicate that larger companies work more with CSR in their organization, but it does not necessarily lead to a higher profitability. Furthermore, the result show that the sector has no significance meaning for the amount of CSR work or profitability, the result rather shows that the sector has a negative effect on profitability. Finally, the result showed that the geographical position of the European companies does not involve a greater amount of CSR work. This shows that, irrespective of the country in which the company is located, it does not necessarily mean more work with CSR, while the result showed that geographical position can have a positive effect on the profitability.

No description available.

Rapporten tar upp ämnet om CSR-arbete hos klädföretag. Fokus ligger på pälshandeln och försöken att minska den. Rapporten tar hjälp utav en modell som behandlar ett företags balans mellan profil, identitet och image. Syftet är att se om en sådan balans gällande just företags CSR-arbete kan gynna företagen image-mässigt och således även ekonomiskt. / Program: Butikschef, textil och mode

This study explores the political perspectives of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting practices in a traditional economy. Previous studies on CSR reporting have identified a number of drivers/motivations of CSR disclosures including market, community and stakeholder influence. It is also argued that CSR may provide a setting for political patronage and interests, which may eventually lead to the absence of accountability. The possibility of exploiting CSR disclosures in developing countries/ traditional setting as characterized by Weber (1978) is even greater due to the prevalence of family controlled firms, political interference and favoritism, absence of rational corporate governance mechanisms and institutional investors, and inefficient and underdeveloped capital market. Yet, the role of political influence in CSR disclosures still needs to be explored and theorized. This study fills in this gap by drawing on the disclosures of corporations. Borrowing Weber's notion of traditionalism and traditional society and using the Weberian framework developed by Colignon and Covaleski (1991), this thesis explores deeply into the underlying nature of CSR practices of public limited companies in Bangladesh. Based on the Weberian framework and using the interacting methodologies of Weber, the study analyzes the structural, historical, economic and political conditions of the research site, Bangladesh, sets the tension between tradition and modernity, and identifies whether elements of traditionalism such as personal loyalty, obedience, family domination and kinship provide richer insights into the political aspects of organizations' CSR practices. The researcher employs mixed methods in this study. The study conducts OLS multiple regression to investigate the influence of political connections on CSR disclosure index. The second part of the research conducts in depth interviews with the current and former Board of Directors, CEOs, current and former policy makers in the government to provide explanatory powers as to why and how the companies use CSR as a political tool to express their allegiance towards the ruling power. The research documents association of political connections with CSRDI and also reports the presence of political motivations behind the CSR practices. The findings show that companies express their loyalty publicly by contributing to the ruling leader's programs and personal projects as CSR. The interview findings also reflect the presence of elements of traditionalism such as obedience, master-servant relationship, and family domination to understand the politically motivated CSR disclosures. As expected in a traditional setting, accountability and transparency would not transpire from imposed regulations and institutions, rather from the familial political power. This research contributes to the CSR literature by using a novel and alternative theoretical lens to understand the motivations of CSR in traditional societies. In addition, it provides a diverse methodological perspective by introducing mixed methods to critical accounting research. It also provides empirical evidence to a critique of CSR as an accountability mechanism in an arena where business depends fundamentally on political connections and familial power. Thus, the power of accounting as an articulation of accountability relationships is muted, if not ignored, in traditional societies (Dyball, Chua and Poullaos, 2006). This research opens up the scope to use the wealth of the Weberian framework to understand the accounting practices in both traditional as well as modern rational society.