Corporate social responsibility is a well-discussed phenomenon where existing researchers within the field of MNEs have found an increased interest in the CSR topic. Existing research between the two topics is still at an early stage where the main reason is the complexity of defining the CSR concept, as well as the MNEs cross-border operations in multiple contexts. Further, the fast fashion industry is generally characterized by frequent production and squeezed margins to maximize profit. CSR is significantly important for MNEs operating in the fast fashion industry due to their environmental and social impact, where they have to reconsider the impact of their actions. This thesis will examine two MNEs originated from Sweden and Spain to understand the differences and similarities of the selected MNEs strategic CSR focus and actions. Further, a qualitative research method has been conducted in order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis, where the empirical data has been conducted through secondary data. The common findings of this thesis indicate that both MNEs engage in multiple CSR activities, where the strategy mainly focus on environmental and social aspects. Further, the findings illustrated a clear connection to Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR where all responsibilities were included in the strategies. The outcome of the thesis indicates that both MNEs strategies involves actions to take responsibility for global and local issues.

The fast fashion industry is valued as one of the largest industries globally, with its enormous production significantly contributing to environmental injustice. This study investigates the role of fast fashion organisations in addressing consumer demands for sustainability, focusing on the H&M Group as a case study. Despite the organisational efforts towards sustainable practices, consumers require more honesty and transparency in the way fast fashion organisations communicate their actions.The study begins with an introduction to the environmental impact of the fashion industry and the research problem, followed by introducing the H&M Group as a single case study. The literature review is used to provide an overview of existing research and contextual information followed by a conceptual framework incorporating CSR, the triple bottom line, the concept of sustainability, and corporate sustainability. The study draws on the social constructivist methodology with an abductive approach, utilising both quantitative and qualitative data.This research uses the H&M Group’s sustainability reports from 2020 to 2022, analysing how the organisation communicates and constructs its sustainability practices. Additionally, a survey was conducted to capture consumer perspectives on the sustainability efforts of fast fashion organisations.The case study is further detailed before describing the methods of data collection and analysis, including discourse and thematic analysis. The data sets, comprising H&M Group’s sustainability reports and the survey results, are furthermore presented. The findings reveal a significant paradox and complexity for both consumers and organisations. Consumers distrust fashion organisations’ sustainability claims yet continue to purchase low-cost products. The fast fashion industry faces the challenging task of balancing profitability with genuine sustainability, while mainly highlighting possible future actions.

Advertising is constantly surrounding us in different shapes, meaning that companies need to stand out in order to invoke people's attention. Advertising reflects the society's current norms which means that the media and society's values affect each other (Fagerström & Nilsson, 2008). Women have for a long time been objectified and presented in stereotypical roles since sexism is a common component in advertising (Grau & Zotos, 2016). An industry that is frequently being accused of promoting an asymmetrical image of women's bodies is the fast fashion industry (Fay & Price, 1994). It is crucial in both a societal- and business perspective to take responsibility when it comes to sexism in advertising. This study aims to examine female consumers attitudes towards quality attributes in advertising within the female fast fashion industry. Given the research purpose of this thesis, the research questions are: 1) How can the quality attributes in the female fast fashion industry be used to satisfy women as customers? 2) How does quality attributes contribute to customer (dis-)satisfaction in the female fast fashion industry? A preliminary study was organized to state consumers’ different attributes of sexism to use in the questionnaire. Followed by this was the main study with Kano pair questions that included 201 respondents. The pair questions were formulated by the attributes identified in the preliminary study. This study shows how all the presented attributes (“Size zero”, “White people”, “CIS-person”, “Functional variation”, “Unrealistic ideals”, “High level of nudity”, “Erotic way”, “Sexual desire”, “Body focus”, “Behind or breasts” and “Lips or mouth”) were classified as “Reversed” which is an indication of dissatisfaction and an urge for the attribute to be the opposite. This thesis demonstrates the relationship between the quality attributes and theories regarding objectification and portrayal of women. The customers’ attitudes towards the quality attributes correlate with the consequences as results of advertising in a sexist way. Businesses within the female fast fashion industry can prioritise the customer requirements for their advertisements in all assistance measurement and estimation of customer satisfaction in order to rise above the current way of advertising and become more customer oriented and to take responsibility and participation in the development of a gender equal society.

Research shows that strong CSR practices have a positive impact on organizational commitment which is crucial when employees are faced with negative events in the organization. Therefore, it is crucial for organizations to adopt CSR practices to retain engaged employees as they are less likely to engage in behaviors disadvantageous to the organization when negative events occur. However, some organizations face difficulties balancing efficiency with sustainable practices and respond to the pressures of CSR by adhering to or actively resisting it. The aim of this study is to explore what employee withdrawal behaviors can be associated with organizations’ strategic responses to CSR. We operationalize this aim by conducting ten semi-structured interviews studying what behaviors employees adopt in reaction to events in the Swedish fast fashion industry. An analytical framework has been created and applied to the findings based on previous research on employee withdrawal behavior and organizations’ strategic responses to institutional pressures. The findings indicate that there is a higher likelihood amongst committed employees to potentially engage in withdrawal behaviors the more organizations actively resisted CSR as a practice. A new dimension of withdrawal behavior is added to complement previous research to ultimately provide inspiration for future research.

In recent years, omnichannel strategies have increased, which has changed consumer purchasing decisions process. With this, the purchase decision has changed the way consumers approach to make purchase decisions, which leads to the purchase process being reshaped. The approach has become more complex with other aspects to consider in current consumer purchasing decisions. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis has been to investigate how omnichannel strategies, which integrate online and offline shopping platforms, shape consumers' purchase decisions in Sweden's fast fashion industry for generation Z. The empirical results were obtained using a qualitative case study of 25 participants from Sweden through semi-structured interviews. The findings were then analysed and discussed with the presented literature to identify how consumers' purchase decisions in Sweden's fast fashion industry for generation Z have been shaped by omnichannel strategies, integrating online and offline shopping platforms. The conclusion of this thesis shows that it is complex to assume how omnichannel strategies, integrated by online and offline shopping platforms, shape generation Z purchase decisions in Sweden's fast fashion industry because the impact of these strategies is unique to each individual's shopping journey. This means that every purchase decision is personally individual and varies depending on the consumer's unique approach to purchasing in the complex and interconnected world of integrated omnichannel strategies, where the online and offline channels are seamlessly connected to provide a unified shopping experience.

In recent years, sustainability has become more important for fast fashion companies to embrace. Partly because of climate change and partly because consumers’ demands are higher. To make a real difference, fast fashion companies need to communicate sustainability clearly, and consumers need to be receptive to this type of communication. Thereby, both fast fashion companies and consumers have responsibilities towards the environment. However, previous research shows that consumers lack comprehension of sustainability communication within the fast fashion industry. This leads to consumption of non-sustainable clothing items over sustainable clothing items. Based on the aforementioned, three main concepts were identified as pertinent to build upon, encompassing subconcepts. The main concepts are sustainability communication, consumer comprehension and purchasing decisions. The subconcepts are says what, to whom, motivation and engagement, word recognition, language comprehension, knowledge, intentions and action.  As previous research is scattered, this research is conducted to give a gathered understanding. The purpose of this research was to examine consumer comprehension of sustainability communication within the Swedish fast fashion industry. Additionally, considerable emphasis lay on purchasing decisions. To successfully do this, the primary data was collected through a pilot study and focus groups. More specifically, there were four focus groups with six participants in each.  The empirical findings, together with the literature review, concluded that consumers recognise environmental labels and designations but do not know what they stand for. Further, sustainability communication is placed in a positive category, despite lack of comprehension. The level of motivation and engagement is low, due to suspicions of greenwashing, among other things. Language comprehension was found to have no major impact on consumer comprehension of sustainability communication. Some felt that the communication should be concise and others felt that it should provide a broader perspective. Moreover, consumers notice the sustainability communication, however, they do not seek nor respond to it. These conclusions intend to create value for fast fashion companies.

Only a few industries face challenges regarding sustainability to the same extent as the fashion industry being one of the largest consumer industries and the second most polluting industry in the world. These challenges are encouraged by the fast fashion business model, which is dominant in the sector and relies on the quick responsiveness to latest fashion trends while maintaining low prices, encouraging more consumption and shorter product life cycles. On the other side, a consumer shift towards more environmental consciousness can be observed leading to most fast fashion brands integrating sustainability in various forms into their products and services. A path that many fast fashion brands take in order to become more sustainable is the strategy of green branding through green brand extensions. Green brand extensions (GBEs) involve the application of an established brand name to new and greener products due to environmental considerations of the brand and can be divided into green line extensions (GLEs) and green category extensions (GCEs). Due to identified research gaps concerning how green brand extensions change consumer attitudes as well as the relationship between brand loyalty and the green image of brands, the following research question got developed to gain in-depth in consumer behavior in the fast fashion industry related to green brand extensions: RQ: How do green brand extensions of fast fashion brands affect the consumers’ parent brand attitude and brand loyalty? This primary study that aims to answer the research question was conducted following a deductive research approach and adopting a quantitative research design through collecting data by means of a web questionnaire. Thereby, the brand attitude of fashion consumers on green line and green category extensions as well as the relationship to brand loyalty got investigated focusing on Generation Y and Z as largest consumer groups of fast fashion. The main results of the study are that the introduction of a GLE by a fast fashion brand generally leads to a more positive brand attitude and a slightly improved brand loyalty of consumers towards the parent brand. However, when introducing a GCE, the launch has rarely a positive effect on the brand attitude and brand loyalty of consumers towards the parent brand. The relationship of GLEs and brand attitude is thereby moderated by the environmental concern of consumers as well as their friends and by the initial brand attitude towards the fast fashion brand. The relationship of GLEs and brand loyalty on the other hand is only moderated by environmental concern of consumers and the initial brand attitude. Looking at GCEs and their relationship with brand attitude as well as brand loyalty, it is influenced and moderated by the age of consumers, the environmental concern of their friends as well as consumers’ initial brand loyalty towards the parent brand.

This thesis explores the influence of User-Generated Content (UGC) on the purchasingdecisions of millennials in the fast fashion industry, particularly through the platformsInstagram and TikTok. The research delves into the transformation from offline to onlinemarketing within the fast fashion sector, examining both fast-fashion and ultra-fast fashion tounderstand UGC's impact on consumer behavior, including environmental and ethicalconcerns. Employing a qualitative research methodology, this study focuses on thematic and contentanalysis to unravel the intricate ways in which UGC shapes millennials' purchasing decisions.The research provides an in-depth exploration of the subjective experiences, perceptions, andmotivations of this demographic, offering rich insights into their interaction with UGC.Additionally, the study integrates social influence theory and buying behavior theory tounderstand the dynamics of digital consumer engagement and the role of UGC incontemporary marketing strategies. Through interviews with Millennial consumers and analysis of their interactions with UGC,the research uncovers patterns and trends that highlight the significant role of UGC in digitalmarketing and consumer decision-making. The results suggest that while UGC significantlyinfluences Millennials, the impact varies across different aspects of the fast fashion sector.This research fills a void in current literature by providing a focused analysis of UGC'sinfluence across generational divides, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of digitalbehavior in the fast fashion industry.