In the light of corporate scandals, pressure has increased on organizations to communicate information related to their corporate social responsibility (CSR). In order to keep up with the increased pressure on social commitment, organizations’ self-descriptions may be future-oriented rather than reflections of reality. The future-oriented communication may improve the organizational culture and thereby motivate staff to perform more efficiently. On the other hand, if the organization does not fulfill their CSR communication it could lead to internal skepticism. This thesis constitutes a case study of the organization Coop, comprising whether the relationship between its CSR communication and the internal perception of Coop’s CSR work in store has affected their organizational culture.   In order to answer How does Coop communicate it sustainability work through its external communication? and How does the staff perceive Coop's sustainability work? a qualitative content analysis and interviews with Coop’s staff have been conducted. The theoretical framework consists of Nils Brunsson’s (2006) theory about Organized hypocrisy, and Christensen's (1997) Autocommunication.   A conclusion that can be made from the results of this thesis, is that the image communicated from Coop (regarding their sustainability work) does not seem to be fully aligned with the staff’s perception of Coop’s sustainability work. Coop’s definition of their sustainability work had only been acknowledged by some, whereas half of the staff had individual interpretations of Coop’s sustainability work. The various definitions of sustainability among the staff led to various attitudes towards Coop’s sustainability work, which ultimately resulted in a fragmented organizational culture.

Thesis advisor: Sarah Babb / The years since the Paris Agreement have seen intensifying efforts to decarbonize the financial system. Disclosure frameworks, notably the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), and Net-Zero targets, are fast becoming institutionalized globally to incentivize financial institutions to divert capital into low-carbon activities and away from carbon-heavy ones. I examine the implementation of these frameworks among financial corporations (FCs) in Singapore. 15 semi-structured interviews with professionals in the industry at the forefront of TCFD and Net-Zero suggest that FCs’ “talk” often does not match with their “actions”. Organizations ceremonially comply with new global standards as well as local regulations on TCFD and Net-Zero while they continue to finance carbon-intensive economic activities. Yet this apparent “hypocrisy” may not be so much a result of coordinated efforts for organizational buffering, as it is a consequence of disorganization and discoordination. Informants suggest that different parts within FCs independently perceived and responded differently, at a different pace, to the novel challenges that climate change has brought. I contribute to the environmental sociology literature on “organized hypocrisy” by examining how commonly perceived “hypocrisy” is or is not, in fact, “organized”. In doing so, I suggest that we should not assume “hypocrisy” to be an intentional organizational project. Furthermore, rather than seeing “hypocrisy” as effort to keep an organization “stable”, I argue that hypocrisy may be indicative of slow and potentially discordant organizational change, with ongoing internal efforts by insiders to match “actions” with “talk”. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

The international arms trade is of strategic and economic importance for the sending and receiving state. Due to the violent nature of arms however, the rhetoric of ethical considerations has become more profound in Western democracies following the end of the cold war. Despite this, previous research has shown that there is a discrepancy between words and actions. This phenomenon is captured in the term organized hypocrisy. No similar study on the case of Sweden has been done however, which I deem best suited for a least likely case study. Using quantitative methods to estimate the effect of variables on the probability of Sweden exporting arms, I find a positive correlation between the potential recipient’s democratic situation and the probability of exporting arms. These results contradict the theory of organized hypocrisy, hopefully contributing to the field and the debate on contemporary arms trade.

Denna uppsats fokuserar på den etableringsprocess som har skett i Jönköpings kommun vid införandet av familjecentraler. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur införandet av familjecentraler kan förstås och genom det skapa fördjupad kunskap om etableringsprocesser i socialt arbete. Studien har genomförts i form av en fallstudie. Empiri har samlats in genom intervjuer och genom offentliga allmänna handlingar. Materialet har analyserats genom ett adhoc-förfarande inspirerat av fallstudieanalys. Teorier som använts i analysen grundar sig i agenda-settingteori och i nyinstitutionell organisationsteori. Resultatet visar att familjecentraler som idé är omtolkningsbart vilket resulterat i en omfattande översättningsprocess. I den processen har socialtjänstens roll varit decimerad, vilket avspeglas i det utrymme som socialtjänsten ges på familjecentralerna där deras roll definieras av andra professioner än de själva. Det som gör att familjecentralerna kommer att etableras är en kritik mot och från barnhälsovården rörande relationen med socialtjänsten. Detta ackompanjeras av en ökad oro för föräldraskapet samt ökade krav på billigare och bättre verksamheter inom den offentliga sektorn. Dock får familjecentralsetableringen ett abrupt avbrott i och med att studier lyfts fram som indikerar att det finns bristande kunskaper rörande familjecentralernas effekt, vilket skapar hinder för nyetableringar. Detta medför inte att befintliga familjecentraler läggs ner vilket kan förstås i att familjecentralspolicyn visar en hög grad av institutionalisering, en stark förgivettagen tro på familjecentralerna, där dessa upphör att behöva legitimeras i form av problemadressering och resultat. / This bachelor thesis focuses on the establishment process of family centers in Jönköping municipality, Sweden. The purpose of this case-study is to examine on which terms the establishment of family centers can be understood aiming for the creation of in-depth knowledge about establishment processes in social work. Data has been collected via semi-structured interviews and via open records. The data has been analyzed via ad-hoc analyses inspired by cases study analyses. Theoretical framework used in the study is Kingdon’s agenda setting theory and neo-institutional organization theory. The study presents that family centre policy is highly interpretable and therefore has been a case of policy translation, which has resulted in a decimated part for the social services in the family centers, highly defined by other professions. The establishment of family centers is a result of a critique aimed against and from the child health care services, accompanied with an increased worry for parenthood and demands for more economically efficient function within the public sector. The process is interrupted by studies that indicate insufficient knowledge about the efficiency of the family centers. However this doesn’t result in closure of family centers because the function has reached a high degree of institutionalization, where it is legitimized by presumptions and beliefs rather than results and problem addressing.