Purpose – This research is investigating the Swedish banks transitioning to cashless bank offices. The investigation is carried out to fully understand the reasons behind the transition and what impacts it brought upon the stakeholders affected by it. The purpose of this is to analyze the transition for social and economic effects so that it can be concluded whether the transition was a move towards sustainable banking.  Method – The researchers carried out a case study at one of the biggest banks in Sweden. The empirical data for the research was collected through qualitative interviews and a survey with the bank’s employees as participants.  Findings – Several reasons for the transition to cashless banking were found. Both positive and negative effects brought up on stakeholders were also illuminated from the transition. The transition could not be deemed entirely as a move towards sustainable banking due to negative effects on stakeholders. However, it provides important information about the negative impacts and the stakeholders affected.  Implications – No clear answers can be provided due to many interrelated factors that are surrounding the transition, further studies need to be made to which are more focused on each the role of each and one of these factors.  Limitations – The case study is carried out in the Swedish banking sector, therefore, is geographically limited to Sweden as the transition might be different in different societies. The research is investigating the social and economic impacts brought by the cashless transition. Thus, the findings do not provide data regarding environmental impacts.

Due to globalization and influx, Sweden is facing the challenge of fostering socially inclusive and non-segregated cities. To tackle this challenge, the implementation of social sustainability in urban development projects is crucial. Therefore, this study examines how leadership is perceived to facilitate this process. For this purpose, the authors propose a leadership approach consisting of three aspects (i.e., Communication of Vision, Stakeholder Engagement, Adaptation to the Transition Process) and a framework that makes social sustainability tangible in an urban context. The context of this descriptive case-study was Drottninghög, a multicultural district in Helsingborg, which was the focus of an ongoing urban development project during the conduction of this thesis. The study made use of a qualitative approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews with leaders and community members in Drottninghög and unobtrusive field observations. The data were analyzed using a directed content analysis. Among the main findings were the importance of the use of diverse communication strategies and channels and continuous information loops, to adequately reach all stakeholders while communicating the vision; the significance of empowering stakeholders to actively engage in the community by offering appropriate and diverse activities and creating a personal atmosphere as well as including stakeholders as early as possible in the processes; and the value of leaders being flexible and adaptive to individual needs through inside knowledge and personal involvement when supporting stakeholders to adapt to the transition process.

Over the past few decades there has been a concerted effort in southern Africa forcommunity based natural resource management (CBNRM) programs. The generalpremise behind CBNRM allows local communities to be empowered to utilize theirsurrounding natural resources to facilitate socio-economic growth. This is seen as aneffective rural development tool which often takes on the form of eco-tourism inSouth Africa. It creates a link between nature conservation and socio-economicdevelopment needs and is normally built on existing conservation areas such asnational parks (Ezeuduji et al. 2017: 225).“Protected area outreach” is a form ofCBNRM (Chevallier 2016: 6), and this degree project examines how stakeholderparticipation was incorporated into the formulation of Kruger National Park’s (KNP)ten-year management plan. Using KNP’s stakeholder engagement process as anaturalistic case study, the aim is to discover the extent of participation and whethertrue empowerment is facilitated. This was done via document analysis of the 2018KNP Stakeholder Participation Report using the emancipatory approach. Thisapproach is influenced by critical, post-colonial and intersectional theory andemphasizes the attainment of social justice through the unveiling and dismantling ofinvisible oppressive power structures (Wesp et al. 2018: 319). The analysis showsthat KNP uses a systems approach to their stakeholder engagement as opposed toan empowerment one; that participation is limited to consultation and is thereforemerely a form of tokenism; that weaker marginalized stakeholder groups suffer fromsystemic exclusion and underrepresentation; and that there is little to no attentiongiven to empowerment nor structural reform to drive social change.

Stakeholder participation and perceptions by urban practitioners is a study area that requires further research, particularly in socially innovative living concepts where quality of life and social sustainability are key considerations for end-user stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to contribute to knowledge of these innovations by focusing on urban practitioners’ perception of end-user participation in innovations of living such as co-housing, sharing communities and cooperatives that have been built recently responding to societal needs and growing concerns over social sustainability in urban areas. This study answers research questions of perception of urban practitioners towards the participation of end-user stakeholders, practitioners’ perception in its use of organisational learning, and their interpretation regarding the distribution of power between all stakeholders. Through the lens of a theoretical background based on stakeholder theory and shared value creation, power, empowerment and sharing of power, adaptive and resilient organisations concepts; and adaptive organisational learning processes. Semi-structured interviews with practitioners, employed in the cities of Malmö and Copenhagen, were conducted, transcribed and then interpreted by the authors through an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology that was used to interpret data. Findings suggest that most perceive a value in stakeholder participation and those practitioners exposed to end-user stakeholder participation have a higher comprehension of its potential value. Respondents agreed that the municipality remains a key stakeholder in the shaping process, even though this was not part of initial questioning. Finally, there is a notion of an interplay between power and financial resources that still controls the development process. The paper concludes while there is a perceived value of the processes and knowledge sharing on the process of end-user stakeholders not all perceive the benefits. The authors recommend further development in this area to increase comprehension, knowledge sharing of the possibilities and barriers to innovations of living.

This dissertation presents a legal and regulatory framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the effect it has on social transformation in South Africa. It is premised on Dodds' theory of stakeholder protection which is articulated with greater clarity by Jeff Smith. He states that directors are agents of all stakeholders. In other words, they have the responsibility to ensure that every stakeholder's rights and interests are protected and fulfilled. This, he further explains, should be carried out by means of a balancing exercise between each stakeholder interest in every transaction. The dissertation demonstrates how the private sector can 'effectively' utilise principles of CRS to contribute towards and expedite social transformation. The significance of social transformation rests on it being a constitutional imperative as employed to redress the legacy of Apartheid. Lastly, the dissertation discusses CSR and how it affects social transformation in India and the United Kingdom (UK) with the aim of gleaning comparative insights. The dissertation then makes recommendations that the South African CSR legislation should embody objectives of our broader national interests similar to the Indian approach. In addition, it argues for a fully defined set of directors' duties which promotes compliance with CSR goals similar to the UK approach.

Information Technology (IT) projects have become critical to business strategy. However, one major issue is that, historically, IT projects have high failure rates, with scholars asserting that ineffective stakeholder management strategies were a major factor for project failure. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies IT executives use for managing IT project stakeholders by exploring the experiences of 2 CIOs and 4 IT directors in two multinational companies, based in Switzerland. Stakeholder theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documentation, and analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process to identify and code themes. Five main themes emerged from the data analysis: organizational culture, organizational maturity, leadership, competencies, and post-implementation reviews. The results of this study revealed the importance for leaders to articulate business strategies enabling stakeholders to have a common perspective on project objectives, and to act as a foundation upon which IT executives can create effective stakeholder management strategies. Results indicated that the deployment of effective stakeholder management strategies was dependent on several factors, including organizational culture, leadership style, competencies, and organizational maturity. Findings may contribute to positive social change by encouraging effective stakeholder management to improve knowledge sharing, individual and team motivation, management across cultural boundaries, and stimulate a culture of social responsibility and sustainability.

Leaders of youth intervention programs provide a significant social service by redirecting at-risk youth onto a productive path. The standards for youth-serving organizations are inconsistent from 1 organization to another across a wide range of youth-worker training certification programs in the United States. A single-case study was conducted to explore the strategies that 3 leaders of a nonprofit organization located in Minnesota, use to select, collect, and analyze data to assess the effectiveness of training certification programs for youth workers. The 2017-2018 Baldrige Excellence Framework provided the structure for a systems-based evaluation of the client organization; Freeman's stakeholder theory was the conceptual lens for the study. Data were collected from conducting semistructured interviews, reviewing the participating organization's internal documents and performance outcomes, and analyzing open-source resources. Through thematic analysis, 4 key themes emerged: (a) the social return on investment analysis and the overall cost savings by investing in and supporting youth programs, (b) the opportunity to focus research on certification for youth workers, (c) the value of providing training for youth workers, and (d) the opportunity to provide a platform for the youth to share success stories with their community. Specific recommendations stemming from the research findings were to create a state or national recognition standard for youth-worker certifications and to make youth work a paid profession. Implementation of these recommendations may result in positive social change by improving the lives and trajectories of youth.

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Background: As the Earth heads towards the zone of exceedance, there is a highlighted importance in contributing towards sustainable development. The sustainable development goals (SDGs), introduced by the United Nations, act as guidance to integrate environmental, social, and economic aspects, to ensure a sustainable future.  However, research is missing on the interconnection between the need to engage stakeholders in the Port and the SDGs. Researching the port of Le Havre is used as an example to demonstrate an in-depth analysis of the actors’ activities and their level of engagement regarding sustainability. Purpose: This thesis aims to analyze the sustainability strategies taken by the stakeholders in the port industry based in the port of Le Havre and identify the key elements to achieve the SDGs by engaging the stakeholders.  Method: The study aligns with an interpretive analysis, where qualitative multiple exploratory case studies were carried out. Through semi-structured interviews, the researchers were able to assess the sustainable activities realized by the stakeholders. By analyzing the data using a coding procedure, five aggregate dimensions emerged. Conclusion: This study suggests that the stakeholders and their awareness of sustainability are essential to achieve the SDGs. In addition to this conclusion, the findings also suggest they should act collectively towards meeting the SDGs, to ensure a holistic and long-lasting strategy towards sustainability.