This academic investigation examines the intersection between International Relations (IR), data privacy laws, and social media governance. The case studies are of Tik Tok &amp; Facebook/Meta where we begin the research by taking a comparative analysis of the US congressional hearings of Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook/Meta) in 2018 and Shou Zi Chew (CEO of Tik Tok) in 2023. In addition, a comparative analysis is made on the referenced or related data privacy laws amongst the EU, US, and China through the realist, liberalist, and new constructivist lens. Lastly, a practice theory approach follows the empirical data of penalties on these two social media companies, the similar corporate solutions from Tik Tok to both EU and the US, and the quantifiable lobbying contributions from both ByteDance (parent company to Tik Tok) and Facebook/Meta. The three research questions are (i) how do the IR theoretical lenses of realism and liberalism acknowledge the significance of social media and its need for regulations, (ii) how can data be conceptualized for social media governance and what are the implications of these dynamics within IR, and (iii) what is the efficacy of data privacy laws in protecting user rights while social media companies influence US policymakers? My conclusion is that data privacy laws are legal jargon that either power-maximize a state or act as a taxation mechanism. User rights are not secure, and there is a battle for accountability and a risk that algorithms may keep social media companies abstained from responsibility. / <p>New Data was released where Meta was fined $1.2 Billion by the EU. It does not take anything away from the paper but is relevant to the systemic act of data protection. Also, no exact definition of governance is given. For following papers that use this, it's important to be defined depending on how they interpet it but this paper didn't need a deep definition.</p>

This ethnographic study explores how various stakeholders perceive and experience the corporate social responsibility (CSR) environment in China, highlighting both its benefits and challenges. Since 2019, China has increasingly engaged in environmental and social initiatives, including the "2030 Peak Carbon Emissions" and "2060 Carbon Neutrality" plans, and has prioritized triple distribution as a national strategic framework for achieving shared prosperity goals. Many companies have responded actively to national policies by integrating CSR themes into their management systems and business strategies. However, there has been limited investigation into how the concept, guidelines, and measures of CSR are perceived and experienced by specific stakeholder groups in practical settings. Documenting the experiences of certain stakeholders in the early stages of rapid CSR development is crucial for informing government and organizational CSR initiatives, assessing policy plans, and providing valuable insights for future policy-making. This study employs an anthropological approach rarely used in CSR research. From 2021 to 2022, individual data was collected through participatory observation of CSR consulting firms and in-depth interviews with stakeholders in Shanghai. Starting from individual cases, the paper explores the complexity of individual thoughts and behaviors in CSR activities. A thinking map based on common characteristics was constructed based on the language used by respondents to describe how their world operates. The results indicate differences in CSR awareness among respondents, with state-owned enterprises seen as the main bearers of CSR. Government policies and mainstream trends significantly influence CSR practices, emphasizing the importance of government quality in establishing a trustworthy and capable social environment. The role of civil society in CSR needs to be further strengt hened, as the lack of conditions for organizational and individual participation in public policy -making undermines the significance of CSR in providing moral leadership. Some respondents express skepticism about the authenticity of CSR, primarily due to a lack of internal employee care culture, which is a key persuasive factor in stimulating employee interest in CSR.

Syfte: Ett växande intresse för CSR och dess betydelse lyfter fram rollen av bolagsstyrning. Bland annat ifrågasattes styrelsens roll i att utveckla strategier och uppfylla krav från diverse intressentgrupper. Frågan om finansiell prestation, eller tillgängligheten av finansiella resurser, kan påverka förhållandet mellan CSR och styrelseegenskaper har sällan undersökts tidigare. Syftet med denna studie är därmed uppdelat i två frågeställningar; den första delen undersöker hur styrelseegenskaperna påverkar CSR. Vidare behandlar den andra delen potentiella modererande effekter av finansiell prestation på förhållandet. Metod: Studien utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi och en tvärsnittsforskning som bygger på en kvantitativ strategi. Data inhämtades via Refinitiv Eikon om 433 börsnoterade nordiska bolag för året 2021. Behandling och analys av data genomfördes via SPSS; ett statistiskt mjukvaruprogram. Resultat &amp; slutsats: Resultaten tyder på positiva och statistiskt signifikanta effekter av styrelsens storlek, andelen kvinnor i styrelsen respektive andelen oberoende styrelseledamöter på CSR. Likaså fanns ett positivt samband mellan CSR och finansiell prestation samt att påverkan av styrelsestorleken på CSR positivt stärks av finansiell prestation. Däremot indikeras att påverkan av andelen kvinnor i styrelsen respektive andelen oberoende styrelseledamöter på CSR försvagas av finansiell prestation.  Examensarbetets bidrag: Studiens resultat har praktiska och teoretiska bidrag. Studiens teoretiska bidrag avser resultatens tillägg i den nuvarande forskningen om förhållandet mellan CSR och styrelsen. Studiens empiriska resultat kan därmed användas för att bättre förstå hur styrelsesammansättningen kan uppmuntra ansvarsfullt beteende. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Genom studiens resultat har vi kunnat föreslå tre ytterligare frågor för fortsatt undersökning. Den första frågan föreslår att VD:ns personlighet, engagemang och värderingar kan vara en närmare indikator på hur VD-dualitet kan påverka CSR. För det andra, föreslås vidare behandling av företagsbeteende mot CSR under olika ekonomiska förhållanden. Slutligen, har tidigare studier föreslagit vidare undersökning av interaktionseffekterna av styrelsens beståndsdelar för närmare indikation av en effektiv styrelsesammansättning. Syftet är att undersöka den gemensamma effekten av styrelsesammansättningen på CSR, till skillnad från att se hur enskilda egenskaper påverkar CSR. / Aim: The growing interest in corporate social responsibility and discussions of its importance inquired the role of corporate governance by numerous researchers. Specifically, the board has been highlighted as a pilar to developing strategies and maintaining the goals of diverse stakeholders. The role of financial performance, or the availability of slack financial resources, is a question rarely posed in its effects on the relation between the previously mentioned variables. The objective of this study is thereby divided into two inquiries; the first part investigates the effects of board characteristics on CSR, whereas the second part explores potential moderation effects of financial performance on the relationship.  Method: This study employs a positivistic research philosophy and cross-sectional research design based on a quantitative strategy. Data was collected through Refinitiv Eikon on 433 Nordic public firms for the year 2021. Processing and analysis of data was conducted through a statistical software program, SPSS.   Results &amp; conclusions: Our findings suggest positive and statistically significant effects of board size, proportion of female board members and proportion of independent board members on CSR, respectively. Likewise, we find that financial performance has a positive effect on CSR and positively accentuates the effects of board size on CSR. Meaning that, higher financial performances positively influence firms’ level of CSP and accentuate the effects of board size on CSR. However, the effects of the proportion of female board members and proportion of independent board members are respectively weakened by firms’ financial performance. Contribution of the thesis: The findings of this study have practical and theoretical contributions. Theoretical contributions refer to our additions to the current research bank by providing more evidence on the effects of board characteristics on CSR. Practical contributions regard the empirical results given the limitations of the study, which can aid in understanding how specific board structures can encourage socially responsible behavior.  Suggestions for future research: Findings of the study inquired the role of three additional topics in relation to CSR. First, our insignificant results for CEO-duality is an additional indication to instead investigate the role of CEOs’ personalities and their engagement toward CSR-related questions, especially in institutional settings with coercive standards for socially responsible behaviors. Second, differences between fostering and declining economical/market conditions may result in re-prioritizations of goals and reformulations of CSR-strategies. Thereby inquiring if economic conditions may be a moderating factor in the relationship between CSR and financial performance. Third, researchers have suggested further investigation on the interaction effects between board characteristics due to their influence on one-and-another.

The leaders of all countries of each sector and level of society are compelled to work together to address [social and environmental] challenges by maintaining sustainable human development and ensuring that the benefits of globalization are shared more widely. It is in the interests of businesses that these benefits continue both for companies and for others in society.   The Venture Capital is a financial capital provided to the startup firms in their early stages which has a high potential for growth but also entail high risk. The Venture capital firms typically look for new and small businesses with a perceived long term growth potential that will result in a high payout for investors. Venture capital is a subset of private equity of the firms. On other hand, Private equity is an asset class consisting of equity securities, which are not quoted in the stock market. An investment in private equity most often involves either an investment of capital in a mature firms as well as buyout firms.             The purpose of this study is to explore the gap between UK and U.S venture capital and private equity firms on the base of ESG criteria into investment decision making process. To find a relationship between venture capital and private equity firms mainstream investment with ESG criteria and also highlight new trends and the issues, which are potential barrier of ESG criteria implementation in UK and US firms. The authors used different academic literature, previous studies to find a gap and a relationship of ESG criteria into mainstream investment decision making process in UK and U.S firms.   The research is based on both primary &amp; secondary data under descriptive nature of study. A technique with the name of content analysis was used to collect the quantitative data from the U.K and U.S Venture Capital and Private Equity firms. These firms are further categorized in the sample size under the umbrella of clean tech and non-clean tech. Total sample size is 120 firms (60 VC &amp; 60 PE), where 56 are clean tech and 64 are Non-clean tech firms. The find a relationship between variables regression analysis technique is used through SPSS for verifying the validity and variability of collected Data.   We found that, an ESG criterion is on development stage, and there is no such technique and standards that are developed by the venture capital and private equity firms. We found, that firms are mostly focusing on responsible investment strategy; it is somehow same like whole ESG for purpose of their investment screening process. We found that ESG consideration in some UK and U.S venture capital and private equity firms exist, but vary from firms to firms. Some firms are considering just one factor while some other firms consider more than one.  Large firms have more focus on ESG as compared to small firms; due to the nature of business and size, and number of employees, focus is only limited towards investment options and development of strategies for the firm. The result of this study interpret that the U.S firms are focusing more on investment returns, and pay less attention towards ESG as compared to U.K firms, Where UK Venture capital and private equity firms results shows that, they are more focused towards ESG and feel free to incorporate ESG criteria into their investment strategies without incurring any cost in terms of risk and returns.

Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet Författare: Gustav Johannesson och Martin Westport Handledare: Andreas Stephan Medbedömare: Anna Stafsudd Titel: Sambandet mellan Corporate Social Performance och finansiell risk - En kvantitativ studie som undersöker nordiska företag Bakgrund: Företags sociala ansvar har ständigt funnits på företagsagendan under senaste åren efter ökade globala utmaningar och större påtryckningar från intressenter. Man kan se allt större risker som är kopplade till företags hållbarhetsarbete. Med bakgrund till detta finns det ett stort intresse och en uppåtgående trend kring hållbara investeringar där Norden är ledande inom området. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att förklara sambandet mellan Corporate Social Performance, både på en sammanslagen och individuell nivå, och finansiell risk. Metod: Genom den deduktiva forskningsansatsen och den kvantitativa forskningsstrategin som är baserad på paneldata testar författarna sina hypoteser. Författarna bygger sina hypoteser på intressentteorin och riskhanteringsteorin som testas med ett nordiskt urval på 144 företag under tidsperioden 2002-2016. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att det finns ett negativt samband mellan Corporate Social Performance och finansiell risk. Det finns även ett negativt samband mellan företags sociala prestationer och finansiell risk. Detta är i linje med författarnas förväntningar. Däremot visar resultatet inga samband mellan företags miljömässiga och styrningsmässiga prestationer och deras finansiella risk. / Degree Project, The Business Administration and Economics Programme, School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University Authors: Gustav Johannesson and Martin Westport Supervisor: Andreas Stephan Co-assessor: Anna Stafsudd Title: The relationship between Corporate Social Performance and Financial Risk - A quantitative study that examines Nordic companies Background: Corporate Social Responsibility has been on the corporate agenda in recent years following increased global challenges and greater pressure from stakeholders. One can see more risks associated with corporate sustainability. This has led to a great interest globally and an upward trend in Socially Responsible Investing where the Nordic region is at the leading edge. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explain the relationship between Corporate Social Performance, both at a combined and an individual level, and financial risk. Method: Through the deductive research approach and the quantitative research strategy that is based on panel data, the authors test their hypotheses. The authors base their hypotheses on stakeholder theory and risk management theory and test them with a Nordic sample of 144 companies over the period 2002-2016. Conclusion: The study results show that there is a negative relationship between Corporate Social Performance and financial risk. There is also a negative relationship between social performance and financial risk. This is in line with the authors’ expectations. However, the results show no relationship between companies’ environmental and governance performance and their financial risk.

[pt] Estudamos as razões para se investir em RSC/ASG. Exploramos as diversas críticas que o conceito recebeu ao longo dos anos; e o recente entusiasmo de CEOs se comprometendo em liderar suas empresas em benefício de todos os stakeholders e de gestores de ativos de incorporar aspectos ambientais, sociais e de governança (ESG) ao seu processo de tomada de decisão de investimento. Para esclarecer o investimento em RSC/ASG e o comportamento das empresas em relação a ele, nos baseamos em artigos bastante recentes de pesquisa empírica sobre RSC/ASG para a escolha de quatro modelos diferentes de opções reais. Utilizando os modelos, realizamos análises de sensibilidade sobre a decisão de se tornar uma empresa socialmente responsável, investir em RSC/ASG para capturar um benefício, bem como sobre a alternativa de abandono e a probabilidade de salto para zero. Nossos resultados sugerem que o investimento em RSC/ASG é valioso, mas não pelas razões comumente apresentadas. O investimento cria uma oportunidade para a empresa limitar suas perdas quando envolvida em um evento prejudicial à sua reputação, ao meio-ambiente ou à sociedade. Para manter a oportunidade viva, a empresa precisa investir continuamente em iniciativas de RSC/ASG, que podem ser mais acessíveis às empresas maiores e mais fortes. Discutimos se essa oportunidade impulsiona um comportamento imprudente ou antiético das empresas e apontamos a contradição entre o possível incentivo à irregularidade e o propósito original do conceito. / [en] We studied the rationales of investing in CSR/ESG. We explored the several critics that the concept received over the years; and the recent rush of CEOs into signing commitments to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders and of asset managers into incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) on their investment decision making process. To clarify the CSR/ESG investment choice and the investment behavior of the firms towards it, we drew on very recent empirical research articles on CSR/ESG to choose four different real options models. Using the models, we performed sensitivity analyses on the decision to become a socially responsible firm, to invest in CSR/ESG to capture a goodwill, as well as on the abandonment option and jump to zero probability. Our results suggest that the investment in CSR/ESG is valuable, but not for the reasons commonly presented. The investment creates an opportunity for the firm to limit its losses when involved in a reputational, environmental, or social damaging event. To keep the opportunity alive, the firm has to continuously invest in CSR/ESG initiatives, which may be more accessible to larger and stronger firms. We discuss whether this opportunity propels firms to engage in a reckless or unethical behavior and point out the contradiction between the possible incentive to malpractice and the concept s original purpose.

Although social policy was once perceived to be solely within the purview of the nation state, there has been a move toward a more European social policy. The European Court of Justice for the European Communities (‘Court of Justice’ or ‘Court’) determines the scope of European law and how it affects national welfare states. The court’s decisions will affect not only the national law of the member states with regard to social policy but also the direction of European social policy as it expands. However, the ECJ does not choose the policy areas in which it makes its decisions, but instead reacts to the preliminary references that are sent by the national courts of the Member States. These preliminary references from the Member States will set the Court’s agenda. Preliminary references are unevenly distributed across the Member States of the EU, and some Member States’ preliminary references are concentrated in particular policy areas. The jurisprudence of the Court, and consequently the social policy of the EU, could be steered by this uneven distribution. This thesis will answer the threshold question of why scholars of social policy should care about the Court of Justice, with a legal analysis of some key themes in the Court’s decisions in the area of social policy. It will then employ a mixed methods research design to explain the variation in rates of social policy preliminary references from the EU-15. First, a Time Series Cross-Section (TSCS) model will be used to test a series of hypotheses generated from the literature, and three novel hypotheses, in a dataset of social policy preliminary references from the EU-15 from 1996 to 2009. Next, a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) (Ragin 2000) will group the variables that were found to be significant into sets of conditions, or ‘causal pathways,’ that lead to higher and lower rates of social policy preliminary references. Finally, two qualitative case studies will be conducted, in the UK and France. Analysis of documentary evidence and 25 expert interviews in the two member states and at the Court of Justice will further explain and illuminate the differing usage of preliminary reference process. The analysis of the mixed methods is integrated in the final stage. Implications for the direction of EU law related to social policy and the future development of European social policy will be considered in the concluding chapter.

Структура магистерской диссертации включает введение, три главы, заключение, список литературы. В первой главе будет определено понятие устойчивого развития, формирование устойчивости и методы оценки эффективности улучшения устойчивого развития. Во второй главе будет представлена методология исследования с углубленным анализом собранных данных. В третьей главе будут исследованы проблемы и механизмы управления устойчивым развитием компании и рекомендации по стратегии устойчивого развития, а также будет оценена их эффективность. Диссертация завершится кратким изложением основных выводов и их последствий для устойчивого развития современных корпораций. / The structure of the master's thesis includes an introduction, three chapters, conclusion, list of references. The first chapter will define the concept of sustainable development, the formation of sustainability and the methods for evaluating the effectiveness of improving sustainable development. The second chapter will provide the research methodology with an in-depth analysis the collected data. In the third chapter, will explore the problems and mechanisms of the company's sustainable development management and recommendations for sustainable development strategy, and their effectiveness will be evaluated. The thesis will conclude with a summary of the key findings and their implications for the sustainable development of modern corporations.

The pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a transformative approach to energy systems, focusing on cleaner, reliable, and affordable energy services. This pursuit of achieving the SDG 7 goal of universal access to affordable and clean energy, can have numerous positive and negative implications on all other SDGs and their targets. This thesis project explores and addresses these interlinkages between SDGs and energy projects, highlighting the synergies and trade-offs of energy projects to contribute to achieving the SDGs. In this project, we propose a methodology and framework to facilitate the integration of the SDGs into the energy project planning and implementation phase. This framework is implemented into a tool called SDGs-PROPEL (Sustainable Development Goals - PROject Performance Evaluationand Learnings) that is tailor-made to help energy practitioners identify potential trade-offs and synergies, and develop strategies to maximize positive impacts and minimize negative ones by prioritizing the SDGs that are relevant to their projects. The proposed methodology also takes into consideration the growing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, ensuring that energy projects align with sustainable practices and societal expectations. Three case studies - one Wind energy projectand two district heating projects, all in France, are utilized to test the SDGs-PROPEL tool. It also incorporates feedback from technology experts working in District Heating and Cooling(DHC) and wind energy in energy companies and academia. The tool was also tested by studentsat the master’s level at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The proposed methodology in the SDGs-PROPEL tool can be used by any energy practitioner for building a robust testing process for their tools and, in turn, help address some of the challenges of integrating SDGs with energy projects by providing a structured approach to incorporating the SDGs into theplanning and implementation phase of the energy projects. In conclusion, this paper emphasizes the significance of incorporating the SDGs into energy projects as a means to drive sustainable development. By enabling companies to assess the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their energy initiatives, this integration plays a crucial role in addressing critical global issues like climate change, poverty reduction, and energy access. / Strävan efter hållbara utvecklingsmål (SDG) kräver ett transformativt förhållningssätt till energisystem, med fokus på renare, pålitliga och överkomliga energitjänster. Denna strävan efter att uppnå SDG 7-målet om universell tillgång till hållbar energi, kan ha många positiva och negativa konsekvenser för alla andra SDG och deras mål. Detta avhandlingsprojekt utforskar och tar upp dessa kopplingar mellan SDG och energiprojekt, och belyser synergierna och avvägningarna mellan energiprojekt för att bidra till att uppnå SDGs. I det här projektet föreslår vi en metod och ett ramverk för att underlätta integrationen av SDGs i energiprojektets planering och genomförandefas. Detta ramverk är implementerat i ett verktyg som kallas SDGs-PROPEL (Sustainable Development Goals - PROject Performance Evaluation and Learnings) som är skräddarsytt för att hjälpa energiutövare att identifiera potentiella avvägningar och synergier, och utveckla strategier för att maximera positiva effekter och minimera negativa. genom att prioritera de SDG som är relevanta för deras projekt. Den föreslagna metoden tar också hänsyn till den växande betydelsen av miljö-, social- och styrelserapportering (ESG), vilket säkerställer att energiprojekt överensstämmer med hållbar praxis och samhälleliga förväntningar. Tre fallstudier - ett vindenergiprojekt och två fjärrvärmeprojekt, alla i Frankrike, används för att testa SDGs-PROPEL-verktyget. Den innehåller också feedback från teknikexperter som arbetar med DHC och vindenergi i energiföretag och akademi. Verktyget testades även av studenter på masternivå vid Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan. Den föreslagna metoden i SDGs-PROPEL-verktyget kan användas av alla energiutövare för att bygga en robust testprocess för sina verktyg och i sin tur hjälpa till att hantera några av utmaningarna med att integrera SDGs med energiprojekt genom att tillhandahålla ett strukturerat tillvägagångssätt för att införliva SDGs in i planerings- och genomförandefasen av energiprojekten. Sammanfattningsvis betonar detta dokument betydelsen av att införliva SDGs i energiprojekt som ett sätt att driva hållbar utveckling. Genom att göra det möjligt för företag att bedöma de miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska effekterna av sina energiinitiativ, spelar denna integration en avgörande roll för att ta itu med kritiska globala frågor som klimatförändringar, fattigdomsminskning och tillgång till energi.