Traditionally, it has been argued that companies are only responsible towards their shareholders, to maximize the profits. But lately it has changed into another way of responsibilty. It has become of great importance to demonstrate sustainable long-term values for stakeholders to identify with. This thesis aims to clarify the banks’ definition of responsible investment and what criteria they assume when talking about such kind of investments. Furthermore, the thesis intends to examine how the banks in their role as an agent can contribute so their customers can achieve responsible investments. The issues dealt with are: What criterias must a responsible investment meet according to the Swedish banks? and How can the Swedish banks contribute so their clients' investments falls under what is defined as responsible investment?The conclusions of this study show that to conduct a dialogue with companies that violate norms and principles is considered more responsible, than to exclude companies and divest holding. A responsible investment is thus an investment on which banks are active owners and influence companies through dialogues. / Traditionellt sett har det hävdats att företag endast har ett ansvar gentemot aktieägarna. I takt med globaliseringen och en ökad medvetenhet om hur företag påverkar omvärlden, blir trycket allt större på att organisationer och företag ska ta ett ansvar bortom årets resultat. Påtryckningarna kommer främst från företagens intressenter och utgörs av deras krav på företagets verksamhet. För att ett företag ska kunna överleva i en föränderlig omvärld är det av stor vikt att företaget kan uppvisa hållbara värderingar som intressenterna långsiktigt kan identifiera sig med. Företagsledningen måste därför acceptera att det finns andra mål än vinstmaximering och vara redo att arbeta med flera parallella målsättningar av olika slag. Det är genom detta arbete som företaget måste hitta vägar att möta dessa krav och på så vis axla sitt ansvar gentemot omvärlden. SRI, Socially Responsible Investment, går i linje med att företagen ska förmå att ta sitt ansvar. SRI medför att aktieägarna genom sina investeringar ges en möjlighet att utöva påtryckningar på företagen, att integrera CSR-arbetet i sin verksamhet, samtidigt som de får ekonomisk avkastning. På en internationell nivå är FN:s principer för ansvarsfulla investeringar, UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), kanske det mest betydelsefulla initiativet för att kombinera ett ansvarsfullt agerande med ekonomisk avkastning. Principerna förser investerare med ett ramverk för att ställa krav på företagen att implementera ett arbete avseende miljö- och socialt ansvar, samt frågor som rör bolagsstyrning i företagens verksamheter. Denna uppsats syftar till att bringa klarhet i vad som, enligt de ledande bankerna i Sverige, avses med ansvarsfulla investeringar och vilka kriterier bankerna utgår från när de talar om den här typen av investering. Vidare studeras hur bankerna i sin roll som agenter kan verka för att kundernas placeringar blir ansvarsfulla investeringar. Frågeställningarna som uppsatsen behandlar lyder: Vilka kriterier utgår Sveriges ledande banker från när de definierar en ansvarsfull investering? samt Hur kan Sveriges ledande banker verka för att deras kunders placeringar faller inom ramen för ansvarsfulla investeringar? Studien visar att de ledande bankerna i Sverige följer Principles for Responsible Investments när de talas om ansvarsfulla investeringar. Respondenterna och bankerna har genomgående definierat en ansvarsfull investering som en investering där ägaren är aktiv i sin roll och påverkar bolagen att leva upp till ESG-kriterierna. Bankerna är i sin roll som agenter av stor betydelse för dialogen med bolagen för att kundernas placeringar faller inom ramen för ansvarsfulla investeringar. Att föra en dialog med bolag som bryter mot normer och principer anses mer ansvarsfullt än att exkludera bolagen och avyttra innehavet.

This thesis deals with questions of Marx’s concept of alienation in regards to the semi-aware state of it in contemporary society. In the fashion industry, one of the most globalised businesses, the supply chains are getting larger, tasks are being outsourced and labour is divided on several dozens of workers involved, relationships are socially and geographically dispersed. Hence, companies establish departments for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and by this “cleaning” the supply chain according to international laws and conventions. Division of labour fragments the supply chains and third parties are in charge to audit and inspect factory sites, reporting the findings to the company’s CSR manager and by this increasing transparency and authenticity. Meanwhile being unaware of the fact that alienation happens in a definitive state in the fashion industry, companies counteract not only by communication their endeavour which CSR is executing but also by publishing CSR agendas and policies online. This phenomenon is demonstrated on two Swedish fashion brands, Filippa K and Cheap Monday. After all, I argue, Marx might be challenged in various points of his theory, however, he appears not being completely wrong when it comes to alienation. Further, I claim, that the old-fashioned (and forgotten?) theory of alienation ought to be revived for the understanding of issues on the production side, branding narratives and storytelling marketing strategies as well as end-consumers increasing awareness and education in such realms.

Termed corporate associations, consumer corporate brand perceptions influence evaluations of new products made by consumers. Corporate associations are conceptualized as falling within two categories (Brown and Dacin 1997): a corporation may develop a reputation for Corporate Ability (CA) by developing quality products or for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through its corporate commitment to societal obligations. Past research suggests that product-related CA associations lead to more favorable product evaluations than CSR, which is a contextual association that is less product-related. However, past research has been limited to line extensions, which are evaluated in a piecemeal cognitive process. Unlike line extensions, evaluations of brand extensions include an intervening categorization process that determines consumers' evaluative strategies. This research merges the corporate association and brand extension literature streams and, in four studies, contributes to the literature by establishing that brand extension fit moderates the influence of corporate associations on product evaluations. This finding is developed further by demonstrating that both individual differences (self-construal) and brand-related attributes moderate this interaction.

In this study we studied how holistic mission should be accomplished. May we speak about social and evangelical mandates? This search is done through the examination of a Christian relief organisation, the Hungarian Baptist Aid. Our main research question was: Is the work of this service holistic? Although we concluded in the light of David Bosch's mission interpretation that their mission is not yet holistic, the model of Hungarian Baptist Aid is encouraging how we could multiply our resources that are placed in God's hand. How we can see a commission that seemed impossible can become possible, and how we can find our way in God's mission. / Christian Spirituality, Curch History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

In this study we studied how holistic mission should be accomplished. May we speak about social and evangelical mandates? This search is done through the examination of a Christian relief organisation, the Hungarian Baptist Aid. Our main research question was: Is the work of this service holistic? Although we concluded in the light of David Bosch's mission interpretation that their mission is not yet holistic, the model of Hungarian Baptist Aid is encouraging how we could multiply our resources that are placed in God's hand. How we can see a commission that seemed impossible can become possible, and how we can find our way in God's mission. / Christian Spirituality, Curch History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Over the last decades, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have become key strategic alternatives to organic growth, enabling firms to expand in new geographies, broaden their product or service portfolios, increase their market power or diversify their business activities, for instance. Historically, although M&A deals have occurred in cyclical patterns, the number of transactions as well the total amount invested have followed an increasing trend. For instance, in 2021, the number of M&A deals conducted worldwide even peaked at an absolute record of 63,215 deals, for a total amount of $5,800 billion, comparable to the annual GDP of a country like Japan. Although the literature on M&A is vast and multi-disciplinarian, the performance of such transactions as well as their influencing factors have remained debated issues. This paper-based dissertation investigates the implications of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial markets’ anticipations in the context of M&A announcements. The first manuscript (Manuscript A) corresponds to a literature review on the determinants to financial markets’ reactions around M&A announcements. The second manuscript (Manuscript B) investigates the impact of both acquirers- and targets’ CSR engagements as well as their CSR profiles distance on synergetic gains anticipated by financial markets around M&A announcements. The third manuscript (Manuscript C) focuses on the impact of acquiring firms’ CSR engagement on the accuracy of financial markets’ anticipations with regards to the long-term operating performance of M&A deals. The fourth manuscript (Manuscript D) analyses whether acquirers’ CSR performance impacts M&A premia, since the premia offered to target shareholders contain acquiring managements’ anticipations regarding potential synergetic gains and are by the way critical to the deals’ value creation processes.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.