The issues surrounding sustainability continues to be at the forefront of the human agenda and firms are increasingly being held accountable by their stakeholders to assist in bringing about sustainability. Despite this, there is a tension surrounding the role of firms and the benefits implementing sustainability practices and policies has for these actors. On the one hand, being sustainable underpinned by a strong CSR-oriented governance board with the right compositional factors results in superior firm performance. On the other hand, sustainability is suggested to increase costs and reduced competitiveness thereby reducing firm performance. These contrasting results supported by mixed scholarly findings concerning different mediating factors influencing the overarching relationship creates a confusion gap that warrants this current study. As such, the study’s purpose is to investigate the relationship between two distinct yet interrelated relationships, the impact of board of directors’ composition on CSR performance measured by ESG scores and the impact of CSR performance on firm performance so as to contribute to the debate on these notion that continues to plague academia and the pragmatic world. This study is realized through a quantitative archival-longitudinal study design underpinned by metaphysical assumptions. Regression analyses using panel data on a sample of 123 listed companies headquartered in the Nordic Countries for the period 2010-2018 is undertaken to analyze the potential relation between CSR performance and five board composition factors, specially the gender diversity, independence, size, frequency of meetings and the presence of CSR committee. The association between CSR performance and firm performance is investigated in a similar way. Under rigorous statistical testing and analysis, the results indicate that there potentially is a relation between board composition and firms’ ESG performance. The results derived from the relationship between CSR and firm performance is inconsistent and cannot be fully accepted. This study contributes theoretically to CSR, corporate governance and finance literature by expanding upon how these three notions are linked in light of the sustainability trend that is gripping modern society. Socially, this research is useful for providing empirical evidence on the value of strong governance structures so as to foster sustainability and encourage debate on its value. Pragmatically, our study suggests what board composition factors are most conducive for supporting CSR that may assist firms’ corporate governance structuring and focus.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo geral: entender como as priorizações dadas aosstakeholders e o engajamento com mesmos podem refletir na presença de indicadores de sustentabilidade das organizações mineradoras no Brasil. Os objetivos específicos foram: revelar quem são osstakeholders priorizados e o por quê; e perceber qual a importância tem o engajamento com as partes interessadas na busca pelo desenvolvimento sustentável das mineradoras. Na fundamentação teórica foram abordados os principais conceitos da teoria de stakeholders, desenvolvimento sustentável, modelos e indicadores para mensurar o desenvolvimento sustentável e influenciadores do desempenho socioambiental. Dois estudos de casos foram realizados, tendo como fontes de dados: entrevistas em profundidade, relatórios oficiais, observação direta e a literatura. Os dados foram tratados conforme técnicas de análise de conteúdo e puderam evidenciar a priorização dada às comunidades locais e colaboradores. Todas as fontes de dados apresentaram indícios do tratamento diferenciado desses dois grupos de stakehoders. Os impactos causados às comunidades e colaboradores juntamente com o posicionamento estratégico e a necessidade de legitimidade para operar parecem ser os grandes impulsionadores da priorização apresentada. O engajamento com os grupos de partes interessadas ocorre desde o planejamento inicial das operações até o fechamento da mina. O contato permite o compartilhamento de boas práticas, o que pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento sustentável das mineradoras e grupos envolvidos. As empresas assumem responsabilidades perante os stakeholderse garantem ações que evidenciem os compromissos, inclusive o monitoramento das questões consideradas importantes por grupos salientes. Assim, os indicadores presentes refletem a priorização dada às comunidades e colaboradores bem como o engajamento contínuo com os mesmos. Os resultados podem contribuir com literatura ao apresentar novas formas de priorizar os stakeholders diferentes daquelas já consagradas na teoria. Isso sugere uma discussão da efetividade dos antigos modelos de priorização nos variados tipos de indústrias. Quanto à contribuição gerencial, o setor de mineração poderá encontrar subsídio para melhorar o relacionamento com os stakeholders em busca pelo desenvolvimento sustentável, algo essencial para perenidade desse setor cuja importância é significativa para a economia brasileira / The objective of this study was to understand how the prioritizations given to stakeholders and the engagement with them can reflect the presence of sustainability indicators of mining organizations in Brazil. The specific objectives were: to reveal who are the prioritized stakeholders and why; realize the importance of engagement with stakeholders for the sustainable development of mining companies.Inthe backgroud, the main concepts of stakeholder theory, sustainable development, models and indicators to measure sustainable development and influencers of social and environmental performance were addressed. Two case studies were carried out, having as data-base: interviews, official reports, direct observation and the literature. The data were treated according to content analysis techniques and showed the prioritization given to the local communities and employees. All data sources showed evidence of differential treatment to these two groupsofstakehoders. The impacts caused to communities and employees, the strategic of the companies and the need for legitimacy to operate are the main drivers of the prioritization presented. Engagement with stakeholder groups occurs since the initial planning of operations to the closure of the mine. The contact allows the sharing of good practices, which can contribute to the sustainable development of the mining companies and groups involved. The companies assume responsibilities to the stakeholders and guarantee actions that evidence the commitments, including the measurement of issues considered important by salient groups. Thus, the present indicators reflect the prioritization given to the communities and employees as well as the continuous engagement with them. The results can contribute to literature by presenting new ways of prioritizing stakeholders different from those already established in theory. These are suggests for a discussion about the effectiveness of the established prioritization models in the various types of industries. Regarding the managerial contribution, the mining sector can find support to improve the relationship with the stakeholders for the sustainable development, that is essential for the continuity of this sector which has significant importance for the Brazilianeconomy.

The increase in organic production and consumption demonstrates a movement in favor to alternative forms of food production, aiming to achieve modes that provide health and wellbeing for the producers and consumers, together with environmental preservation. People’s interest in organically produced food is increasing worldwide. Even so, many challenges are faced by the producers, and in this context new forms of organization appear in this market: clusters. The cluster constitute a way to gain competitiveness. In order to explore and better understand this phenomenon, this dissertation aimed, as main objective, to understand the formation of an organic cluster from the perspective of different stakeholders. Through a single embedded case study, this research had a qualitative approach, being the exploratory type. A research protocol along with other cautions in order to gain rigor in the qualitative research. The data were collected through documentary research, in-depth interviews and participatory observations, and analysed through content analysis. As evidence resulting from this study, the following points are highlighted: (1) it was possible to map the cluster and the relations established by the agents; (2) the main drivers of the cluster are mostly related to the pioneerism, institutionalization of the arrangement and its form of management. The barriers are mostly the lack of prepare to deal with tourists, and the marketing initiatives were considered both as a driver and a barrier, since needs to be better developed, but even incipient has some actions established; (3) the main motivations and barriers for the agents to work with organics were confirmed from the literature. The will to educate the consumers, although, was an interesting finding, as one of the drivers; (4) four pillars were identified as fundamental for the cluster, and their structuration and fortification might help the development of the arrangement: to product, to preservate, to show and to educate.

The purpose of this research was to examine how social issues are perceived and addressed in the food and drink sector, focusing on the narrower context of Nigerian purchasing practices, identifying the drivers, and barriers to the adoption of socially responsible purchasing (SRP) in the organisational supply chains. This research is underpinned by the stakeholder and institutional theories with the use of Carroll's CSR pyramid to explain the perceptions of stakeholders and the level at which each of the practices is in the pyramid. An in-depth study was conducted in multinational and indigenous food and drink organisations in Nigeria. Data was gathered from practitioners comprising of employees, managers, and executives by means of questionnaires and semi-structured face-to-face interviews to triangulate data sources. Drawing on the data collected, respondents' perspective of the meaning of socially responsible purchasing provided new insights into the phenomenon with various meanings and contestations. The findings suggest that socially responsible purchasing practices have a moderate positive influence on the organisations' supply chains within an unstable economic environment. Some of the practices were perceived to be voluntary and having an ethical underpinning while others were related to legal responsibilities. The findings suggest that the moderate influence is due to internal and external factors within the institutional environment. This research context was restricted to private organisations in the food and drink sector in Nigeria which might limit the generalisation of the findings. However, the findings may be transferable to other sectors of the economy where socially responsible purchasing issues are addressed in the supply chains. In practice, SRP is perceived to be an important element of CSR and supply chains despite the barriers to its implementation. The practices should be properly implemented to help in the sustenance of organisational supply chains. This research will be insightful for other industrial sectors as well as developing economies in Africa. The findings advance the stakeholder and institutional theories by providing an in-depth perception of various stakeholders and SRP practices within the institutional environment of organisations' supply chains. The research has contributed to enriching the literature on CSR and supply chains sustainability in Nigeria which has a relative shortage of literature on CSR and supply chain.

The coffee industry affects both people and the environment in a negative way, which is an aspect coffee producers are forced to relate to. Today, more and more organizations are involved in CSR and communication about CSR. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine young consumers of Generation Y, their attitudes and opinions towards coffee producers' CSR work and its communication on CSR. The study has two research questions “what does Arvid Nordquist communicates about its CSR work through their official website?” and “what kind of attitudes and opinions does a group of young consumers have on coffee producers' CSR work and communication on CSR?” For this study two theories have been used, the CSR theory Triple Bottom Line as a theoretical starting point and Deegan Unerman’s theory on the social contract, based on Freeman’s stakeholder theory, as a theoretical framework. This qualitative study used two methods of data collection. First, a document analysis of Arvid Nordquists offical website. Secondly, a focus group interview with young consumer of Generation Y. The conclusion that can be drawn from our research is that consumers from Generation Y are positive to CSR as a phenomenon, but that communication of CSR is followed by scepticism in combination with ignorance. This paper sheds light on a issue that in previous research has used quantitative methods, while this study uses qualitative methods. The importance of this paper is its contribution to how organizations can improve their communication of CSR to young consumers.

Para aqueles que acreditam que ética e negócios são instâncias separadas (tese da separação), Freeman e outros (2010) argumentam que eles podem estar juntos (tese da integração). Os autores defendem que a teoria do stakeholder é uma forma através da qual isso pode ocorrer. Nos certames da teoria do stakeholder, Phillips (2003) propôs o princípio de equidade do stakeholder, que resumidamente consiste em uma proposta que visa garantir um relacionamento ético entre organização e seus stakeholders. No presente estudo, se considera como stakeholder aqueles grupos que possuem obrigações mútuas com uma organização que vão além daquelas determinadas pelo que a moralidade da sociedade estabelece. Assim, com o objetivo de compreender como o princípio de equidade do stakeholder está presente, ou ausente, em uma organização específica, foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória qualitativa, através de entrevistas em profundidade. As entrevistas transcritas foram analisadas através da análise de conteúdo, com técnica categorial, se tendo, as seguintes categorias: (A) moral, ética e justiça; (B) esquema cooperativo; (C) stakeholders: meios ou fins? Durante a análise, se compreendeu que o princípio de equidade do stakeholder está presente no relacionamento da Organização em questão com seus stakeholders conforme propôs Phillips (2003). Como achados, o trabalho levanta reflexões sobre o modelo genérico de esquema cooperativo, mostrando que os stakeholders derivativos podem ser menos frequentes do que aparentam ser. Também foi percebido pelo autor do estudo que ética, moral e justiça são conceitos que causam confusão aos entrevistados, o que leva a crer que é possível que outros membros da sociedade não tenham esses conceitos assimilados, merecendo mais atenção ao ensino de tais disciplinas. Por fim, o autor da presente dissertação destaca que o uso do bom senso, assim como agir honestamente e criar laços com outros indivíduos são caminhos para se manter uma boa relação com stakeholders. De forma a concluir o estudo, é feito um apelo para maior conscientização moral, não só dos administradores, mas também da sociedade, visando um mundo melhor para todos. / For those who believe that ethics and business are separated instances (separation thesis), Freeman et al (2010) argue that it can be together (integration thesis). The authors defend that the stakeholder theory is a way by which it can happen. In the field of stakeholder theory Phillips (2003) proposed the principle of stakeholder fairness which consists in a proposal that aims to guarantee an ethical relationship between organization and its stakeholders. In the present study stakeholder is considered as those groups which have mutual obligations with an organization. This obligations goes beyond those determined by what the society's morality has established. This study aims to comprehend how the principle of stakeholder fairness is, or is not, present in the management of an organization's stakeholders. For this purpose a qualitative explanatory research was done using deep interviews that were also transcript and analyzed by the categorical content analyses technique. It was proposed the following categories: (A) moral, ethics and justice; (B) cooperative scheme; (C) stakeholders: ways or endings? It was comprehended that the principle of stakeholder fairness is present in the relationship between the studied organization and its stakeholders as it was proposed by Phillips (2003). As findings the work brings thoughts about the generic model of the cooperative scheme showing that derivatives stakeholders can be less frequent as they seem to be. It was also realized by the author of the study that ethics, moral and justice are concepts that made confusion on the interviewers. It leads to believe that it's possible that other members of the society also do not have understood this concepts. This way the teaching of this disciplines deserves more attention. At the end, the author of the present dissertation detaches that the use of good sense, honest behavior and also the creation of ties with other individuals are good ways to keep a good relationship with stakeholders. In a way of concluding the study it was made an appeal for more moral consciousness not only for managers but also for the society, aiming a better world for everybody.

Little is known about how employees in New Zealand companies view their organisation’s involvement in community-based initiatives that attempt to address areas of social needs. Understanding what people and organisations think from their frame of reference (Taylor & Bodgan, 1998) on ways of contributing to enhance community wellbeing is of high importance within a nation growing in diversity, and where everyone needs to fully participate in building a harmonious society (Ministry of Social Development, 2005; Swanson, 2002). Despite abundant extant research and many models already developed, frameworks in this area are fragmented. A case study approach has been adopted using one New Zealand Company to test a preliminary framework, Stakeholders and Organisational Enablers Relationship (SOER) Model, that analyses “the nature of relationships in terms of processes and outcomes for the business and its stakeholders” (Jones & Wicks, 1999, p. 207). From investigating the company’s community involvement from the employees’ perspective, results indicate that this particular company is engaging with the community, supporting and empowering employees to participate in the company’s community programme and thereby making a difference in the community by giving to the community. However, in general terms, solving recurring social, economic, political and psychological issues that influence social wellbeing requires cooperation between public, private, and voluntary sectors of the community (New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development, New Zealand Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand Dept of Labour, & New Zealand Dept of Statistics, 2003; Roberts & King, 1989; Steane, 1999). While the results from the case company reported in this study demonstrate that community engagement is being taken seriously by exemplary private sector companies, generalisation of these findings would require further cross-sectional research across industries and organisations from all sectors: private, public and voluntary.

<p>Despite the globally growing interest in corporate responsibility (CR), there is little practical as wellas academic knowledge of CR practises in the media sector. The aim of this study is to make acontribution to the evolving understanding of what CR implies in the media sector by applying astakeholder approach to a case study, which is Alma Media, a Finnish media corporation. Firstly,from the corporate perspective, the objective of this study is to provide Alma Media with a CRagenda, based on the CR priorities defined in stakeholder interviews. Secondly, from a moretheoretical point of view, this study aims to evaluate the stakeholder theory as a means of definingthe CR characteristics of the media sector in Finland.The main body of the primary data is collected by 44 stakeholder interviews, supportedby participant observation at the case company. The data is structured with content analysis andanalysed according to the stakeholder categorisation of Mitchell, Agle and Wood (1997) in order toprioritise between the different stakeholders and their CR interests.The findings indicate Alma Media’s CR priorities are a mix of media ethics (reliability,responsible journalism, journalistic integrity), traditional CR issues (environment, personnel) andcultural responsibility (locality, citizenship). Most stakeholder demands concerns environmentalresponsibility. To understand media CR on a general, global level, further research is needed toconfirm the findings of this study and, particularly, to highlight the international differences andsimilarities in media CR.Concerning the theoretical objective of the study, the study concludes that the Mitchell,Agle and Wood model helps to identify the priority stakeholders and CR issues but fails to capturethe multi-dimensional nature of the power attribute and the role of stakeholder networks in themanagement of CR. Thus, stakeholder theory provides valuable insight into CR management butfurther research on stakeholder network models is needed.</p>

<p><strong>Problem: </strong>Det finns skillnader kring hållbarhetsredovisning mellan länder när det gäller reglering, tillämpning av GRI:s (Global Reporting Initiatives) riktlinjer, intressenternas makt att påverka med flera. Dessa skillnader kan ha uppstått på grund av många orsaker men i denna uppsats kommer det att utredas om kulturen kan förklara dessa skillnader.  </p><p><strong>Syfte:</strong> Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva och förklara i vilken utsträckning kulturen har en inverkan på hur de olika nordiska länderna väljer att lagstifta kring hållbarhetsredovisning och hur företagen tillämpar GRI:s riktlinjer. Men även om intressenternas makt att påverka företagen att göra en hållbarhetsredovisning har någon förklaring i kulturen.</p><p><strong>Metod: </strong>Den insamlade<strong> </strong>datan är huvudsakligen kvalitativ men har kompletterats med en del kvantitativ data. Insamlingen har skett genom litteratursökning, telefonintervjuer och en e-mailkontakt. Vid telefonintervjuerna har vi utgått ifrån ett frågeformulär och låtit respondenterna besvara frågorna med egna ord. Respondenterna har valts utifrån Fredrik Ljungdahls affärsnätverk inom PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers).                             </p><p><strong>Resultat: </strong>Det finns en svag kulturell förklaring till<strong> </strong>hur företagen i nordens länder väljer att lagstifta kring hållbarhetsredovisning, tillämpa GRI:s riktlinjer samt vilken makt intressenterna har att påverka företagen till att hållbarhetsredovisa. Graden av lagstadgad kontroll kan förklara skillnader i reglering medan det inte finns någon kulturell förklaring till tillämpningen av GRI:s riktlinjer. Graden av maktdistans kan slutligen förklara intressenternas makt att påverka företagen till att hållbarhetsredovisa.</p> / <p><strong>Problem: </strong>There are some differences in sustainability reporting between countries when it comes to regulation, applying GRI:s (Global Reporting Initiatives) guiding principles, stakeholders´ power to influence and so on. These differences can appear from different reasons but in this graduate paper we will investigate if these differences can be explained by cultural factors.</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain to which extent the culture has any impact on how the Nordic countries choose to regulate the sustainability reporting and how the companies apply GRI:s guiding principles. But also if the stakeholders´ power to affect companies to do a sustainability report can have its explanation in the culture.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The gathered data is mainly qualitative but has been complemented with quantitative data. The gathering has been done through literature research, telephone interviews and an e-mail contact. In the telephone interviews we used a question form although the interviewee was allowed to answer the questions in his or her own words. The interviewee have been chosen on the basis of Fredrik Ljungdahls business network within PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers).            </p><p><strong>Result: </strong>There are a weak cultural explanation to how the Nordic countries choose to regulate the sustainability reporting, apply GRI:s guiding principles and which power the stakeholders´ have to influence the companies to do a sustainability report. The degree of statutory control can explain the differences in regulation while there are no cultural explanation to the application of GRI:s guiding principles. The degree of powerdistance can finally explain the stakeholders´ power to influence the companies to do a sustainability report.</p>

Problem: Det finns skillnader kring hållbarhetsredovisning mellan länder när det gäller reglering, tillämpning av GRI:s (Global Reporting Initiatives) riktlinjer, intressenternas makt att påverka med flera. Dessa skillnader kan ha uppstått på grund av många orsaker men i denna uppsats kommer det att utredas om kulturen kan förklara dessa skillnader.   Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva och förklara i vilken utsträckning kulturen har en inverkan på hur de olika nordiska länderna väljer att lagstifta kring hållbarhetsredovisning och hur företagen tillämpar GRI:s riktlinjer. Men även om intressenternas makt att påverka företagen att göra en hållbarhetsredovisning har någon förklaring i kulturen. Metod: Den insamlade datan är huvudsakligen kvalitativ men har kompletterats med en del kvantitativ data. Insamlingen har skett genom litteratursökning, telefonintervjuer och en e-mailkontakt. Vid telefonintervjuerna har vi utgått ifrån ett frågeformulär och låtit respondenterna besvara frågorna med egna ord. Respondenterna har valts utifrån Fredrik Ljungdahls affärsnätverk inom PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers).                              Resultat: Det finns en svag kulturell förklaring till hur företagen i nordens länder väljer att lagstifta kring hållbarhetsredovisning, tillämpa GRI:s riktlinjer samt vilken makt intressenterna har att påverka företagen till att hållbarhetsredovisa. Graden av lagstadgad kontroll kan förklara skillnader i reglering medan det inte finns någon kulturell förklaring till tillämpningen av GRI:s riktlinjer. Graden av maktdistans kan slutligen förklara intressenternas makt att påverka företagen till att hållbarhetsredovisa. / Problem: There are some differences in sustainability reporting between countries when it comes to regulation, applying GRI:s (Global Reporting Initiatives) guiding principles, stakeholders´ power to influence and so on. These differences can appear from different reasons but in this graduate paper we will investigate if these differences can be explained by cultural factors. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain to which extent the culture has any impact on how the Nordic countries choose to regulate the sustainability reporting and how the companies apply GRI:s guiding principles. But also if the stakeholders´ power to affect companies to do a sustainability report can have its explanation in the culture. Method: The gathered data is mainly qualitative but has been complemented with quantitative data. The gathering has been done through literature research, telephone interviews and an e-mail contact. In the telephone interviews we used a question form although the interviewee was allowed to answer the questions in his or her own words. The interviewee have been chosen on the basis of Fredrik Ljungdahls business network within PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers).             Result: There are a weak cultural explanation to how the Nordic countries choose to regulate the sustainability reporting, apply GRI:s guiding principles and which power the stakeholders´ have to influence the companies to do a sustainability report. The degree of statutory control can explain the differences in regulation while there are no cultural explanation to the application of GRI:s guiding principles. The degree of powerdistance can finally explain the stakeholders´ power to influence the companies to do a sustainability report.