Företags intressenter ställer allt högre krav på företagens hållbarhetsarbete, där de miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska aspekterna är i centrum. För att företag ska kunna visa att de fullföljer ansvaret kring arbetet med hållbarhet, upprättar företagen en hållbarhetsredovisning, där främst riktlinjer från Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) används. I GRI är en av principerna intressentinkludering, som innebär att företag ska föra en dialog med intressenter, för att på så sätt få ta del av intressenters åsikter och genom detta bidra till en mer användbar och trovärdig hållbarhetsredovisning. Med utgångspunkt i företags intressentdialog och vad som tidigare studier behandlar inom ämnet, har denna studie förklarat hur svenska börsnoterade företag identifierar, prioriterar och involverar intressenter i hållbarhetsredovisningen, samt hur företagens intressenter inverkar på hållbarhetsredovisningar.   För att uppfylla studiens syfte samt besvara dess problemformuleringar har studien utförts med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod, i form av intervjuer, där sju svenska börsnoterade företag har intervjuats som hållbarhetsredovisar enligt GRI. Resultaten av studien visar att de undersökta svenska börsnoterade företagen identifierar och prioriterar intressenter, där de identifierade intressenterna är de intressenter som påverkar eller påverkas av företagen. De prioriterade intressenterna anses enligt de undersökta företagen vara de som i högre grad påverkar eller som i högre grad påverkas av företagens verksamheter. Intressenterna blir även av de undersökta svenska börsnoterade företagen involverade, detta via olika dialogmetoder som beror på vilken intressentgrupp det berör. Slutligen visar studien att intressenter till de undersökta svenska börsnoterade företagen även inverkar på företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar, där det kan ses att en del intressenter har mer inflytande än andra. / Corporate stakeholders place increasingly high demands on companies regarding the sustainability work, where the environmental, social and economic aspects are at the center. In order for companies to demonstrate that they are in charge of the sustainability work, companies establish a sustainability report, primarily using Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. In GRI one of the principles is stakeholder inclusiveness, which means that companies should engage in dialogue with stakeholders in order to gain access to stakeholders' views, and thereby contribute to a more useful and credible sustainability report. Based on the company's stakeholder dialogue and what previous research deal with within the subject, the study has explained how Swedish listed companies identify, prioritize and involve stakeholders in the sustainability report, as well as how companies' stakeholders influence the sustainability reports.   In order to fulfill the purpose of the study and answer its problem formulations, the study has been conducted using a qualitative method, in the form of interviews, in which seven Swedish listed companies have been interviewed, who are using GRI guidelines when they are establishing the sustainability reports. The results of the study show that the surveyed Swedish listed companies identify and prioritize stakeholders, where the identified stakeholders are the stakeholders that affect or are influenced by the companies. Priority stakeholders are, according to the companies surveyed, considered to be those that increasingly influence or are increasingly affected by business activities. The stakeholders will also be involved in the surveyed Swedish listed companies, through different dialogue methods depending on which stakeholder group it concerns. Finally, the study shows that stakeholders of the Swedish listed companies surveyed also in some way affect the companies' sustainability reports, where it can be seen that some stakeholders have more influence than others.

Summary in English and Afrikaans / CSR has become a priority for many key businesses, particularly in light of codes of practice such as the 2009, The King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2009 (often referred to as King III Report). Effective CSR is dependent on efficient communication between and with stakeholders and businesses, yet the quality of these communications is seldom evaluated. While the literature emphasises the importance of stakeholder engagement, little attention is given to the communication processes used during stakeholder engagement. This study asserts that Integrated Communication (IC) offers a multi-pronged approach for engaging with an organisations’ diverse stakeholders and, when incorporated holistically, aligns CSR throughout an organisation. This study uses a framework drawn from IC theory as a means of analysing the efficiency of stakeholder engagement within Anglo American South Africa (AASA), a company explicitly dedicated to CSR. A single embedded case study research design is employed, including a review of main CSR documents used by AASA, interviews with key communications staff, as well as a focus group on site with key staff members. The research revealed that although AASA is in many ways doing a laudable job in terms of stakeholder engagement, there are key points at which their efforts break down. This is due, in most part; firstly to a lack of integrated awareness throughout the broader business of what constitutes its stated CSR agenda; and secondly to a lack of executive power within the communications department of the business. It is suggested that by following the proposed IC framework, and investing key communications personnel with executive power rather than merely supportive responsibility, the effectiveness of AASA’s stakeholder engagement would be improved. This would improve the likelihood of an effective strategic CSR’s success, and be of value to the organisation. / Korporatiewe Maatskaplike Verantwoordelikheid (KMV) het 'n prioriteit geword vir baie belangrike besighede, veral in die lig van gedragskodes soos die 2009 derde King verslag oor korporatiewe bestuur. Effektiewe KMV is afhanklik van doeltreffende kommunikasie tussen en met belanghebbendes en besighede, maar die gehalte van hierdie kommunikasie is selde geëvalueer. Terwyl die literatuur beklemtoon die belangrikheid van die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes, is min aandag gegee aan die kommunikasie- prosesse wat gebruik word tydens die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes. Hierdie studie voer aan dat Geïntegreerde Kommunikasie (GK) 'n multi-ledige benadering bied vir die aangaan met organisasies se diverse belanghebbendes en, wanneer holisties opgeneem, lyn 'n organisasie deurgaans in met KMV. Hierdie studie maak gebruik van 'n raamwerk wat uit GK teorie as 'n middel van die ontleding van die doeltreffendheid wat met belanghebbendes binne Anglo American Suid-Afrika (AASA) uitvloei, 'n maatskappy uitdruklik gewy aan KMV. 'n Enkele navorste gevallestudie is gebruik, insluitend 'n oorsig van die belangrikste KMV dokumente, onderhoude met sleutel kommunikasie personeel sowel as 'n fokusgroep met belangrike personeel op die terrein. Die navorsing toon dat alhoewel AASA is in baie maniere om 'n lofwaardige werk in terme van die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes handhaaf, is daar belangrike punte waarop hul pogings kort kom. Dit is te danke oorsaaklik; eerstens 'n gebrek aan geïntegreerde bewustheid regdeur die breër organisasie wat sy verklaarde KMV agenda uitmaak, en tweedens 'n gebrek van die uitvoerende gesag in die kommunikasie-afdeling van die besigheid. Daar word voorgestel dat die voorgestelde GK raamwerk kruis organisatoriese bewustheid van AASA se KMV agenda sou bevorder, en die organisasie dwing om belangrike kommunikasie personeel te belê met uitvoerende gesag eerder as bloot ondersteunende verantwoordelikheid. Dit sal op sy beurt die doeltreffendheid van AASA se betrokkenheid verseker. Die waarskynlikheid van strategiese KMV se sukses te verbeter, en van waarde wees vir die organisasie as geheel. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

Hållbarhetsrapporter används av företag som ett verktyg för att kommunicera ut arbete kring socialt, ekologiskt och ekonomisk hållbarhetsarbete till interna och externa intressenter (Tewari & Dave 2012). Enligt en enkätstudie gjord mellan 2019 och 2020 av KPMG (2020) använder 96 procent av de 250 största företagen i världen någon form av hållbarhetsrapportering. I denna studie upptäcks en konflikt då tidigare forskning förklarar vikten av att kommunicera hållbarhetsrapporter till intressenter, eftersom det genererar finansiell avkastning, förstärkt rykte och ökat börsvärde. Å andra sidan hävdar andra forskare att många företag kommunicerar rapporten utan att veta vad intressenter efterfrågar. Syftet med studien är således att undersöka hur stora svenska företag upprättar hållbarhetsrapporter samt hur hållbarhetsarbetet kommuniceras ut till intressenter. Detta för att ta reda på vilket arbetssätt samt kommunikation som är mest framgångsrik. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna genomförs en intervjustudie med tio företag. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt grundar sig i signalteorin. Fokuset ligger på att analysera vilka signaler företagets avsändare skickar till intressenter samt vilken feedback mottagarna återkopplar med. Resultaten visar att hållbarhetsrapportens innehåll, utöver lagkraven, framför allt styrs av företagets bransch samt dess intressenter. Vidare tyder resultatet på att hållbarhetsrapporter inte är effektiva att kommunicera sitt hållbarhetsarbete via. I stället ger sociala medier samt företags hemsidor upphov till en effektivare tvåvägskommunikation. / Sustainability reports are an important tool for corporations to communicate their efforts to improve ecological, social and economic sustainability to stakeholders (Tewari & Dave 2012). According to a survey done in 2020 by KPMG, 96 percent of the world's top 250 corporations publish some form of sustainability reporting. Previous studies emphasize on the importance of communicating sustainability to improve financial returns, reputation and market capitalization. However, other studies argue that big corporations are rarely familiar with their stakeholders' interests. The aim of this thesis, which is written in Swedish, is therefore to understand how Swedish companies create sustainability reports and how they communicate their sustainability work to their stakeholders. The reason being is to find out which means of communication is the most effective. The study is based on ten interviews from companies which are analyzed through signal theory. During the analysis, the main focus is to construe which signals are being sent to stakeholders and the feedback that they later create. The conclusion is that the content of the sustainability reports, aside from the legal requirements, is both affected by the companies’ industry and their stakeholders’ expectations. Furthermore, it shows that the reports are not an effective form of communication, hence companies using social media and their websites instead to achieve a two-way communication.

Recent years have brought the private and non-profit sectors closer together in terms of cross-sectional collaborations. As businesses have become more involved in communities, initiatives such as employee volunteering (EV)—where employees are encouraged to volunteer by their employers—are becoming more popular and are receiving more scholarly attention. However, the question still remains as to whether the main reasons behind cooperation are related to strategy: does interaction and communication in EV mirror a more ideal- or strategic approach? As EV programmes (EVPs) bring together actors with different world-views and perspectives, much can be learned from studying their interaction. The present study examined the nature of communication in EV and whether this communication reflects a strategic (based on self-interest) or ideal (corresponding to Habermas’s ideal speech situation and stakeholder dialogue) approach. In addition, the study looked at factors that, according to participants, facilitate improved communication and understanding in EV. The findings indicate that communication in EVPs largely reflected the strategic approach. However, the ideal approach is still apparent in some situations and can successfully be used given the right conditions--for example, in situations of long-term collaboration with increased experience when participants invest time, resources and motivation in building relationships. Time and honesty was also important factors. However, a range of barriers made collaboration more difficult. Pursuit of strategic short-term solutions and shortage of resources and time may hinder important dialogue and understanding.

La letteratura di business internazionale fornisce la prova convincente della diffusione globale di pratiche di responsabilità sociale delle imprese (RSI) e l'importante ruolo svolto dalle multinazionali (MNC) nel trasferimento di pratiche di RSI alle loro controllate estere. La tesi esplora la gestione di strategie di RSI da società controllate di MNC, spiegando il meccanismo che permette loro di bilanciare le pressioni istituzionali divergenti. Questo fenomeno è noto come ‘complessità istituzionale’, derivante dai molteplici ed eterogenee forze istituzionali a cui le controllate di multinazionali e le loro sedi sono esposte in relazione all'adozione di pratiche di RSI. Attingendo alla letteratura su RSI e teoria istituzionale, il primo articolo della tesi sviluppa un framework concettuale e un set di proposizioni da testare per studi futuri, attraverso un approccio configurazionale. Il secondo articolo della tesi esamina come le filiali di MNC gestiscono le pressioni, le barriere e i mezzi che affrontano durante la distribuzione delle loro attività di RSI in cinque paesi africani (Angola, Egitto, Ghana, Kenya e Sud Africa), attraverso 33 interviste, permettendoci di catturare alcuni modelli di variazione nella distribuzione di pratiche di RSI all'interno dei paesi in via di sviluppo. Il terzo documento della tesi analizza le pratiche di dialogo realizzate da 418 società quotate all'indice FTSE4Good in Europa, Nord America e Asia. / The international business literature provides compelling evidence for the global diffusions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and the important role played by Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in transfer of CSR practices to their foreign subsidiaries. The thesis explores the management of CSR strategies by MNCs’ subsidiaries, by explaining the mechanism that allows them to balance divergent institutional pressures. This phenomenon is known as ‘institutional complexity’, resulting from the multiple and heterogeneous institutional forces to which MNCs’ subsidiaries and their headquarters are exposed in relation to the adoption of CSR practices. Drawing on CSR literature and institutional theory, the first paper of the thesis develops a conceptual framework and a set of propositions to be tested for future studies, through a configurational approach. The second paper examines how the MNCs’ subsidiaries manage the pressures, the barriers and the enablers they face when deploying their CSR activities in five African countries (Angola, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa), through 33 interviews, allowing us to capture some patterns of variations in CSR deployment within developing countries. The third paper analyses the stakeholder dialogue practices realized by 418 companies listed in the FTSE4Good index in Europe, North America, and Asia.

The demands from the outside world that companies should take active responsibility for a sustainable society are constantly increasing. Companies are no longer responsible for just generate a good return to their shareholders but also for acting for sustainable development. EU directive with sustainability reporting that came into force in 2014 in member countries was incorporated into Swedish law on 1 December 2016, starting for the 2017 fiscal year. The sustainability report will describe how companies work with environment, human rights, social conditions, and corruption. This concerns all major companies in Sweden who for each of the last two fiscal years meet two of three criteria to have exceeded; SEK 350 million (EUR 40 million) in net sales, average employees with 250 and a total of SEK 175 million (EUR 20 million).Wastbygg is a construction and project development company that builds and develops logistics facilities, commercial real estate and housing. The company is growing steadily and currently has approximately 230 employees. Net sales amount to just over SEK 2 billion. In the coming years, the law will require sustainability accounting.The purpose of the master's thesis is to help Wästbygg carry out an interest dialogue and essentiality analysis, which is the first initial step in a sustainability report according to the international framework GRI. The result will show which sustainability issues stakeholders consider to be most prioritized and addressed by Wastbygg. This will form Wastbygg first sustainability report with the GRI framework.The stakeholder dialogue was conducted in spring 2017 through web-based surveys, personal interviews, and dialogue with prospective building engineer students. In the material analysis it was unanimous that stakeholders felt that the social aspect of health and work environment should be the highest priority issue for Wästbygg. Already today, the issue is a priority as Wästbygg is ISO-certified according to the OHSAS 18001 standard. Other sustainability issues that stakeholders consider should be prioritized by Wastbygg ecological aspects such as phasing out of environmentally and health hazardous building materials and energy-efficient buildings and construction sites as well as the social aspect ethics and anti-corruption. / Kraven från omvärlden om att företag ska ta ett aktivt ansvar för ett hållbart samhälle ökar hela tiden. Företagen ansvarar inte längre bara för att generera en god avkastning till sina aktieägare utan också för att agera för en hållbar utveckling.EU-direktivet som kom 2014 med krav på hållbarhetsredovisning i medlemsländerna införlivades i svensk lag den 1 december 2016 med start för räkenskapsåret 2017. Hållbarhetsredovisningen ska redogöra för hur företag arbetar med miljö, mänskliga rättigheter, sociala förhållanden och motverkande av korruption. Detta berör alla större företag i Sverige som för vart och ett av de två senaste räkenskapsåren uppfyller två av tre kriterier att ha överstigit; 350 miljoner kronor (40 miljoner Euro) i nettoomsättning, medeltalet anställda med 250 och en balansomslutning på 175 miljoner kronor (20 miljoner Euro).Wästbygg är ett entreprenad- och projektutvecklingsbolag som bygger och utvecklar logistikanläggningar, kommersiella fastigheter och bostäder. Företaget växer stadigt och har idag cirka 230 anställda. Nettoomsättningen uppnår till drygt 2 miljarder kronor. Inom de närmaste åren kommer man enligt lagen att behöva hållbarhetsredovisa.Syftet med magisteruppsatsen är att hjälpa Wästbygg att genomföra en intressentdialog och väsentlighetsanalys som är det inledande steget i en hållbarhetsredovisning enligt det internationella ramverket GRI. Resultatet ska visa på vilka hållbarhetsfrågor som intressenterna anser ska högst prioriteras och adresseras av Wästbygg. Detta kommer ligga till grund för Wästbyggs första hållbarhetsredovisning med ramverket GRI.Intressentdialogen genomfördes under våren 2017 genom webbaserad enkät, personliga intervjuer och dialog med blivande byggingenjörsstudenter.I väsentlighetsanalysen framkom det enhälligt att intressenterna anser att sociala aspekten hälsa och arbetsmiljö bör vara den högst prioriterade frågan för Wästbygg. Redan idag är frågan prioriterad då Wästbygg är ISO-certifierade enligt standarden för arbetsmiljö: OHSAS 18001.Andra hållbarhetsfrågor som intressenterna anser bör prioriteras av Wästbygg är de ekologiska aspekterna utfasning av miljö- och hälsofarliga byggnadsmaterial och energieffektiva byggnader och byggarbetsplatser samt sociala aspekten etik och antikorruption.