This final thesis is dealing with transmission of CSR strategy in transnational corporations. The first theoretical part offers an introduction and explanation of CSR and several models are discussed. The transmission of the concept is analyzed in companies Tesco and Vodafone in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and in the Czech Republic. At the end the primary hypothesis is confirmed, i.e. main goals and strategies are developed in a parent company and transformed to other countries with respect to the situation on the market.

Nowadays firms are dealing with fierce competition and are "forced" to keep launching new products and strategies that would attract consumers'attention. One of the fastest growing marketing strategies - Cause-related marketing (CRM) addresses these trends as well as benefits from them. Cause-related marketing is a strategic partnership between a for-profit and non-profit organization. The contributions to the cause are made via consumer'purchases. As many statistics prove, CRM is a very effective strategy resulting in higher sales, enhanced image as well as loyalty. The question remains: how is it possible? What marketing concepts and techniques stand behind CRM? The diploma theses answers those questions and explains most important markteting and psychologial concepts from consumer's and firm's perspective.

Corporate Social Responsibility is a topic which is very often discussed lately. The diploma thesis focuses on this trend of corporate communication and shows it on the example of company Unilever. In the practical part of the thesis the comparison of global and local CSR strategies of Unilever is being described.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) continues to gain attention amongst corporate bodies and is the medium through which the private sector contributes to development. The last decade has seen a significant growth in CSR initiative in South Africa, partly due to the implementation of public polices such as the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Code of Good Practice and the various industry charters that obligate corporate institutions to contribute towards the reconstruction efforts of the nation. As a result many organizations have adopted strategies that include social development projects as part of their core business objectives, thus the initiation of certain projects and programmes as part of their CSR contributions to the reconstruction efforts. Although CSR has roots in philanthropic activities, it has become evident that when CSR initiatives are designed strategically to embody the holistic views of business goals towards profit making as well as community goals that promote positive development. Anecdotal evidence suggests that projects collapse after corporations discontinue funding due to lack of community involvement which renders CSR initiatives unresponsive to the developmental needs of communities. The study sought to explore the extent to which corporate social responsibility initiatives were responsive to the educational needs of beneficiaries in Johannesburg. It also explored beneficiary perceptions on how CSR initiatives can be sustained. The study population was drawn from Tiso Foundation and three partnering organisations. A qualitative case study design was utilised in the study to obtain in depth information from the research participants concerning the CSR initiatives of Tiso Foundation. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to conduct interviews with both beneficiaries of the CSR initiatives and key informants. The research sample consisted of 16 beneficiaries of Tiso Foundation’s CSR initiatives and 6 key informants that were drawn from Tiso Foundation and partnering organizations. The findings revealed that the CSR initiatives were responsive to the needs of the beneficiaries by providing them access to education and skills development. The findings also established the nature of beneficiary participation in CSR initiatives as partially participatory. The study recommended that CSR initiatives should take a developmental approach towards programme executions to ensure full participation of beneficiaries in order to ensure sustainability of the programmes even after funding is discontinued. The study also iv suggests the collaborative partnership of government and the private sector towards sustainable development by enhancing and complimenting each other’s efforts.

En värdefull tillgång för företag är dess anställda. Samtidigt växer efterfrågan på arbetskraft och många företag har problem med att anställa rätt personal. För att kunna skapa konkurrensfördelar som gör att företaget får kompetent personal, en tillgång som är unik och svår för konkurrenter att imitera, har employer branding blivit en viktig strategi för att lyckas attrahera personal. Litteraturen visar att företag kan erbjuda olika former av värden till anställda och potentiella anställda. Att företaget arbetar med corporate social responsibility (CSR) kan ses som ett värdeerbjudande, och kan därför användas som ett verktyg för att skapa värde och attrahera personal. Företag kan dock arbeta med CSR på många olika sätt, och olika intressenter kan ha olika preferenser gällande vad de värderar. Syftet med studien har således varit att skapa en förståelse för hur CSR kan stärka ett företags employer brand. Vidare har vi ämnat förstå hur CSR samspelar med andra aspekter till varför ett employer brand uppfattas attraktivt. Genom dessa kunskaper bidrar vi med praktiska rekommendationer till hur företag strategiskt kan arbeta med sin externa kommunikation för att attrahera framtidens arbetskraft. Studien är kvalitativ och det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom fokusgrupper med civilekonomstudenter som studerar vid Umeå universitet. Det empiriska materialet har tolkats och analyserats i relation till den teoretiska referensramen, för att på så sätt kunna besvara studiens problemformulering: Hur uppfattar framtidens arbetskraft olika dimensioner av CSR i relation till företags employer brand? Studien visar att olika dimensioner av CSR uppfattas olika relevanta beroende på vilken bransch ett företag är verksamt inom. Den sociala och den miljömässiga dimensionen av CSR uppfattas som de dimensioner som främst stärker ett företags employer brand. CSR kan vidare uppfattas dels på ett rationellt sätt, och dels på ett känslomässigt sätt, och ett företags employer brand stärks främst om CSR-initiativen uppfattas både rationella och känslomässiga. För att de olika dimensionerna av CSR ska stärka ett företags employer brand bör initiativen uppfattas konkreta och enkla att förstå. CSR-initiativ som ligger nära kärnverksamheten och som anställda får vara med och bidra till upplevs enklare att relatera till, och kan därmed bidra till att attrahera framtidens arbetskraft. För att stärka ett företags employer brand bör dock ett företags totala värdeerbjudande matcha framtidens arbetskrafts preferenser.

This thesis is aimed at finding out how aware final users at Karlstad Business School are of its CSR communication message. The study discusses the concept of corporate social responsibility by providing a background knowledge of the concept. CSR communication is defined and presented in this study as an ongoing process and presents prior knowledge on the concept. The chapter outlines UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as a message which firms can utilize in communicating CSR.  A qualitative methodology was adopted in this study using semi – structured interviews of 12 respondents who were final users at Karlstad Business School. The respondents were varied between different programs at the business school. The study uses constructivism as philosophy such that meaning is co – constructed by the researcher and the respondents. The data is analyzed using coding. The findings from this study show that awareness is low and as such the users do not share an adequate meaning with that of Karlstad Business School. The findings also show that users with prior knowledge on sustainability mainly through course related sources demonstrate an intermediary level of awareness. Discussions mainly through seminars come out as a key message channel for the business school to communicate its CSR agenda. The implications of this study are in two phases; to the business school and to the users. The business school adopts UN Agenda 2030 as a message for CSR communication which is novel to CSR communication. The users at the business school have a task of engaging in CSR communication to other departments at the university.

Companies that have a well-formulated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practice is one step in the right direction of contributing to a prosperous society where future generations are not compromised. Although companies may have a CSR practice, it is not guaranteed that that the practice is effective. Essentially, employees have a key role in the success of the company’s CSR practice. Employees are major actors in carrying out and actualizing the company’s CSR initiatives and without the employees’ willingness to engage in CSR initiatives, the company will fail to uphold a CSR practice. Therefore, it is essential for companies to understand how employees can become engaged in the CSR practice. We have extracted previously identified factors that have played a role in employees CSR engagement, i.e. attitudes towards CSR, organizational identification, management support, training and development, recognition, CSR culture, and internal CSR communication. In order to get a deeper understanding of employee CSR engagement, it was perceived of relevance to examine in what way these factors influence employees’ engagement in CSR. The study has been conducted at a case company operating in the green service support sector. Trough semi-structured interviews, this study consists of experiences and perceptions from both managers and employees. Whilst the study focuses on the employee perspective, managers are included in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of employee CSR engagement. We found that both internal and external factors can be drivers or impediments for employee CSR engagement. Matching values and attitudes towards CSR were found to be drivers, because working with an important societal mission, or consider and value CSR on a personal level positively influence CSR engagement among individual employees. Supportive managerial behaviour, more specifically, inspirational managers, setting clear goals and appropriate recognition was also found to be drivers for CSR engagement. Furthermore, in terms of CSR integration, insufficient CSR culture and internal CSR communication was found to be impediments. This because, employees did not feel they knew how to contribute, nor did they experience that CSR was prioritized. Additionally, two new factors were found; time constraints as an impediment, and social interactions as a driver. Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, employee engagement

Titel: Miljömässigt ansvarstagande – En studie om hur fastighetsbolag använder det miljömässiga ansvarstagandet för att tillfredsställa sina olika intressenter. Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i ämnet Företagsekonomi, 15 hp. Författare: Sandra Nilsson och Marcus Johansson Handledare: Eva Berggren Datum: Vårterminen 2019 Nyckelord: Corporate Social Responsibility, Intressentteorin, Management Control Systems. Problemdiskussion: Aspekter att ta hänsyn till vid fastighetsförvaltning framkommer både under planering och uppbyggnad men uppkommer även vid förvaltning. Caroll (2015) understryker att det ansvarstagande som företag besitter omfattas av normer, standarder, värderingar och förväntningar som återspeglas i vad konsumenter, anställda och andra intressenter anser är berättigade. Dessa intressenter återspeglas i intressentteorin, vilket synliggör företagens centrala aktörer i sin omgivning. Ett företag förlorar möjligheten att maximera värde om en viktig intressent blir ignorerade eller behandlad illa. Problemformulering: Hur använder fastighetsbolag miljömässigt ansvarstagande inom CSR för att tillfredsställa sina olika intressenter? Metod: Med utgångspunkt i att problemet är av förståelsekaraktär har författarna använt sig av en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod med fem valda respondenter för att generera en förståelse för problemformuleringen. Författarna har även använt sig av sekundära data i form av litteratur och tidigare forskning inom ämnet. Denna data har sedan bearbetats och analyserats och författarna har utifrån detta presenterat slutsatser. Slutsats: Flertalet av de miljömässiga ansvarstagandena styrs utefter att tillfredsställa fastighetsbolagens olika intressenter. Det miljömässiga ansvarstagandet används för att kontrollera verksamheten, leverantörer, hyresgäster och övriga intressenter. Det genererar fördelar i form av att finansieringen förbättras, bättre markfördelning från kommuner och en attraktiv arbetsplats för studenter. Kunskapsbidrag: Intressenter har en nyckelroll i beslut om befintliga och nya miljömässiga ansvarstaganden. Att ett fastighetsbolag har valt att arbeta med det miljömässiga ansvarstagandet inom CSR tolkar vi som en betydande faktor för intressenterna.

Titel: Kulturens modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSR och CFP Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Ferdous Foroughi och Shabab Hasan Handledare: Jan Svanberg Datum: 2019 - juni Syfte: Företagens sociala ansvar (CSR) har utvecklats till ett viktigt ämne både för företag och dess intressenter. Varierande resultat gällande effekten av CSR-insatser på företagsprestanda har tidigare rapporterats. Tidigare studier undersöker och fokuserar på en liten del av CSR med många olösta teoretiska och empiriska frågor till följd av detta. Det har även visats att kultur påverkar beslutsfattandet i synnerhet i relation till CSR. Syftet är därmed att undersöka om nationell kultur har modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSR och finansiell prestation (CFP) hos börsnoterade bolag i världen.   Metod: Studiens vetenskapsteoretiska utgångspunkt är positivism med hypotetiskt-deduktiv ansats. En kvantitativ forskningsstrategi används för 3230 börsnoterade företag med data från en femårsperiod 2013 - 2017. Datan baseras på sekundärdata inhämtad från Thomson Reuters Eikon, Världsbanken och Hofstedes kulturindex, vilken analyserats med univariata och bivariata statistiska tester samt multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet IBM SPSS Statistics. Resultat & slutsats: Det finns ett positivt samband mellan CSR och CFP. Nationella kulturer har modererande effekter på det sambandet. Genom att använda Hofstedes kulturdimensioner har det visats att maktdistans (PD), osäkerhetsundvikande (UAI), maskulinitet (MAS) och långtidsorientering (LTO) har negativ modererande effekter, medan individualism (IDV) och tillfredsställelse (IND) har positiv modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSP och CFP. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar med ny kunskap för att fylla forskningsgapet gällande nationella kulturers modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSR och finansiell prestation. Studien bidrar på ett värdefullt sätt till både tidigare teori och empiri samt lyfter fram nationella kulturers påverkande roll för företagens finansiella prestation. Förslag till vidare forskning: Det behövs flera liknande studier med andra variabler som kontrollerar och analyserar sambandet. Vidare föreslår vi också att genomföra en liknande studie som även inkluderar icke-börsnoterade bolag, för att omfatta flera länder och dessutom en längre tidsperiod än fem år för att se om nationella kulturer påverkar sambandet på ett annat sätt. Nyckelord:Corporate social responsibility, corporate social performance, corporate financial performance, nationell kultur, Hofstedes kulturdimensionsteori. / Title: Culture’s moderating effects on the relationship between CSR and CFP Level: Student thesis for Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration Authors: Ferdous Foroughi och Shabab Hasan Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Date: 2019 - june Aim: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been developed to become an important subject for both corporates and their stakeholders. Varying results have been reported regarding the effect of CSR initiatives. Prior studies investigate and focus on a small part of CSR with following unresolved theoretical and empirical questions. It has also been shown that culture affects decision making, particularly in relation to CSR. The aim of this study is hence to investigate whether national culture has moderating effects on the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) among listed corporations in the world. Method: A positive research methodology has been applied with a hypothetical-deductive approach. A quantitative research strategy is used for 3230 listed corporations with data from a five-year time period 2013 - 2017. Data is based on secondary data from Thomson Reuters Eikon, World Bank and Hofstedes cultural index, which were analyzed with univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses in the statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics. Result & Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between CSR and CFP. National cultures have moderating effects on that correlation. Using Hofstede's cultural dimensions, it has been shown that power distance (PD), uncertainty avoidance index (UAI), masculinity (MAS) and long-term orientation (LTO) have negative moderating effects, while individualism (IDV) and indulgence (IND) have positive moderating effects on the relationship between CSP and CFP. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes with new knowledge to fill the research gap regarding national cultures’ moderating effects on the relationship between CSR and financial performance. The study contributes in an insightful way to both prior theory and empirical data and emphasizes the role of national cultures on the corporates’ financial performance. Suggestion for future research: Several similar studies are needed with other variables that control and analyze the relationship. Furthermore, we also propose to carry out a similar study that also includes non-listed companies, to include several countries and, moreover, a longer time period than five years to see if national cultures affect the relationship in another way. Keywords:Corporate social responsibility, corporate social performance, corporate financial performance, national culture, Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory.

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo descrever a priorização de stakeholders em empresas brasileiras e a sua relação com a indústria (setor econômico). Para atingir o objetivo principal da pesquisa, foram estabelecidos dois objetivos específicos: descrever a priorização de stakeholders nas empresas pesquisadas; e investigar a relação entre a priorização de stakeholders e a variável indústria. Nesta pesquisa, a priorização é definida operacionalmente como o atendimento preferencial dos interesses de um stakeholder em relação a outro. A fundamentação teórica aborda a teoria dos stakeholders, a priorização de stakeholders, os modelos de saliência e dominância de stakeholders, a performance social corporativa e o disclosure social, embasando-se também na voluntary disclosure theory. A amostra pesquisada é composta por 90 empresas que divulgaram relatórios anuais e/ou de sustentabilidade adotando a estrutura da GRI, referente ao ano de 2010. Calculou-se medidas de atendimento dos interesses dos stakeholders a partir da análise de 73 indicadores de desempenho GRI, associados a cinco stakeholders: compradores, direitos humanos, funcionários, meio ambiente e sociedade. Utilizou-se de análises descritivas para hierarquização dos stakeholders e das técnicas de análise de agrupamentos, ANOVA e qui-quadrado para investigar a relação entre a priorização e a variável indústria. Os resultados encontrados mostram que a hierarquia de priorização na amostra estudada tem a seguinte ordem: funcionários, sociedade e compradores, direitos humanos e meio ambiente. Os resultados apontam diferenças na hierarquia de priorização de stakeholders por indústria, e indicam uma influência da indústria no nível de atendimento dos interesses dos stakeholders. Desta forma, este estudo busca contribuir apresentando evidências empíricas da priorização de stakeholders no contexto brasileiro. / This study aimed to describe the stakeholder prioritization in Brazilian companies and their relationship with industry. The two specific objectives are: to describe the stakeholder prioritization across the surveyed firms and investigate the relationship between the stakeholder prioritization and the industry variable. In this research, prioritization is operationally defined as the preferential treatment to the interests of one stakeholder over another. The literature review is based on the stakeholder theory, stakeholder prioritization, stakeholder salience and dominance, corporate social performance, and social disclosure, basing also on voluntary disclosure theory. The sample is made by 90 companies with sustainability reporting adopting the GRI framework, in the year 2010. Measures of the treatment to the stakeholder interests were calculated from the analysis of 73 GRI performance indicators associated with five stakeholders: customers, human rights, employees, environment and society. It was used descriptive analysis, cluster analysis, ANOVA and chi-square techniques to investigate the relationship between the prioritization and the industry. The results show that the hierarchy of prioritization in the sample has the following order: employees, customers and society, human rights and environment. The results show differences in the hierarchy of stakeholder prioritization by industry, and indicate an influence of the industry on the level of treatment to the stakeholder interests. Thus, this study wants to contribute with empirical evidence of stakeholder prioritization in the Brazilian context.