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Abstract Problem background and problem discussion: The increased demands on companies and their ability to operate sustainably has made corporate social responsibility (CSR) a very hot topic in modern society. The academic debate has yet to put a definite answer on whether the engagement in CSR activities has a positive effect on a company financially. Previous research on stock listed in Sweden indicate that there is a positive relationship between environmental performance and that there is an asymmetry in how it is valued across company sizes. However, there has not yet been any research made into what impact size has on the value relevance of social CSR ratings. This will be tested by drawing from resource-based theory and legitimacy theory. Research question: How is the value relevance of social ratings affected by accounting for company size? Purpose: The purpose is to examine what effect the inclusion of corporation size has on the value relevance of social CSR ratings. Theory: The study primarily utilizes Stakeholder theory, the resource-based theory and legitimacy theory. Method: This is a quantitative study in a panel data setting with a deductive research approach. The practical method is a regression analysis that assesses the value relevance of CSR measures at the OMX Stockholm for the years of 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The study encompasses 349 Small-, medium- and large-sized companies and has a total of 1429 observations, which have been subject to statistical significance tests. Results and analysis: The results show that social, environmental and overall CSR ratings are value relevant and associated with lower market values. There also seems to be little impact on results by including company size as a variable. Furthermore the results of this study differ from previous research, implying that results are very sensitive to changes in the regression model. Conclusion: The results of the study lead us to believe that size has little impact on how value relevant social ratings are. This implies that regardless theory such as the resource-based and legitimacy theory these cannot be supported in practice among Swedish firms listed at OMX Stockholm. Furthermore, our method gives different results with regard to previous research done on the Swedish market and indicates that there is a negative relationship between CSR ratings and market value.

Undersökningen tog avstamp i att den svenska bostadsmarknaden påvisar grundläggande strukturella problem samtidigt som svenska fastighetsföretag uppvisar goda ekonomiska resultat. För att angripa det övergripande problemet genomfördes en fallstudie där syftet var att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur ett framstående fastighetsbolag förhåller sig till olika intressenter. Undersökningen avser att besvara följande frågeställningar: -  Hur förhåller sig Fastighetsföretaget till olika intressenter på bostadsmarknaden? -  Hur kan förhållningssättet förstås utifrån ett teoretiskt perspektiv? För att nå fram till ett resultat användes fyra teorier för att analysera undersökningens data som härstammar från intervjuer och företagets senaste årsredovisning. Resultatet påvisar att Fastighetsbolagets relation till ägarna var överordnad andra intressenter. Ägarnas krav på avkastning var det mål som var prioriterat även om det fanns en syn att nyckelintressenternas mål och ägarnas intressen var positivt korrelerade. De teorier som användes i undersökningen bidrog alla till att förklara olika fenomen inom Fastighetsföretagets verksamhet. Däremot hade en teoribildning det största förklaringsvärdet för Fastighetsföretagets förhållningssätt och stöddes framför allt av att ägarnas finansiella mål var överordnat andra intressenters mål och synen på andra intressenters mål som instrument för uppfyllande av det finansiella målet på lång sikt.

This study seeks to establish a working definition of contributions, related to older adults, from the perspective of stakeholder groups (elders, caregivers to elders, practitioners, and policy makers). A secondary content analysis was conducted on 4 group interviews of stakeholder groups. Findings supported the conceptual framework of the Welfare Diamond, whereby elders make contributions to various sectors that constitute society. Further, stakeholders identified invisible contributions, as well as the darker side of making contributions, as important elements of contribution. Findings help to establish an inclusive definition of contribution and to highlight where more research may be needed. / Aging

This thesis investigates the social forces that shape and sustain community-based protest against proposed projects in the construction industry. It builds on current research which highlights the tendency for community concerns about proposed developments to escalate into long-term protests that have far-reaching implications for both the construction industry and the local community. A theoretical framework merges the facilitative role of movement networks, contagion theory and the cultural experience of activism to investigate their relationship with protest movement continuity. Three research propositions emerged from the model and are investigated within a grounded theory framework. The research method adopts a single case study of a mature protest movement and utilises a triangulation of methods that integrates qualitative and ethnographic approaches across two interrelated phases of data collection that continues to the point of theoretical saturation. The data is analysed in three ways: A thematic story telling approach is used to ground the data derived so as to identify patterns of influences on protest participation and their effect on movement continuity. Concept maps and network diagrams are also used to connect the themes and guide the use of stories to reveal influences on movement continuity. The research concludes by proposing a refined theoretical model of protest movement continuity against construction projects. The model also forms the basis for a grounded theory which consisted of three interrelated parts. The first part concludes that protest networks are deliberately complex and dynamic to cope with the transient nature of protest participation and promote movement continuity. The second part points to the contagious influence of network to generate two opposing network conditions that are both conducive and detrimental to movement continuity. The last part points to the importance of social relationships as shaping the context in which cultural meanings of activism are understood and have a direct effect on sustaining movement continuity.

This thesis investigates the social forces that shape and sustain community-based protest against proposed projects in the construction industry. It builds on current research which highlights the tendency for community concerns about proposed developments to escalate into long-term protests that have far-reaching implications for both the construction industry and the local community. A theoretical framework merges the facilitative role of movement networks, contagion theory and the cultural experience of activism to investigate their relationship with protest movement continuity. Three research propositions emerged from the model and are investigated within a grounded theory framework. The research method adopts a single case study of a mature protest movement and utilises a triangulation of methods that integrates qualitative and ethnographic approaches across two interrelated phases of data collection that continues to the point of theoretical saturation. The data is analysed in three ways: A thematic story telling approach is used to ground the data derived so as to identify patterns of influences on protest participation and their effect on movement continuity. Concept maps and network diagrams are also used to connect the themes and guide the use of stories to reveal influences on movement continuity. The research concludes by proposing a refined theoretical model of protest movement continuity against construction projects. The model also forms the basis for a grounded theory which consisted of three interrelated parts. The first part concludes that protest networks are deliberately complex and dynamic to cope with the transient nature of protest participation and promote movement continuity. The second part points to the contagious influence of network to generate two opposing network conditions that are both conducive and detrimental to movement continuity. The last part points to the importance of social relationships as shaping the context in which cultural meanings of activism are understood and have a direct effect on sustaining movement continuity.

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 2004 u.d.T.: Cahyandito, Martha Fani: Sustainability reporting as a new approach for stakeholder communication

Zugl.: Witten, Herdecke, Univ., Diss., 2005 u.d.T.: Voigt, Thosten: Strategic management as a mobilization process

Zugl.: Sankt Gallen, Univ., Diss., 2006 u.d.T.: Buschmann, Holger: Turnaround-Management

Universiẗat, Diss.--St. Gallen, 1997.