Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased its presence in the business world, both due to the pressure of expectations from society to act responsibly as well as a rise in laws and regulation connected to CSR. As the world moves towards a greater focus on sustainability and social justice, the various kinds of businesses need to adjust themselves, where the concept of CSR can successfully be adopted to be prepared for these changes. In addition to CSR, stakeholder theory and instrumental stakeholder theory have been applied to answer the research question: How do larger housing associations in northern Sweden work with CSR and how does CSR affect their performance? Previous academic research regarding CSR in the housing market has not been very clear or distinct as there has been a scarce amount of research on this specific area. Earlier research done on CSR in the housing market could in this thesis therefore only be used as a minor point of departure. The goal with this thesis was thus to contribute to an extended knowledge referring if CSR can be a sufficient factor for housing associations performance. As the thesis is focused more on a deeper understanding of the subject, a qualitative research methodology has been employed. As for the data collection, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with four major housing associations in northern Sweden through online meetings and phone interviews. By choosing this type of data collection, the study could be more efficient in collecting the data. Our findings indicate that CSR can lead to both positive and negative performance-related consequences for a housing association. The lack of a shared approach towards CSR between the housing association and a stakeholder can result in disagreements with the stakeholder. Following and maintaining the advised and required reporting structure can lead to additional administrative costs and time needed. Two positive effects as a result of CSR that were generally perceived were how environmentally friendly materials and methods in the construction process led to reduced costs in the long-term, and how an ethical employee well-being program resulted in low sickness rates and staff turnover. Other positive effects were creating a strategic advantage in the form of brand loyalty through the use of ethical relationships towards their customers, as well as a perceived better profitability as a result of CSR usage.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-226850 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Brännlund, Alfred, Crona, Thomas |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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