Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Stakeholder theory'

Stakeholder theory has transcended academia and is infiltrating boardrooms all over the world. However, the literature is divided and lacks a coherent narrative of stakeholder value creation. The purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate the merits of stakeholder management by examining the arguments used by stakeholder researchers. Using argument analysis an overview of the field is created which describes the preconditions, mechanisms and moderators of value creation facilitated by stakeholder management.

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.

Different approaches to corporate responsibility can be identified throughout the business ethics and corporate responsibility literature. Stakeholder theory, one of these approaches, has emerged in recent years as the most prominent. This approach calls for a shift from the supremacy of economic interests of stockholders and attempts to derive alternatives for corporate governance that include and balance the interests of all those affected by corporate conduct. This thesis consists of a review of relevant literature to identify three major contributions stakeholder theory brings to the CR debate: (1) it implicitly introduces the organic model into the CR debate and thereby forces a fundamental change in the way corporations are conceived within ethics frameworks; (2) in recognition of the expanding ethical sphere of corporations, it extends corporate responsibility beyond economic performance, the owners of the corporation, expertise, and the law and government regulations; and (3) it provides a foundation for identifying what responsibilities corporations do have.

In destination development and planning literature much emphasis has been placed upon structural and geographical interpretations of how destinations can be viewed. There is a lack of attention to agency and stakeholder perspectives in destination development and planning. This research has sought to address this gap by focusing upon stakeholder power and engagement with tourism policy development in an English seaside context. Not only is the English seaside context important conceptually, practical connotations are also evident, particularly following the disbanding of the Regional Development Agencies in the summer of 2010 and the impact this has had on tourism organisation in Britain. The research objectives of this study focus upon compiling a conceptual framework which draws upon how power can be used in an enabling and not constraining fashion as an empowerment of people, by focusing on key concepts in stakeholder theory literature. The aim is to provide an alternative to a purely structural and geographical interpretation of the organisation of tourism policy, by focusing on agency and structure, as well as utilising the theory of planned behaviour in determining stakeholder engagement with tourism policy development. This research contributes to the stakeholder theory literature, particularly in defining the power of a stakeholder and how this can help address stakeholder engagement in tourism policy development. In addition contributions are made to the literature on English seaside tourism in utilising insights from the literature on power, structure and agency and stakeholder theory. From a methodological perspective a mixed method research approach has been adopted to add to the emerging qualitative research in the tourism literature in gaining rich contextual insights to the research problem.

In response to the global challenge of climate change, companies increasingly disclose sustainability-related information in form of sustainability reports. These reports, however, vary significantly due to multiple institutional and stakeholder pressures. From an academic perspective, institutional theory links these different outcomes to the influences of competing institutional logics on the field-level, representing institutional complexity on the field-level which is characterised by multiple demands from different stakeholders. Although current literature acknowledges that stakeholder may affect institutional logics, it is limited to categorise stakeholder influences on the firm-level, lacking conceptual clarity. Based on institutional and stakeholder constructs, this paper demonstrates that institutional and stakeholder theory provide, on different levels, a theoretical foundation to examine the influences on sustainability reporting. Various constructs of stakeholder theory and institutional fields as well as their limitations and further classification concepts are identified and discussed. This paper thereby advances the understanding between field-level pressures and firm-level agency and demonstrate that both theories can complement each other when examining the influences on sustainability reporting.

In this thesis, we have identified the difference between Agile and Lean methodsbased on stakeholder’s perspectives. To achieve the goal we have dealwith only Agile and Lean principles. In addition, in order to identify thestakeholders from Agile and Lean principles we have used the relevant practicesfrom both sides. As the principles of Agile manifesto are directly followedby most of the organizations, we have also used Agile principles directlyin this research. On the other hand lean methods have no pure principles,as a result we have used the most common and popular lean principlesderived from different authors. We have only considered the mostrelevant principles that might be useful in software development. To achievea stronger result of this thesis we have also considered stakeholder theory.Moreover we have identified the stakeholder’s involvement with Agile/Leanprinciples and stakeholder theory.

CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
Esta pesquisa analisou características de quatro empresas brasileira, vinculadas ao Projeto de Economia de Comunhão - EdC, buscando comparar seu comportamento com as orientações da Teoria dos Stakeholders. Além disso, foi feita uma comparação de indicadores sociais destas empresas, tomando por base o conjunto oferecido pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas - IBASE, com as empresas constantes no Baco de dados desta instituição, buscando compreender como se dá sua performance em termos de responsabilidade social corporativa. A metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de caso múltiplo, o que permitiu incluir tanto uma abordagem qualitativa, no caso fortemente apoiado em entrevistas, quanto quantitativas. A intenção declarada desta investigação é a de avaliar se as quatro empresas que formam o núcleo da pesquisa têm aumentado seu desempenho competitivo por conta das características inerentes à Economia de Comunhão. O trabalho conclui com o estabelecimento de um conceito de Economia de Comunhão, que esteja de acordo com as orientações da Teoria dos Stakeholders. Para que este objetivo fosse alcançado, foram realizadas visitas a dois Congressos Nacionais sobre o tema, no local onde ocorreu o lançamento mundial do projeto EdC, em Cotia , São Paulo, e foram realizadas visitas às quatro empresas, com o intuito de entrevistar stakeholders internos e externos. Além das entrevistas pessoais, foi realizada uma survey exploratória com todas as noventa empresas filiadas ao projeto no Brasil, e foram mantidos contactos telefônicos e por meio eletrônico com órgãos de classe e o escritório central do Movimento das Focolares, organização da qual a EdC se originou. O trabalho conclui que há grande semelhança entre as características observadas nas quatro empresas visitadas e as propostas da Teoria dos Stakeholders, sem haver, contudo, uma sobreposição perfeita. Quanto à vantagem competitiva, foram identificadas fontes seguras que a estimulam, as quais são de difícil reprodução fora do contexto da EdC. No que se refere ao desempenho no campo social, alguns indicadores mostram-se bastante desenvolvidos, mesmo levando-se em consideração o pequeno porte das empresas consideradas.
This research analised the characteristics of four brazilian companies, that belongs to Communion Economy Project - EdC, trying to compare their behaviour as a whole with the guidances of Stakeholder Theory. Besides, another comparison has been made among the social scorecards of these companies, using the framework of Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas -IBASE, and the companies that belong to the data base of this organization. By doing that, this paper tried to find out how stands the performance of these four companies, in terms of the corporation social responsability. The main goal of this investigation is to estimate whether or not the four companies, that build up the core or the research, have improved their competitiveness due to EdC distinctive characteristics. The research concluded by creating a concept of Economy of Communion enterprise, giving the companies a road map that allows them to keep closer to the Stakeholders Theory guidelines. To reach such goals, was necessary to take part in two annual National EdC Meeting, that took place at Mariápolis Ginetta, in Cotia, São Paulo, the same place in which the EdC`s project has been released to the world. After that, the four companies has been visited, so that it could be possible to make interviews with some internal and external stakeholders. Besides, several contacts has been made by phone and by eletronic mail with unions and other representatives, and a exploratory survey has been launched in order to reach all ninety EdC companies in Brazil. The research concludes that there is a great similarity between the characteristics of the four visited companies and the Theory of Stakeholdes proposals, although they do not fit perfectly. Mentioning the competitive advantage, it has been recognized that there is, indeed, a great source of it by following the EdC framework, although it is pretty hard to reproduce the same behaviour outside it. In relation with the social performance, the research has noticed that some of them are much better than the IBASE average, even in comparison with big companies.

Stakeholders play an important role for firm’s performance and survival. Being able to balance multiple stakeholder’s needs an interest simultaneously and at the same time achieve best value for provided services/products is often referred to "acting as an informed client". Real estate firms should be more involved with core stakeholders (their tenants) in order to improve their corporate social performance and productivity. Cluster theory distinguish how certain industries and firms can be interconnected, developing collaborations through geographical proximity. The effects are asymmetrical, dependent on the type cluster, the type of product/services and the firm’s included in the cluster. By combining stakeholder management and cluster theory, real estate firms are able to improve their knowledge regarding tenant’s interconnection and contribute to the development of already identified clusters within the Stockholm County. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the ongoing research regarding stakeholder management, with the usage of cluster theory. A quantitative- and qualitative analysis is conducted, using a self-administered questionnaire. A total amount of 64 retail tenants (around 80% response rate) and 28 office tenants (around 12% response rate) participated in the study. Results from the quantitative- and qualitative analysis is triangulated with secondary data, aimed to improve the reliability of the results. Both retail- and office tenants were invited to the study and the correlation between the two targets groups was determined, aimed to measure office tenant’s perception regarding cluster externalities. Results from the analysis shows that industries like information and communication, business services and credit and insurance are considered to be clustered. The highest level of science base diversity is achieved by those industries, implying a strong presence of activities sharing a common knowledge base. Retail tenant’s value suitable products (question 3) and proximity to their costumer (question 6), while office tenants value personal contacts (question 24) and proximity to major transportation routes (question 10). In addition, retail tenants have a positive attitude towards cluster externalities, while office tenants have dived perceptions or simply ignores cluster externalities, explained by the insignificant correlation between their answers. The conclusion of the study is that further research is needed, using a more extensive qualitative analysis. A larger share of participants active within industries that are considered to be clustered will provide real estate firms with the knowledge of how to proceed with their stakeholder management. It is therefore considered that certain office tenants are dependent on cluster externalities and that real estate firms should actively engage in their business, acting as a "business in society".
Intressenter har en stor påverkan på ett företags utveckling och överlevnad. Att hitta en balans mellan att tillgodose olika intressenters intressen och behov, samtidigt som man utvinner högsta avkastning för genomförda produkter/tjänster, kallas "acting as an informed client". Fastighetsföretag bör vara mer involverade med sina nyckelintressenter, allt för att kunna förbättra sin produktivitet och sitt samhällsansvar. Klusterteori identifierar hur olika sektorer kan vara sammankopplade i form av samarbeten, något som uppkommit genom en geografisk koncentrering av olika företag. Effekterna från klustring är åtskilda och beror oftast på karaktären av klustret, vilken typ av produkter/tjänster som klustret erbjuder, samt vilka typer av företag som är inkluderade i klustret. Genom att kombinera klusterteori med intressenthantering, ges fastighetsföretag möjlighet att utveckla sin kunskap gällande intressenters sammankopplingar, något som kan komma att stärka den pågående utvecklingen av Stockholms olika kluster. Syftet med examensarbetet är att bidra till pågående forskning inom området för intressenthantering, med hjälp av klusterteori. En kvantitativ och kvalitativ studie har genomförts, den kvalitativa studien baseras på en enkät. Totalt deltog 64 butikshyresgäster (80% svarsfrekvens) och 28 kontorshyresgäster (12% svarsfrekvens) i studien. Resultatet från den kvantitativa och kvalitativa studien har triangulerats, med avsikt att öka reliabiliteten av studien. Både butiks-och kontorshyresgäster var inbjudna till att delta i studien och korrelationen mellan de två fokusgrupperna fastställdes, allt för att kunna mäta kontorshyresgästers förhållningssätt gentemot klustringseffekter. Resultatet från studien visar att sektorer så som information- och kommunikation, företagstjänster, kredit- och försäkringar anses vara klustrade. Det högsta värdet gällande grunden för kunskapsdiversifiering uppmättes av dessa sektorer, vilket i sin tur symboliserar att företag inom klusterna delar gemensamma kunskapsområden. Butikshyresgäster värderar faktorer så som, anpassade produkter (fråga 3) och närheten till sina kunder (fråga 6), medan kontorshyresgästerna värderar personliga kontakter (fråga 24) och närheten till snabba transportmöjligheter (fråga 10). Ytterligare så uppvisar butikshyresgäster ett intresse för klustringseffekter, medan kontorshyresgäster uppvisar ringa intresse eller olika intresse gällande klustringseffekter, vilket kan förklaras med den insignifikanta korrelationen mellan de två grupperna. Slutsatsen från examensarbetet är att mer kvalitativ forsning inom området är nödvändigt, för att kunna säkerställa huruvida kontorshyresgäster värderar klustringseffekter. Vidare ska ytterligare forskning fokusera på sektorer som anses vara klustrade inom Stockholmsområdet, allt för att kunna urskilja hur fastighetsföretagen ska kunna utveckla sin intressenthantering. Studien påvisar att det finns företag på Stockholmsmarknaden som använder sig av klustringseffekter och att fastighetsföretagen bör aktivt föra en dialog med dessa företag, för att kunna agera som ett "företag i samhället".

This research is concerned with the role of Stakeholder Theory within Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory. The research reveals a key role for Stakeholder Theory in the ongoing development of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory as Stakeholder Theory provides a mechanism to discover, and map, the roles and relationships within the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. The research examines a nascent Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. This is the Adelaide Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and this "ecosystem" reveals (via a series of "Stakeholder Maps") a set of archetypal Entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders and their links within this ecosystem. A chronological series of 19 iterations of these “Stakeholder Maps” over a fouryear period provides insight into the nature, and conceptualisation, of the Adelaide Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. In depth interviews of 31 participants in the Adelaide Entrepreneurial Ecosystem provide evidence of the centrality of the stakeholder in the Adelaide Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. This research contributes to theory via the reinstatement of Stakeholder Theory, within the diverse, fragmented Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory using a two part "organisation" of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory. The first is a division distinguishes the epistemological, academic and "popular" writers from one another. This facilitates a clarification of the literature and highlights an ongoing dilemma in combining the theory of the role of the "environment" with the "entrepreneur" in the creation of an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. The second "organisation" of the theory pivots around the impact of Moore's conceptualisation of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. This recognises the ongoing development of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory via the application of the ecological model. The research contributes to practice as it facilitates an examination of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems at a constituent level and offers the possibility of simultaneously theorising the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem from the view of the Stakeholder and from the ecosystem point of view and how they are linked. Further research may bring this possibility into actuality.

Stakeholders are important to the financial sustainability of a nonprofit organization; however, heavy reliance on 1 stakeholder over another can place a nonprofit organization at financial risk. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies used by 3 senior leaders of a nonprofit organization in New York who have experience with stakeholder engagements efforts. The conceptual framework used for this study comprised general systems theory and transformational leadership theory. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, and review of organizational documents and online databases. Using thematic analysis, the 4 key themes that emerged from process and results strengths were leadership involvement in engaging stakeholders, persistent promotion of the organization's mission and vision, connection with the community, and workforce engagement activities. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to increase nonprofit leaders' understanding of practical approaches that may facilitate stakeholder engagement for improving financial sustainability, improve nonprofit leader–stakeholder relationships, and bolster philanthropic efforts to improve the economic stability of the nonprofit organization and the community.

In 2008, a financial crisis struck the world economy, causing a risk of a potential system-crash. In order to stabilize the financial system within Europe, European Banking Authority (EBA) presented new guidelines (GL44) as a way, among others, to increase the transparency among financial institutions. As a result of GL44, Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) implemented new regulations, with minor adjustments and amendments. At present, the guidelines are weeks from being completely implemented, thus meaning that the financial industry is able to start seeing the changes from the regulations.The authors have chosen to conduct a study regarding how the banks have been affected from the external authority demands during the previous recession.The focus of the study has been on three of Sweden’s four large banks, which are considered systematically important, as well as one niche bank.The study showed that the work in board and top-management was affected by external demands from authorities. The attention on business development was disturbed during the recession since more focus was put on controlling factors such as compliance, risk management and internal audit as well as on board composition and board competence.

Thesis (PhD) - Faculty of Business and Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology, 2006.
A thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Business and Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology - 2006. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-246)

The following research examined the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its influence on branding in the energy sector. This research took place at Hydro Ottawa because it is a power distribution and a power generation company, with a mixed private and public business model operating in a monopolistic context, which is a well-rounded example that can be transferred to other organizations and other sectors. This research followed a case study approach guided by Strauss and Corbin’s (1990, 1998) grounded theory. This study attempted to answer the following research question 1) Who are the main stakeholders at Hydro Ottawa and what type of influence do they have on the development of their CSR and branding strategies? 2) How is CSR enunciated and applied at Hydro Ottawa? 3) How does CSR shape the brand image of Hydro Ottawa? In order to explore the research questions, the data collected for this study consisted of interviews, organizational documents, as well as observation. Due to the time limitation for a master’s thesis, six participants were chosen for interviews, which were later transcribed, coded and analysed by the researcher. The findings indicated that building a CSR strategy based on a healthy organizational culture, stakeholder needs, and the triple bottom line (financial, social, environmental) led to CSR essentially becoming the brand. The brand can then be communicated and shaped from and inside-out (from the employees to the external stakeholders)/outside-in (from external stakeholders to inside the organization) approach. Based on a grounded theory analysis, the researcher created a step-by-step prescriptive model that could be used to advance corporate social responsibility into Hydro Ottawa’s brand as well as offer a critical perspective of the findings.

The research’s intent is improvement in governance and strategic management initially by comparing Shareholder Theory and Stakeholder Theory and making results useful for both Practitioner and Academic audiences. A conceptual model for how a society establishes and evolves the roles it legitimizes for a business to support reasoning about those roles and the process originating the expectations, responsibilities, obligations, contributions and freedom to act in the roles is proposed. Understanding this process would enable better governance and strategic management of a firm while avoiding unintended consequences when fulfilling the role and consequences for failing the role. The model becomes a basis for comparing Shareholder and Stakeholder Theories. Context for the model comes from practitioner narratives around changes occurring in business and their themes around the relationship of a business with its ecosystem. To incorporate both the societal and business relationship components, the model building process was based upon concepts and ideas from General Systems, Economics, Sociology, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Evolution, Complexity and Complex Adaptive Systems, Semiotics, as well as Business. This was an iterative abductive, inductive, deductive process with each iteration compared to relevant theory, integrated across the subject domains, then tested against other academic research on the issue, evidence of the model in practice, and a culturomics study across social and industry literature. These results are exploratory, descriptive, directional, and suggestive for future research opportunities. Problems with Stakeholder Theory are identified but potentially addressed with the conceptual model, in turn suggesting a systemic approach to governance and strategic management. It was determined that Shareholder Theory results in many unintended consequences detrimental to society and the firm. The conceptual model provides points of intervention in the process and suggests potential tooling for governance and strategic management. A side effect of the research was a perspective on the practitioner / academic divide as the research grappled with the “wicked problem” nature and transdisciplinary nature of process being described. By introducing systems and complexity paradigms in the model, potential ways to address the divide are suggested, such as 3 level analysis (micro, meso, macro).

Businesses fail in the absence of a sustainable engagement strategy with stakeholders who influence and are influenced by a company's business activity in communities where the company has a presence. The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate factors that defined a framework regarding the creation of shared value when applying the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) of sustainable development as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy between business, the community, and U.S. watershed initiatives to help resolve often conflicting stakeholder views. The specific problem was the lack of an existing framework regarding the creation of shared value when applying the TBL of sustainable development to CSR engagement initiatives between the firm, the community, and U.S. watershed initiatives to help resolve often conflicting stakeholder views. The theoretical framework was stakeholder theory integrated with the corporate imperatives of CSR, TBL, and shared value. The study focus was to compare shared value, CSR, and the TBL perspectives of 22 leaders and participants from two collaborative watershed initiative partnerships in one mid-eastern state. The study research question was: How do shared value, CSR, TBL define a community engagement framework between the firm, the community, and U.S. watershed initiatives to help resolve often conflicting stakeholder views? Two primary study conclusions emerged: (a) shared value, CSR, TBL were factors that defined a community engagement framework when integrated into a strategy between the firm, the community, and U.S. watershed initiatives to help resolve often conflicting stakeholder views; (b) the factors that contributed to creating shared value were interrelated and contributed to creating shared value when joined together in a Sustainable Community Engagement Framework to help resolve often conflicting stakeholder views.

Tidigare forskning diskuterar utvecklingen av hållbarhetsredovisningar och hur intressenter på olika sätt engageras i utvecklingen samt innehållet i redovisningen. Det diskuteras även kring betydelsen av intressenters påverkan. Freemans (1984) definition av intressentbegreppet ligger till grund för tidigare forsknings utveckling inom ämnet. Intressentbegreppet är brett och olika forskare har olika definitioner, detta har lett till att begreppet problematiserats.Syftet med studien är att lyfta fram hur hållbarhetsredovisningar förändrats över tid och hur företag engagerar sina intressenter i redovisningarna. Resultatet ska bidra till ökad kunskap om företags sätt att engagera sina intressenter i sina hållbarhetsredovisningar. För att besvara syftet och forskningsfrågorna har vi använt oss av en innehållsanalys där vi analyserat information från hållbarhetsredovisningar och hemsidor samt en ordanalys.Studien omfattar tre olika företags hållbarhetsredovisningar från 2008 och 2013 och information från deras hemsidor som behandlar intressenter och deras hållbarhetsarbete. Den innefattar även GRIs riktlinjer som ligger till grund till företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar. Resultatet visar att två av företagen som ingår i studien har utvecklat sin kommunikation med sina intressenter under de analyserade åren, detta blir tydligt genom antalet gånger deras olika intressentgrupper framkommer i ordanalysen i 2008 respektive 2013 års redovisningar. Företagen har identifierat sina intressenter i sina hållbarhetsredovisningar på olika sätt och även förklarat hur de engagerar dem i sitt hållbarhetsarbete.
Former research discusses the development of sustainability reporting and the way stakeholders are being engaged in the development and the content of the reports. The importance of stakeholders influence is also discussed. Freeman´s (1984) definition of the stakeholder concept sets the foundation for former research within the subject. The stakeholder concept is broad and different researchers define the concept differently, which results in a problematization of the concept.The purpose of this study is to enhance the development of sustainability reporting over time and how companies engage their stakeholders in the reports. The result will contribute to higher knowledge about the company’s ways to engage their stakeholders in their sustainability reports. To answer our purpose and research questions we´ve used a content analysis where we analyzed information from sustainability reports, websites and carried out a word analysis.The study includes three different companies’ sustainability reports from 2008 and 2013 and information from their websites which includes stakeholders and their sustainability work. The study also includes GRI´s guidelines which sets the foundation for the company’s sustainability reports. The result shows that two of the companies that are included in the study have developed their communication with their stakeholders during the years that were analyzed. This becomes clear by the amount of times their different stakeholder groups are mentioned through a word analysis in the reports from 2008 and 2013. The companies have identified their stakeholders in their sustainability reports in different ways and also described how they engage them in their sustainability work.

The Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) was first introduced in all commercial forest reserves in Sabah in 1997. This policy gives hope to the state government to manage the forests in a sustainable manner following the forest development phase of revenue oriented timber exploitation, which has contributed to the decline in forest resources; the increase in forest degradation and the decrease in state income earned from the forestry sector. Under the SFM concept, the forest of the state was divided into Forest Management Units (FMUs) managed by FMU holders under different institutional arrangements of state, state enterprise and private sector. This study was conducted to investigate the corporate-stakeholder interrelation under the SFM concept implemented by the FMU holder in Sabah, Malaysia. The research was based on the ‘Triple Typology Perspective of Stakeholder Theory’, which encapsulates three different perspectives of ‘conceptual’, ‘corporate’ and ‘stakeholder’ centric. The ‘conceptual’ perspective explores the overall SFM concept and its relation to the FMU holder – stakeholder interaction. The ‘corporate’ view investigates how the FMU holders as the corporate part of the SFM concept deals with their stakeholders; and the ‘stakeholder’ perspective analyses the relation between stakeholders, the FMU holders and SFM implementation. Stakeholder analysis was used to gather information with the application of methods incorporating literature reviews, expert interviews, focus groups, meetings and discussion, questionnaire surveys and Q methodology. Four FMUs were selected as study areas, which managed by the state, state enterprise and private sector. The respondents were encompassed personal of Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), FMU managers and FMU workers, various governmental and non-governmental agencies, and local communities of eight villages located within and in the fringe of FMU areas involved in the study. Under the ‘conceptual centric’, different groups of stakeholders were identified based on SFM documentation, which also provide the normative basis for the SFM concept. The contemporary implementation of SFM was assessed based on stakeholders’ perspective, which indicated that the overall SFM contribution entailed mainly on satisfaction of environment objectives, followed by economic and, to a lesser degree, social objectives. Different categories of stakeholders were identified based on their perceptions of various issues under SFM implementation. These include the level of cooperation or conflict; degree of stakeholder participation; views of specific individuals and a thorough comparison of individual subjectivity. There is, however, an agreement to the statements on the influential factors towards effective SFM implementation, which include the administration and leadership of SFD, and good collaboration between SFD and the FMU holders. Other consensuses were related to the roles of participation in promoting learning about synergy and the importance of various forest uses, and that it should be able to influence the decision-making during the consultation process. The implementation of SFM was agreed in influencing towards investment in the forestry sector and the development of the rural area in the state. The ‘corporate centric’ indicates the different approaches of stakeholder management under the different arrangements of FMU holders. The SFM operations with a high level of stakeholder involvement were identified as community forestry programme followed by forest conservation, forest protection, development and preparation of plans, administration, human resource development, and research and development. The important stakeholders, according to their degree of involvement in SFM operations were the internal stakeholders of FMU workers, followed by external stakeholders of the staff of SFD, contractors, local communities, local authorities, consultants, businessmen/traders and researchers/scientists. Other stakeholders were various state government agencies, manufacturers, shareholders, NGOs (local), international agencies, NGOs (international), donors, federal government agencies and other FMU holders. The ‘stakeholder centric’ identifies the various stakeholders interests and claims associated with SFM implementation that depend on stakeholder affiliation. The main groups in this study were multi-interest stakeholder groups (n=104) and the local community groups of the selected villages (n=332). The interests and claims of the multi-interest stakeholder group were related to SFM objectives such as good management of the forest, protection and conservation of environment and biodiversity, and protection of water catchment areas. The local community groups, on the other hand, were mainly concerned with the importance of the forest as a source for foods, land for agriculture and other livelihood purposes. There are various approaches for stakeholder relation management (SRM) that are employed by the FMU holders and stakeholders. These may consist of management quality system, CSR program, the community forest development project; inter agency meetings and dialogue; and collaboration and cooperation with other agencies and institutions. SRM can assist in balancing conflicts that arise, promoting cooperation, and advancing the knowledge and understanding on the SFM concept among the stakeholders. The SRM approaches under the SFM implementation can augment participation by the stakeholders, which in turn will promote effective and efficient implementation of SFM. The mutual relation of the SFM concept and SRM is advancing stakeholder participation in promoting effective implementation of SFM at the FMU level. The inter-relation of the ‘triple perspective typology of stakeholder theory’ was integrated as new contexts to achieve objectives for sustainability under SFM policy, with the business case of corporate sustainability, and the wider scope of the ecosystem approach and the sustainable development
Das Konzept Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) wurde erstmals in allen kommerziellen Waldreservaten in Sabah, Malaysia, im Jahr 1997 eingeführt. Mit dieser Politik verbindet die Landesregierung die Hoffnung, dass die Wälder nun in einer nachhaltigen Art und Weise bewirtschaftet werden können, nachdem die fast ausschließlich auf Einnahmen orientierte Holznutzung zum Rückgang der Waldbestände, zur Zunahme der Waldzerstörung und damit letztendlich auch zum Rückgang der Staatseinnahmen aus der Forstwirtschaft beigetragen hat. Zur Umsetzung des SFM-Konzepts wurde der Staatswald in Forest Management Units (FMU) unterteilt, die von FMU Haltern aus verschiedenen Staatsinstitutionen, Staatsunternehmen und der Privatwirtschaft verwaltet werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht das Verhältnis zwischen Unternehmen als FMU-Bewirtschaftern und Stakeholdern im Konzept nachhaltiger Waldbewirtschaftung, das von FMUs in Sabah, Malaysia implementiert wurde. Die Arbeit basiert auf der „Triple-Typology Perspective of Stakeholder Theory“, welche drei verschiedene Perspektiven beinhaltet, die konzeptionell, unternehmensbezogen oder Stakeholder-zentriert sind. Dabei untersucht die konzeptionelle Perspektive SFM-Konzepte und die daraus resultierenden Beziehungen zwischen FMU-Bewirtschafter und ihren jeweiligen Stakeholdern. Die unternehmenszentrierte Sicht legt den Schwerpunkt darauf, wie FMU-Bewirtschafter als Teil des SFM-Konzeptes mit Stakeholdern interagieren. Die Stakeholder-Perspektive analysiert das Verhältnis zwischen Stakeholdern, FMU-Bewirtschafter und der SFM-Implementierung. Die Daten wurden mit Hilfe der Stakeholder-Theorie unter Anwendung quantitativer und qualitativer Methoden wie Literaturrecherche, Experteninterviews, Fokusgruppen, informellen Treffen und Diskussionsrunden, schriftlichen Befragungen und der Q-Methodologie erhoben. Als Untersuchungseinheiten wurden vier FMUs ausgewählt, die durch den Staat, den staatlichen Forstbetrieb und den privatem Sektor bewirtschaftet werden. Die Befragungsteilnehmer setzten sich aus Personal der Forstverwaltung Sabah (Sabah Forestry Department, SFD), den FMU-Bewirtschaftern und –Mitarbeitern, verschiedenen Regierungs- und Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen und lokalen Gemeinschaften in acht Dörfern innerhalb sowie im Randgebiet der FMUs zusammen. In Bezug auf die konzeptionelle Perspektive wurden, basierend auf der SFM-Dokumentation, verschiedene Stakeholder-Gruppen identifiziert, die die normative Basis für das SFM-Konzept liefern. Dessen Implementation wurde aus Sicht der Stakeholder analysiert. Es zeigte sich, dass der gesamte Beitrag zum SFM vornehmlich umweltbezogene Zielsetzungen erfüllt, gefolgt von ökonomischen und, zu einem noch geringeren Grad, sozialen Zielen. Mehrere Kategorien von Stakeholdern wurden auf Grundlage ihrer Wahrnehmung verschiedener Aspekte im Zuge der SFM-Implementation identifiziert. Diese umfassen die Kooperations- oder Konfliktebene, den Grad der Stakeholder-Beteiligung sowie individuelle Betrachtungen. Es gibt eine Übereinstimmung zu Äußerungen, welche Einflussfaktoren hinsichtlich effektiver SFM-Implementierung entscheidend sind. Dabei wurden vor allem das Management und die Führung der, der SFD sowie gute Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem SFD und den FMU-Bewirtschaftern genannt. Weitere Übereinstimmung besteht darin, die Weiterbildung über die Bedeutung unterschiedlicher Waldnutzungen und deren Ausbalancierung zu stärken, um die Entscheidungsfindung im Konsultationsprozess beeinflussen zu können. Auch herrschte Einigkeit darin, durch Investition in den Forstsektor und Entwicklung ländlicher Regionen die Implementation von SFM zu stärken. Der unternehmensbezogene Fokus konzentriert sich auf die verschiedenen Ansätze des Stakeholder-Managements unter unterschiedlichen Charakteristika der FMU-Bewirtschafter. SFM-Maßnahmen mit einem hohen Grad an Stakeholder-Beteiligung sind Gemeinschaftsforstprogramme (community forestry programmes), gefolgt von Waldnaturschutz, Waldschutz, Entwicklung und Vorbereitung von Plänen, Verwaltung, die Entwicklung von Humanressourcen sowie Forschung und Entwicklung. Die wichtigsten Stakeholder, bezogen auf ihren Beteiligungsgrad in SFM-Maßnahmen, waren intern die Mitarbeiter der FMUs und extern die Mitarbeiter der SFD, Vertragsnehmer, lokale Gemeinschaftsgruppen und Verwaltungen, Berater, Geschäftsleute/Händler und Forscher/Wissenschaftler. Weitere Stakeholder waren verschiedene Regierungsorganisationen, Produzenten, Aktionäre, internationale Behörden, lokale und internationale NGOs, Behörden der föderalen Regierung und andere FMU-Bewirtschafter. Die Stakeholder Perspektive identifiziert verschiedene Interessen und Forderungen der Stakeholder, die sich auf die SFM-Implementation beziehen und von der Stakeholder-Zugehörigkeit abhängen. Die Hauptgruppen in dieser Studie waren sogenannte Mehrinteressen-Stakeholder-Gruppen (n=104) und lokale Gemeinschaftsgruppen (n=332). Die Interessen und Forderungen der Mehrinteressen-Stakeholder-Gruppen waren bezogen auf SFM-Ziele wie gute Waldbewirtschaftung, Schutz und Erhaltung der Umwelt und Biodiversität sowie Schutz von Wassereinzugsgebieten. Andererseits stand der Wald als Quelle für Nahrung, landwirtschaftliche Flächen und andere Aspekte des Lebensunterhaltes im Mittelpunkt des Interesses lokaler Gemeinschaftsgruppen. Es gibt zahlreiche Ansätze für das Management von Stakeholder-Beziehungen (Stakeholder Relation Management, SRM), welches durch FMU-Bewirtschafter und Stakeholder genutzt wird. Der SRM-Ansatz besteht aus dem Bewirtschaftungsqualitätssystem, CSR-Programm, dem Gemeinschaftswaldentwicklungsprojekt, multilateralen Treffen und Dialog zwischen den Behörden, und Zusammenarbeit und Kooperation mit anderen Behörden und Organisationen. SRM kann dazu dienen, mögliche Konflikte auszubalancieren, Kooperation zu begünstigen sowie das Wissen und Verständnis von SFM zu fördern. Die Einbindung von SRM in die Implementation von SFM erweitert die Beteiligung der Stakeholder, was wiederum zu einer effektiveren und effizienteren Implementation von SFM auf FMU-Ebene führen kann. Die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen der „Triple-Perspective Typology of Stakeholder Theory“ und dem Ökosystemansatz, der unternehmensbezogenen Nachhaltigkeit und dem Konzept des Sustainable Forest Management bilden die Grundlage, um das Ziel einer umfassenden Nachhaltigkeit zu erreichen

Stakeholder salience has emerged from the ambiguity of stakeholder theory and is intended to better describe the aspects of identification and prioritization of stakeholders. Despite the fact that 95% of businesses worldwide are SMEs and comprise 99.8% of all European enterprises, the stakeholder salience aspects of identification and prioritization, in relation to SMEs, are empirically underdeveloped and mainly focused on the owner/manager perspective. Therefore, this qualitative single-case study has explored the stakeholder salience aspects of identification and prioritization in order to better understand the intraorganizational perceptions of stakeholders, processes, and motivations, within a European SME. The findings revealed that intraorganizational perceptions focused on a narrow view of stakeholder identification, which contradicts the broad view advocated by researchers in relation to stakeholders and sustainable development. Furthermore, there is a need to develop broader intraorganizational understanding of stakeholders in terms of claims and processes if businesses are going to be able to create holistic strategies with a sustainable development focus.

Master of Arts
Department of Communication Studies, Theatre, and Dance
Nicole M. Laster
The adoption of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy affords a company with the opportunity to engage with stakeholders in a manner that is not necessarily tied directly to a company’s business as usual. CSR research has burgeoned in the last several decades, keeping pace with companies worldwide and their steady incorporation of CSR policies into their business models. To that end, research has been primarily focused on CSR policy perception from external stakeholders or managers. This research project examines the sensemaking processes related to an environmental sustainability-related CSR policy among a diverse group of internal stakeholders at a mid-sized electric utility company. An analysis of the data suggests that hierarchical divisions of employees are non-existent when the CSR policy is enduring, consistent, and upholds company values. Moreover, employee enactment of CSR policies operates as a mechanism whereby employees internalize the promoted corporate values. Such environmental CSR policies tacitly reinforce an organization’s cultural values among its employees. Additionally, environmentally sustainable CSR policies supported by environmentally exhausting companies induce a minimal justification hypothesis when dissonance is present between the nature of a company’s industry and practices related to sustaining the environment.

Our planet suffers from severe climate change and environmental issues has never been as important as it is now. Countries and communities come together to get involved in environmental questions and to work against a sustainable future. Companies are also expected to take act on this concern and incorporate sustainability into their business practices. To account for this, company’s disclosure a sustainability report and the numbers of companies that do so has increased rapidly the last years. From 2011 to 2013 there was almost a 50% increase of submitted sustainability reports. Since then, sustainability reporting has gone from optional to mandatory as a new law came into place in 2016. However, as companies start to disclosure sustainability reports more than ever before, new issues have arisen. The lack of regulation means that there is no guarantee for quality in the report and studies has shown that the stakeholders demand higher quality and more transparency of the sustainability report. Thus, it could be of importance for companies to produce reports of better quality in order to meet the demands of their stakeholders. Retaining a good relationship is crucial and it affects the growth of the company as it affects competitive advantage and the possibility to manage risks. Previous literature has found evidence that stakeholder pressure has influence on the transparency, which has similarities to quality, of the sustainability reports globally. With this thesis we aim to contribute with additional information to existing literature with a new geographical area, Sweden. We also aim to contribute to understanding of how quality of the sustainability reports can be determined. The critical assessment of the sustainability reports from each stakeholder becomes more important and previous literature has shown that different stakeholders have different effect on transparency in the sustainability reports. First and foremost, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate if the pressure from different stakeholder groups has an effect on the quality of the sustainability report. We intend to do so with the following research question: Does stakeholder pressure have an effect on the quality of sustainability reports? The companies will be split into four different groups based on the industry the company operates within and the sub-purpose is to see if there is any difference in the impact on the quality of the sustainability reports between the different groups. The quality will be determined by adherence level to the GRI G4 framework, how many other standards and guidelines the report is in compliance with and the existence of external assurance. The population is the 127 companies who has their reports available in the GRI database. We have conducted a quantitative study using a linear regression analysis on those 127 companies. The results led us to the conclusion that the relationship between stakeholder pressure and the quality of the sustainability reports cannot be explained by the model used in this thesis. A two-sample t test was conducted for each group of industry to see if there was any difference of the mean of quality if the companies was represented in the industry or not. The results showed us that the mean of the quality was higher for the companies operating in an environmentally sensitive industry.

This thesis presents the journey from concept to operation of an innovative multi-stakeholder partnership for education (MSPE), focusing specifically upon: the processes involved in forging, formalising, governing and operating a multi-stakeholder partnership for education, to develop viability and create sustainability in the not-for-profit sector in the twenty-first century. The MPSE under investigation involved a dual-sector educational establishment whose goal was to attain degree-awarding powers and ultimately the title of ‘university,’ and a national third sector organisation whose goal was to ensure its own continued existence. Philosophically, this research enquiry follows an inductivist approach – the mode of engagement of neo-empiricism, comprising objectivist perspectives in relation to the ontological status of human behaviour and epistemology. In terms of theory, it employs an intrinsic case study undertaken over a six-month period and utilising a mixture of documentary analysis, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and focus groups, whilst employing the unobtrusive measure of content analysis. This case study tells the story of how the organisations re-positioned themselves and created a partnership for the training of practitioners – a unique multi-stakeholder partnership for education, or serial collaborative arrangement – and established and operated an institute for the development and provision of courses in respect of, and researching into, couple and family relationships and relationship support services, in the initial phases, from the perspectives of those involved during data collection from October 2007 through to March 2008. The innovative and unique governing and operating practices are challenged and illuminated in terms of their strengths and weaknesses as they co-operated to establish and operate a new Institute. Finally, contributions to the creation and interpretation of new knowledge are documented, paying attention to the dimensions of: the professionalisation of relationship counselling services and the uniqueness of the multi-stakeholder partnership involving a public body and a third sector organisation.

During the European Enlightenment, the notion of an “economic self” (homo economicus)—an individual, autonomous, benefit-maximizing, rational decision-maker—was born. This understanding of the human as rational actor lies at the core of free market capitalism today. In the 1990s, stakeholder management theorists, in seeking new metaphors to understand firm–stakeholder behavior, turned to other social sciences such as feminist theory with its conceptualization of the relational self. In this study, I argue that a detailed and nuanced understanding of the concept of interconnectedness as presented in Vedic and early Buddhist traditions can, like feminist theory, be applied to the revisioning of the self as relational, interdependent and co-creative. These insights as afforded through the lens of Indian philosophies can contribute to the advancement of stakeholder theory and management by providing a substantiated platform for discussion of the interconnected stakeholder self—a dynamic, collaborative participant in the stakeholder ecosystem. An advancement of stakeholder theory that incorporates both feminist and non-Western epistemologies can enhance understanding of the purpose and success of business as “conscious” and linked to the optimization of sustainable collective value.

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using asset securitisation as risk management technique in banks. This study examines the direct impacts of asset securitisation on the riskiness of banks’ loan portfolios as well as the indirect impacts on the subsequent financial stability. This study also tests the changes in banks’ equity capital and liquidity as a result of using asset securitisation in order to understand their potential contributions to the examined bank risk behaviour. Furthermore, this study tests the impacts of adopting the Basel capital requirements on banks’ exposure to asset securitisation and the related bank risk behaviour. The study is informed by stakeholder theory. The use of stakeholder theory in the current study helps in addressing the causal connections between banks’ risk management practices and the achievement of banks’ performance objectives. Using stakeholder theory also helps understand the role of external regulatory structures in supporting risk management practices in banks. The empirical study is conducted by using a sample of 44 bank holding companies selected from 13 European countries during the period 2004-2014. The choice of the sample banks is based on the availability of securitisation data as well as the condition that all European banks should have placed at least one securitisation transaction during the period of the study. Moreover, seven linear regression models were developed to examine the study relationships and were estimated by using Fixed Effects panel data analysis. The use of panel data analysis in this study aims to capture the dynamics of bank risk behaviour and other bank-specific conditions that are associated with asset securitisation during the period of the study. The results found in the empirical analysis confirm that incorporating the use of asset securitisation with higher capital requirements is more likely to reduce originators’ credit risk-taking that arise from their lending activities. The findings reported in this study, however, do not support the regulatory capital arbitrage hypothesis of the securitisation products. Furthermore, this study confirms that European securitising banks continued to view asset securitisation as cost-efficient funding source, despite the decreasing number of transactions since the crisis. The findings in this study also show that European securitising banks did not effectively operate their securitisation proceeds in profitable investments during the period of the study. Based on the results found in the current study, we can suggest that introducing more risk-sensitive capital requirements is a key factor in the future development of the asset securitisation markets. This study contributes to the existing literature by emphasising the direct connections between asset securitisation and the riskiness of banks’ loan portfolios. This study also is one of the first studies to test asset securitisation effects on the absolute level of bank capital in order to provide a better understanding of the regulatory capital arbitrage hypothesis. The current study further extends the existing literature to test the role of the Basel capital requirements in controlling the use of asset securitisation in banks, taking into account the former regulatory frameworks and the full implementation years of the Basel (II) framework. Unlike previous studies, the employment of stakeholder theory in the current study has helped in expanding the perception of risk management in banks, from purely controlling device to a broad approach that aims to support bank’s existence and prosperity. Furthermore, this study is one of the first studies that had a broader look at the European securitisation market, during the years before and after the crisis and compared the empirical results of both sub-samples to validate the robustness of the study findings in terms of the financial crisis.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore stakeholder response to the increase in corporate involvement in college sports. As tough economic times have been steadily realized into a recession, the rise in educational costs and in amount of money required to run athletic programs have placed a tremendous need on athletic departments for money. As a result, a popular trend of outsourcing or selling, marketing rights to third party entities has been a quick way to raise needed revenues. In the selling of these marketing rights, athletic departments have essentially opened the door to allow for an increase in corporation involvement at these athletic events. This paper utilizes Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to discover how the increase in marketing efforts are impacting their stakeholders, or rather season ticket holders. The universities used in this study have within the last three years recently sold their marketing rights and belong to the same network company, ISP Sports. These universities are: Brigham Young University (BYU), Texas Christian University (TCU), and the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). The first factor studied showed stakeholders of these universities hold negative beliefs about the impact the marketing efforts are having on their purchasing habits. The second factor studied demonstrated a slight negative normative belief towards a social perception of the willingness to support sponsors who support their university. The third factor studied demonstrated a somewhat positive belief towards perceived control over the marketing efforts. As a result, this case study shows a composite negative behavioral intention trend.

This guide was created to serve as a tool for crisis communications to assist in crafting ethical responses to crises using social media as the primary communications channel. The guide combines Stakeholder Theory (Freeman, 1984)—a management theory that focuses on the importance of different groups of people, not just shareholders—with Situational Crisis Communication (Coombs, 2007). The guide also adheres to two of Kant’s Categorical Imperatives as the ethical basis and marker. To create the guide, the author relied on archival, or documentary, research to provide the background information and theory to inform the creation of the guide. The guide is broken up into four parts—an overview of crisis communication, pre-crisis planning, active crisis communication, and post-crisis communication/reputation rebuilding. The guide is meant to be used as a tool, and is not an exhaustive how-to for handling a crisis.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a subject that has gained more attention over the last two decades, and it is seen today as an integral part of the core strategy of many companies. The subject often involves a balancing act between many stakeholder interests, where employees often are mentioned as a main stakeholder group. The primary purpose of this degree project is to get a deeper understanding of managers’ perceptions of CSR’s impact on intrinsic and extrinsic employee motivation. Furthermore, this study fills the purpose of investigating perceptions about the effect of different CSR activities on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The study was conducted with the Swedish branch of Sodexo. Sodexo is globally considered a world leader in the service industry with over 419 000 employees in 80 countries, known for their well-developed and effective CSRwork. Current literature regarding CSR on the micro level (individual level and employee level) is still in an early stage which helped us to recognize a research gap. Similar studies to ours have not been concerned with getting a deeper understanding of the manager’s perceptions of CSR’s impact on employee motivation. This study was conducted using a mixed-method, which means that it consists of a qualitative part and a quantitative part where we discover how CSR activities towards employees, suppliers, the community, shareholders and customers affects employees’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. In the qualitative study, we conducted eight semi-structured interviews with managers from different departments and different hierarchical levels of Sodexo. These interviews helped us to gain a better understanding of how managers perceive the impact of CSR on employee motivation, and how they value the effect of different CSR activities on employee motivation. We used a thematic network analysis in order to interpret the results, which generated five themes: communication, strategic planning, diversity, working environment, and stakeholders. Our results demonstrated that managers perceived CSR activities towards the employees, the local community, and customers as intrinsic motivators. Also, Sodexo’s managers considered CSR activities towards employees and the local community as extrinsic motivators. However, interviewees disregarded CSR activities towards shareholders as a motivator towards the employees. Lastly, we received mixed-results regarding their perceptions of how CSR activities towards suppliers affected their employees’ motivation. For the quantitative part of our study, we surveyed employees at Sodexo in order to understand what motivates them. We used a multiple regression analysis which showed that CSR activities towards employees, shareholders, and customers positively impacts the intrinsic motivation of employees. Also, we discovered that CSR activities towards employees positively impacts the extrinsic motivation amongst employees. We argue that our findings indicate that CSR is a useful tool for increasing employee motivation, and thereby can lead to long-term competitive advantage. When comparing the results of our quantitative and qualitative studies through triangulation, one can see that there is perceptional differences and similarities between managers and employees. Our findings suggest that managers have the same perceptions as their employees regarding the effect of CSR activities conducted towards customers and employees on employee motivation. Also, our findings reveal a perceptual mismatch between managers and employees regarding the effects of employee motivation in regards to CSR activities conducted towards the community and shareholders

In modern times environmental matters have increased in importance and are being discussed more frequently, and especially in relation with company activity. One way of complying with modern standards for companies is to work with environmental management systems, and it has become quite normal for companies to certify their environmental management systems to a recognized environmental certification. Continuing on this, the purpose of our thesis is to gain a deeper understanding regarding and ultimately assess why it is that companies seek environmental certification. Additionally, we have developed a sub-purpose which is designed to help us gain a deeper understanding regarding the main purpose in a practical context. We will look at 5 production companies in Umeå that have implemented an environmental certification, specifically ISO 14001, and try to understand the reasoning behind choosing to become certified. We will also examine the environmental effectiveness of an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. We have conducted a comparative case study with these 5 companies in Umeå. Our method of collecting primary data was to interview the companies with a qualitative semi-structured interviewing technique. In the empirical part of the thesis we focused on practically testing the theoretical material. Furthermore, we also analyzed secondary data received from the companies' websites and directly from the interviewees in order to assess the effectiveness of an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system in financial and environmental terms. Regarding the theoretical framework, we focus on two theories referred to as the legitimacy theory and the stakeholder theory, and these theories are used to explain organizational behavior. We also have theoretical material explaining the positives and negatives of environmental management systems, and also ISO 14001 certification and the reasons why companies can benefit from such certification. Our findings suggest that the matter of legitimacy, in combination with the stakeholder theory, affected all of the companies in one way or another when choosing to seek environmental certification. In what ways the companies were affected differed even though there were many similarities across the companies regarding their reasoning to become ISO 14001 certified. We also found that, despite collecting a lot of hard data illustrating the companies' environmental performance over recent years, it was difficult to directly link any improvements to ISO 14001. It was, however, stated that ISO 14001 certification for the environmental management systems did improve the overall quality and environmental focus and performance, but it is still difficult to assess this with much accuracy and certainty due to many contributing factors.

In-service teacher training programmes, which is mentioned as INSET in this thesis, is considered by the different educational policies around the world as one of the most important and sensitive factors which has the potential to support and improve schools performance in a visible scale (Almazkoor, 2009; Alwan, 2000; Bayracki, 2009; Burns, 2005; Rakumako & LaugKsch, 2010; and Yigit, 2010). However, there is a need of designing and producing sustainable INSET programmes which are practical to the demands of specific contexts. The purpose of this research is to explore current INSET programmes provided to teachers in the public schools in the State of Kuwait and understand the perceptions of the respective teachers, heads of departments and head teachers. The nature of this research can be fallen under the pragmatic paradigm because it tries to connect the perceptions and reflections of teachers and school members to perceive a holistic picture of the targeted educational practice. Mixed methods approaches were used in this descriptive study, and one questionnaire and forty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the research participants’ perceptions on the quality, contributions and suggestions on present INSET programmes in Kuwait. Thirty sets of questionnaire were delivered to the teachers of the fifty primary, intermediate and secondary public schools of all six districts of Kuwait namely Alasema, Alfarwanya, Aljahra, Alahmadi, Hawalli and Mubarak Alkabeer. Teachers responded to the questionnaire and shared their opinions using both the Likert scale statements and open ended questions. Interviews were conducted with teachers, head of departments and head teachers to examine their perception in more elaborately about current INSET programmes in order to understand and explore their wider views and opinions. The sample was selected as a randomly selection in order to obtain a representative sampling and the reason for that was to gather a representative findings that can describe the population fairly. The data analysis procedure was completed through three phases. Firstly, quantitative data were collected via questionnaires from participants and questionnaires were then revised and treated by the SPSS system. The quantitative data were divided in a thematic way based on the research questions, and each theme has its own items that were set to answer that theme. The quantitative findings were then presented in tables as counts and percentages for each theme and its items. Secondly, qualitative data were collected from interviewees who were given coded in order to illustrate each one is voice. Data were then transcribed and categorized in a thematic way based on the research questions and literature review. Finally, each of the two methods was presented in a thematic manner with its findings and results and supported by each method. The aim is to combine and match the two methods as one theme and that support each other. The responses of the interviewees were allocated to the six major themes namely programme design PD, trainer competency TC, identifying and meeting needs IMN, impact I, feedback F and teacher willingness and rewards TWR. Analysis of the words, views and ideas from teachers, head of departments and head teachers were given full consideration based on the six themes. The interviewees showed deep and wider picture for current INSET programmes that support and enrich the questionnaire responses along the overall study. All the data from teachers, head of departments and head teachers indicated that there is a need to improve and reconstruct INSET programmes and the way they are designed and delivered. The findings of this research study showed agreement across all data collection tools concerning teachers and schools strong willingness to contribute and participate in plan and design INSET programmes. In addition, the findings also showed clear indications to the deficiencies and weakness of the current INSET programmes policy and practice in Kuwait and to provide teachers and schools with the authority to plan and design their own INSET programmes. It is also discovered that INSET programmes do not have a systematic follow up and evaluation by those who deliver it in Kuwait. Furthermore, there was no systematic rewards and incentives system for INSET programmes in Kuwait. This study reflects that in order to plan and design effective INSET programmes there is a need to allow teachers and their schools to contribute and participate in plan and design such programmes and to provide them with power.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Cincinnati, 2005.
Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Oct. 3, 2006). Includes abstract. Keywords: logic model; program theory; stakeholder-driven; social psychology; program evaluation. Includes bibliographical references.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
O aumento dos custos sociais, ambientais, e humanos gerados pela atividade econômica vem suscitando um debate na sociedade com um todo, e na academia em particular, acerca da necessidade de uma ação integrada das corporações e dos demais constituintes da sociedade, na restauração dos danos ocorridos e, sobretudo, na prevenção dos potenciais danos futuros. A temática da racionalidade, imperiosa e inerente ao debate suscitado, não vem ocupando uma posição de destaque sendo, em muitos casos, ignorada, sobretudo aquela de natureza substantiva. No âmbito da Ética de Negócios vem ganhando reconhecimento, sobretudo a partir da década de 90, a Teoria dos Stakeholders, cujo ponto central reside na revisão e ampliação das obrigações corporativas, opondo-se à visão neoclássica, baseada no conceito de agência, que sustenta ser a única responsabilidade social dos gestores da companhia a maximização da riqueza dos acionistas. Destacam-se, no âmbito desta teoria, duas vertentes principais: instrumental e normativa. Ao passo que esta defende a revisão das obrigações corporativas incondicionalmente, aquela a sujeita à busca de uma performance superior. A potencial associação da vertente normativa com a racionalidade de natureza substantiva e da instrumental com a racionalidade homônima é um fator fundamental na estruturação desta pesquisa, a qual objetivou descrever, através de um estudo de caso, como se dá a co-existência das duas racionalidades acima em uma empresa cujos objetivos, missão e visão, revestem-se de valores manifestamente substantivos.
The increase in social, environmental and human costs generated by economic activity has brought along a discussion within society as a whole, in the academic environment most particularly, regarding the urge for an integrated action coming from corporations and other society members in the direction of restoration of existing damage and, above all, in the prevention of potential future ones. The Rationality subject, predominant in and inherent to the proposed debate, has not been playing an important role, being in many cases simply ignored - mostly the one of Substantive nature. In the field of Business Ethics, mainly from the 90´s on, the Stakeholder Theory - which core lays on the revision and broadening of corporate obligations, as opposed to the neoclassical vision based on the Agency Theory, defending the maximization of stakeholders´ wealth as the only social responsibility of management - has been gaining acknowledgement. In the heart of this theory, two mainstreams can be highlighted: the Instrumental and the Normative. While the later stands for the unconditional revision of corporate obligations, the former subjects them to the search of a superior performance. The potential association of the Normative stream with the Substantive Rationality and of the Instrumental stream with the Rationality that goes under the same name is the fundamental basis for the structuring of this research, which intends to describe, based on a case study, how the two above mentioned Rationalities coexist in a company which mission and vision are based on typically Substantive values.

Effettuerò un'analisi della stakeholder theory, per poi focalizzarmi sugli stakeholder nel settore pubblico e nelle università. Presento poi il tema dello sviluppo sostenibile, collegandolo come interesse crescente negli stakeholder, analizzandolo nel settore pubblico e nelle università. Analizzo poi i risultati della survey sulla sostenibilità realizzata a Ca' Foscari e infine presento l'analisi della stessa secondo i rough set.

Adolescent alcohol consumption is an ongoing issue of concern. While latest trends indicate an increase in the number of adolescents choosing to abstain from alcohol, there are subgroups within the population who are drinking at alarming rates (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017). Of late, unforeseen changes of drinking habits due to increased stress and isolation resulting from the corona virus (COVID)-19 pandemic is also of concern (Chodkiewicz et al., 2020; Dumas et al., 2020). The National Health and Medical Research Council (2009) recommends adolescents avoid consuming any alcohol to avoid associated risks and alcohol-related harm. Existing evidence highlights the importance influence of parenting specific behaviours and attitudes on preventing and minimising underage drinking (Yap et al., 2017). Therefore, parent are key targets in strategies to minimise alcohol related risks in adolescents (Newton et al., 2017). Social marketing offers an evidence-based approach to the development of health and social change programs. Social marketing programs have successfully been used to influence positive behaviour change (Kubacki et al., 2017), through the use of social marketing benchmark principles which place the user at the forefront of all behaviour change efforts (Andreasen, 2002). Social marketing literature (Rundle-Thiele et al., 2019, Dietrich et al., 2016) and benchmark principles (French and Blair-Stevens, 2006) emphasise the importance of the generation of user insights and the application of behavioural theories during the formative research process. Co-design is increasingly gaining recognition as an approach to develop innovative and user driven design solutions to some of social marketing most complex issues (Kim et al., 2020). However, co-design approaches may be limited by their exclusion of theory (Dietrich et al., 2017). In fact, while social marketing literature instructs the importance of theory (Rundle-Thiele et al., 2019), in practice theory application is often lacking and superficially reported in existing social marketing literature (Pang et al., 2017, Tebb et al., 2016). Theories may extend program outcomes by focusing on constructs known to cause specific behaviour (Hardeman et al., 2005). Merging inductive and deductive approaches (i.e. user views and theory) is congruent with an abductive approach, thereby allowing insights to be generated by users through a theoretical lens (Meyer and Lunnay, 2013). Thus, this research aims to close the gap between theory and practice through the examination of an abductive co-design process that integrates behavioural theory with user insights during social marketing program design. The thesis commences with a systematic literature review to provide an overview of the current state of evidence and identify key gaps in regards to parent alcohol programs. Three research questions guided Study 1 RQ1: What outcomes do parents experience following participation in parent alcohol programs? RQ2: What is the level of stakeholder engagement in the design process of parent alcohol programs? RQ3: What is the level of theory application in parent alcohol programs? A total of 17 studies detailing 13 individual parent alcohol programs were examined in detail. Findings highlight the potential for parent alcohol programs to positively influence alcohol specific parenting behaviours and attitudes. However, results indicate room for improvement with limited stakeholder engagement during program design and limited levels of theory application and reporting. End users can influence the development of a program through a more audience orientated design such as co-design. Study 2 evaluated a pilot parent alcohol program drawing on insights obtained from co-design research (Hurley et al., 2018), and asked, RQ4: Does a pilot co-designed social marketing program improve alcohol specific parenting factors? A total of 65 parents participated in the pilot program and a repeated measures assessment found that a social marketing program co-designed by parents can deliver positive outcomes for parents, with desired effects observed for all outcomes measured. Given the importance of theory use in social marketing, Study 3 asked, RQ5: Can theory be applied within the seven-step co-design process? Taking an abductive approach, key constructs of Social Cognitive Theory were integrated into co-design activity cards. Following a seven-step co-design process, two co-design sessions were held with a total of 40 participants. Findings demonstrate that theory can be successfully integrated into the six-step co-design process through the use of theory based activity cards. Insights from this study led to the development of a more nuanced approach to co-design that increased the theoretical relevance of co-design outputs. Overall, this thesis contributes to the literature theoretically and practically. Theoretically, this thesis provides evidence to support co-design as an approach to effectively change alcohol specific parenting behaviours. In addition, this thesis contributes to social marketing literature by proposing an abductive co-design approach as a means to develop more user driven and theoretically informed behaviour change programs filling an important gap. Examining co-design through an abductive lens assists social marketing researchers and practitioners in ensuring multiple benchmark principles are applied during program design. Practically this thesis addresses an important problem in present-day society by designing an alcohol education program that is closely aligned with the needs and preferences of the respective target audience.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Dept of Marketing
Griffith Business School
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The purpose of this study was to contribute to current theory-driven research in crisis communication by examining the perceptions of multiple stakeholder groups to a university crisis response strategy. Two main questions were examined in this dissertation. The first question attempted to determine if a significant difference existed between stakeholder groups and their perception of university reputation, responsibility for the crisis, and potential supportive behaviors toward the university following the university’s response to a crisis. The second asked if Coombs’s Situational Crisis Communication Theory is a practical application for universities. The participants were from 4 stakeholder groups associated with a regional public university: students, faculty, staff, and alumni. An online survey was sent to participants via email. The data analysis revealed significant differences in the perceptions of reputation and in the potential supportive behaviors between staff and faculty and between staff and students. Staff perceived the reputation more favorably and had more favorable potential supportive behaviors than both the faculty and the student stakeholder groups. The results of this research provided empirical evidence that distinct stakeholder groups do perceive crisis response strategies differently. It also supported the application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory in a university setting.

This paper concerns the human rights aspect to tourism, more precisely the tour operator’s impact on human rights. It has become evident that companies within the industry are increasingly expected to also include the negative impacts on people’s human rights in their business. Not only because human rights matter but because the tourism industry is regarded to be next in line for a more careful examination on its negative effects. This study will therefore be an attempt to contribute towards this end by applying a stakeholder approach to the tour operator’s activities. I have chosen to examine the Swedish tour operator Apollo because they are already engaged in the debate and have expressed an ambition to lead the development of responsible tourism. The study shows that the result of their engagement so far is limited in scope because the company has not fully included all participants to their business as stakeholders. And therefore is human rights only partly incorporated in the company’s work toward corporate responsibility.

Every actor of the society has its own expectations about the companies. Shareholders are interested in the maximization of the profitability, managers are interested in sustainability, and partners are interested in fulfilment of the business ethics. And the company with well-structured CSR policy should be able to meet expectations of all stakeholders. This can cost large part of the company's resources. It can potentially impact on company’s profitability whether positively or negatively. Using the quantitative research method we tried to explore the impact of CSR policy on the short-term profitability. Our research question is composed as:What is the relationship between CSR and short-term profitability?The main purpose of this study is to analyze and present positive or negative links between CSR policy and corporate financial performance (CFP) using different profitability indicators. We analyzed impact of weighted average CSR score and environmental rank on the short-term profitability.The theoretical framework of the thesis consists of different theories, such as stakeholder theory, shareholder theory, agency theory, legitimacy theory and etc.The research conducted in accordance with the functionalist research paradigm, the objectivist ontological and positivist epistemic research philosophies using the deductive approach. Our result indicates that there negative relationship between CSR performance and short-term profitability. Also we found that CSR policy can negatively impact on return on assets. This in turn could have negative implications on shareholders and stakeholders. No positive correlation between CSR policy and profitability observed. All in all, the expenses on CSR policy have a negative impact on indicators of financial performance.

Using a 12-year longitudinal study, the voluntary environmental disclosure (VED) behaviour in two groups of media (namely, standalone reports and the Internet) was surveyed in each of 2000 and 2007 by another investigation 3 years after a deemed financial crisis. For the purposes of analysis ‘crisis’ refers to two major financial downturns, the Dotcom crisis in early 2000, and the Global Financial crisis (GFC) beginning in mid-2007. US resource companies are not exempt from these financial downturns and provide the population from which a sample is drawn. There is a significant gap in the relevant literatures especially how US resource companies respond to a crisis. It is well documented that US resource companies disclose voluntary environmental information in response to the needs of stakeholders. The results suggest that when it comes to VED information, US resource companies are not necessarily disclosing VED information in response to a crisis. Other stakeholder-driven factors seem more critical. The VED information levels peaked in 2004 and have seen a less than proportionate increase in the period up to 2011, indicating perhaps, that US resource companies are becoming weary of disclosing VED. There is also a gradual migration of VED information from hard copy reports to the Internet. Adopting stakeholder theory, this work of study shows how this lens helps in understanding the longitudinal VED behaviour of US resource companies in several media. Specifically, it shows that US resource companies do disclose VED presumably in response to stakeholder demands and that over the 2000 to 2011 fiscal period, US resource companies are making a concerted effort in choosing the medium for VED information. The annual report has lost its focus as the medium of choice for VED information. Instead, the Internet and stand-alone environmental reports are being chosen as the medium for VED information.

Business Administration/Strategic Management
Ph.D.
This dissertation includes three essays about nonprofit organizations. The first essay investigates how the availability of financial and intellectual capital in the macro-environment influences the formation of nonprofit organizations. The analysis is an extension of Weisbrod's (1975) Heterogeneity Hypothesis and Ben-Ner and van Hoomissen's (1991) "social cohesion" principle. Findings indicate financial capital and intellectual capital are important to the formation of nonprofits, but the strength and direction of their influence varies by industry. The second essay applies Stakeholder Theory to predict the influence of board members, donors, and beneficiaries on nonprofits' performance. The study incorporates 134 charities from six different industries over a five year period and finds nonprofit performance is driven by the interests of the most salient stakeholders. Furthermore, the analysis indicates nonprofit stakeholders have the ability to control the behaviors of managers; behaviors which are not necessarily aligned with mission statements. No evidence, however, suggests salient stakeholders with shared interests collaborate for mutual benefit. Stakeholder Theory is also used in the third essay to predict the moderating role stakeholders fulfill in the relationship between environmental uncertainty and nonprofits' strategic decisions. The study incorporates the same database as the second essay and discovers the influence of environmental uncertainty on nonprofits' strategic decision depends on the ability of salient stakeholders to diversify their interests. The identified effect encourages Stakeholder Theory applications adopt a dual-perspective approach to the concept of salience; such applications need to account for the salience of the stakeholder to the organization and the salience of the organization to the stakeholder.
Temple University--Theses

Population growth, coupled with changing weather patterns, is straining water supplies, especially in the American Southwest. A multitude of tools, including additional storage, will be needed to meet water demand and supply gaps. The Animas-La Plata Project, a reservoir in southwest Colorado, provides a case study of how groups worked for nearly 70 years to solve a water problem: insufficient irrigation for agriculture. This qualitative case study addressed a lack of first-person narratives from those most involved. Its purpose was to gather stakeholder narratives and analyze them using Kingdon's three streams theory to address the extent to which the problem, policy, and political streams converged to open policy windows that resulted in a built facility. Purposeful sampling identified 11 organizational stakeholders with the highest seniority and longest association with the project. Transcribed data from structured interview questions were inductively coded and thematically analyzed. Key findings include identification of a major federal policy change in the late 1970s to 1980s that excluded escalated benefits of water projects. Within this same timeframe, necessary elements were present to open a policy window, the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement, which resulted in project construction. If strategists can learn to predict the opening of policy windows "when the problem, policy, and political streams join" water resource planning and policy can be improved. Retrospective narrative analysis is a promising ex post audit and evaluation tool that policy analysts can use to assess program performance and lessons learned. Social change implications of the study are that its findings on the need for positive collaboration may prove valuable to those in management who seek to address water scarcity issues.

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of voluntary environmental disclosure in relation to firm-specific characteristics of listed mineral mining firms within the stakeholder theory framework developed by Ullmann (1985). Three indices, word index, unweighted index and weighted index, were applied to measure the extent of total environmental disclosure and categories of total disclosure, which were environmental policy and strategy, public recognition of environmental activities, prevention or repair of environmental damage and environmental liabilities. A sample of 104 mineral firms was selected from the Australian Graduate . School of Management Annual Report Microfiche File for 1993. The• relationships between the extent of environmental disclosure for the three indices, for total disclosure and each category of disclosure, and firm . characteristics for twelve models in the stakeholder theory were tested by using multivariate analysis

This thesis aims to investigate if and how the attention towards stakeholder groups affects ability and strategy of firms and corporates on innovation and performances. The framework of the Stakeholder Theory is assumed as reference for the origin and concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. On this basis, specific attention is dedicated to empirical studies on a database created by the research group at the University of Genoa in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. The data of the firms are analysed by means of clustering techniques and bivariate probit model Results offer implications from both theoretical and practical points of views. In particular, the links between practices in Corporate Social Responsibility and corporate innovation are empirically confirmed and economically addressed, also putting into evidence how commitment in Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives increase the probability to innovate in product and in process. The results outlined in the thesis show that a holistic approach towards Corporate Social Responsibility is the key factor in order to the achieve effective performance of innovation and to foster product and process innovations. Firms are expected to implement Corporate Social Responsibility practices in all Corporate Social Responsibility areas, without neglecting any stakeholder and, in the ideal situation, the innovation outcomes and the firm performances results closely linked to the ability of firms to anticipate and meet the stakeholder needs. Finally, beside the insights to corporate strategies, the thesis offers a methodology to support banks in the calculation of default probability of firms by exploiting the positive inter-linkage between Corporate Social Responsibility and finance and risk. Based on Basel Standards and including fields monitored through Corporate Social Responsibility indicators, the proposed approach allows understanding of corporates’ capabilities to create value and demonstrate low risk of claims, fines and default.