Teses / dissertações sobre o tema "Guidance on social responsibility"

Eco-Lighthouse (Miljøfyrtårn) is a Norwegian environmental certification scheme adminis-trated by the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation (Stiftelsen Miljøfyrtårn). In connection with the release of ISO 26000 – Guidance on social responsibility, the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation is considering the possibility of integrating more social responsibility into the certification scheme. The Eco-Lighthouse scheme consists of 72 sets of requirements, as per April 16, 2010. The first set of requirements – Requirements for all branches (Krav til alle bransjer) – applies to all organisations regardless of activity. The remaining 71 sets of requirements consist of branch specific requirements. For an organisation to get an Eco-Lighthouse certification it needs to fulfil Requirements for all branches as well as at least one set of branch specific requirements.The aim of this study is to investigate to what extent the content of ISO 26000 can be found in the branch requirements of the Eco-Lighthouse scheme. Due to the time limitation of the study only three sets of requirements are investigated; Requirement for all branches and branch specific requirements for Office activities and Main offices.The method chosen for investigation is a mixture of three different analysis methods. Docu-ment analysis to examine the content of ISO 26000 and identify criteria that can be compared with Eco-Lighthouse requirements, thematic analysis is used to link Eco-Lighthouse require-ments to ISO 26000 criteria, and gap analysis is used to highlight the differences between the two standards.ISO 26000 is organised in seven core subjects; Organisational governance, Human rights, Labour practices, The environment, Fair operating practices, Consumer issues, and Commu-nity involvement and development. The core subjects are subdivided into issues, except in the case of Organisational governance. The Eco-Lighthouse requirements investigated in this study can mainly be found in three core subjects; Organisational governance, The environ-ment, and Labour practices. Within the core subject The environment, Eco-Lighthouse score highest in the issues: Prevention of pollution and Sustainable resource use. Within Labour practices, an especially high score is found in Health and safety at work since many of the requirements are based on Norwegian laws and regulations.The main focus of the Eco-Lighthouse scheme is on environmental issues relating to internal processes of the organisation. That is management, working environment for the employees, purchasing and material use, energy consumption, transportation, and emission and waste management. There is also some focus on upstream suppliers in the value chain but nothing concerning the downstream end of the value chain. There are many environmental impacts connected with the use phase and end-of-life phase of a product. This corresponds to the ISO 26000 core subject of consumer issues.The result of the analysis was presented and discussed together with representatives of Fokus Bank, who were participating in the development of the branch requirements for main offices. In their opinion it is important to focus on the whole value chain and therefore they would like to see requirements which ensure that companies take responsibility for their products and services even after they have left the company, i.e. when used by costumers and finally dis-carded. However, it is also important that the implementation of those requirements focuses on essentials. If the cost of implementing actions to meet the requirements is too high in rela-tion to the environmental and societal benefits, companies might as well refrain from certify-ing themselves.As a provider of an environmental certification scheme, the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation is recommended to extend the scheme to include producer responsibility for products and ser-vices provided by the certified organisations. The Eco-Lighthouse Foundation is also recom-mended to clearly define how far social responsibility reaches for an environmental certifica-tion scheme. Today the Eco-Lighthouse scheme includes requirements concerning working conditions for employees, which are not considered an environmental issue in ISO 26000. A possible solution would be to develop a new scheme concerning social responsibility. This would be especially beneficial if the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation decides to extend their certi-fication service further into non-environmental issues.

This research was undertaken within the broader concept of Corporate Social Investments and how this concept is integrated within the context of staff retention and what this means for business and creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Illustrated through the description of CSI literature and intending to explain the link between CSI and employee retention, research questions presented as part of the outcomes for the research examines notion that there is a relationship between Corporate Social Investment and Employee Retention. Reference to the case study "Rhodes / Kuyasa Partnership" illustrates how such partnerships attempt to create opportunities for the community, the organisation, people with disabilities and employees at large. The case study was written to be used as a teaching case study in the context of Human Resources, Business Sustainability and Corporate Social Investment. The effectiveness and viability of the Kuyasa / Rhodes partnership will highlight acceptance and or non acceptance of people with disability by the non-disabled workforce. This case study will highlight CSI linkages that lead to staff retention, higher job satisfaction, lower turnover of staff, enhanced community engagement, creating opportunities that accommodate people with special needs, developing models that can be replicated in other organisations, creating additional opportunities for existing staff. Metcalf (2008:61) suggests that organisations need to ensure that the leadership and organisation culture within organisations is appropriate to engage staff with disabilities and non-disabled staff, and that their most senior managers demonstrate their commitment to develop, and help others develop, in the same way. The Kuyasa Rhodes Partnership may have started off as a Retention Strategy, however has given rise to a social initiative that can be replicated in other enabling organisations. The case study material was acquired through one on one interviews, and a focus group session on the effectiveness with the retention of such employees with intellectual disabilities, internship and mentoring issues, and as well as issues such as affirmative action, and the benefits and shortcomings of staff retention to the organisation. Key stakeholders interviewed for this case study expressed differing view -points, and in particular the benefits and shortcomings of this initiative. The Rhodes Kuyasa initiative appears to have achieved some success in enabling young adults / learners to work in a mainstream working environment by developing employment skills and life skills, and by improving their employment opportunities. Factors critical to the continuation of such initiatives included: the close involvement with both partners (Rhodes and the Kuyasa Special School), the sensitive treatment of the learners, and creating internal departmental partnerships within the Rhodes environment. A selected group of ten learners were mentored and provided with full time employment within the industrial Campus Food Services facility. Discussion that was highlighted in the case study must give consideration to a more investigative approach into overcoming the barriers of discrimination in the workplace and the major barriers to skills development. These have highlighted a number of relatively consistent themes around what were the successful and unsuccessful strategies. Integration of people with disabilities within the Rhodes University service areas has had positive effects for the disabled learner and employee workplace. People with disabilities indicated on how having mainstream employment allowed them to be independent, have a purpose in life and enhance their self worth in their communities and place of employment. Furthermore, being employed had positive repercussions on the person‘s co-workers. By demonstrating their competence, people with disabilities have had significant impact on other people‘s attitudes to disabled persons. Discussions held with the Principal of the Kuyasa Specialised School highlighted the need for crucial planning within special schools for disabled people in the area of transition from school to skills development and work. Skills development guidance is important in ensuring a choice of relevant interventions and obtaining the necessary information. Some staff expressed frustration at being with co-workers who questioned their presence and placement in the kitchen environment. Even though the disabled person was suitably placed they faced stereotypical behaviour and attitudes from their co-workers on what people with disabilities can or cannot do. Staff with intellectual disabilities commented that their co-workers see them as needing constant attention and care and not being capable of working. Some of the staff with disabilities had to work much harder to be recognised by their co-workers and supervisors. Currently few people with disabilities seem to be receiving career guidance while at school, as reflected in the case studies. One person with an intellectual disability described how the intervention of developing a comprehensive school leaving plan, which was then implemented by the school, allowed for good transition from school to Rhodes University. The role of personal factors such as life skills, personal motivation, the desire for personal achievement and a positive attitude were common themes that came out of the focus group. Initiatives to ensure that people accept themselves, their circumstances and are able to express their desires and realise their dreams are important factors. In addressing the barriers, co-worker attitudes make a big difference to how effectively the disabled person is able to participate in the training and employment. The future focus must be enabling and in line with successes and failures in the areas of employee integration in the workplace, life-skills development for people with disabilities. A clear career guidance plan should be developed for all disabled children before they leave school. This plan should include provision of adequate information on different career options and training. The negative attitudes of co-workers and supervisors should be changed by providing training support to ensure that they feel confident to meet the needs of disabled staff. Employers should be providing support and information on how to meet the needs of disabled employees. People with intellectual disabilities are an integral part of the South African population. Business and social enterprises need to have a focused inclusive strategy to integrate people with intellectual disabilities within the South African society to ensure equity and diversity awareness. Working with people with intellectual disabilities has been the focus of this research to ensure long term sustainable employment, CSI and Employment equity. Integrating Corporate Social Investment policies with Human Resources Equity policies are important factors in ensuring that people with intellectual disabilities are a fundamental focus in recruitment and retention strategies within business and social enterprises. Initiatives such as the Kuyasa / Rhodes Partnership are attempting to align to the overall objectives of incorporating people with intellectual disabilities into mainstream work, in particular, with the objective of incorporating people with disabilities in some accessible sections within the organisation. This contributes to the Rhodes University Campus Food Services becoming an example of excellence in the CSI and employee retention field. It is hoped that this teaching case study will make an important contribution to students learning about sustainable business practices, and for business focusing on employment recruitment and retention strategies to integrate people with intellectual disabilities within their organisations.

Introduction: The society is becoming more aware of the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) work. CSR has also be-come a competitive tool in order to reach out to potential cus-tomers. There are also many definitions of what CSR actually means. These are things that makes it interesting to find out how multinational corporations, who has a lot of power, per-ceive and work with CSR, as well as what can be done to make corporations work more with CSR.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe what CSR as a con-cept means, whose responsibility it is, as well as why corpora-tions work with it. We also intend to find out what it takes to make CSR a more prevailing and decisive instrument for cor-porations?

Method: We conducted six unstructed interviews with multinational corporations in Sweden.

Conclusion: Today the phenomena of CSR has no unified definition, this is why we believe that a definition that is precise in describing what CSR is can be useful. We think that transparency is something important since information provided to the pub-lic, provides consumers and stakeholders with power to make information based investment, and purchase decisions. We have also concluded that we think that the most important factor in driving the CSR work forward and making it grow in size, is to make consumers reward the corporations that per-form well in their CSR activities.

In this thesis, I ask whether reformed theology is compatible with guidance control. I conclude that they are compatible. The main areas of compatibility are fourfold. First, both deny the sourcehood condition. Second, both deny the alternative possibilities condition. Third, both are types of reasons-responsive theories. Finally, both have a similar subjectivist condition. This conclusion implies that the resources of guidance control can be constructively used, developed and applied by reformed theologians and philosophers. Guidance control can be applied to the debates on free will and moral responsibility as well as to ethics and other related fields.

Bakgrund: Allt fler företag har idag erkänt betydelsen av att ta ett ökat samhällsansvar, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), samt att regelbundet kommunicera arbetet med deras intressenter. Då CSR saknar en enhetlig definition och därmed också en enhetlig modell att arbeta efter, skapar det emellertid oklarheter vad arbetet ska leda till. CSR kan då omfamnas av företag som enbart ser arbetet som ett PR-trick och gör symboliska handlingar för att utåt sett uppfattas som goda samhällsmedborgare. Det kan därför ifrågasättas hur väl CSR-arbetet integreras i kärnverksamheten. Det har dock kommit allt fler lagkrav och standarder inom området, vilket potentiellt kan skapa en tydligare ram men även ett annat synsätt. Syfte: Denna studie har som syfte att få en ökad förståelse över CSR som begrepp för att sedan se hur företagen arbetar för att integrera CSR i kärnverksamheten och varför. Studien ser även till påverkan av ökad reglering, för att se om företags syn på CSR har förändrats.    Metod: Studien har huvudsakligen en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv ansats då studien tar avstamp i tidigare studier. De företag som studerats är Lammhult Design Group AB och Electra AB. Som datainsamlingsmetod har det genomförts semistrukturerade intervjuer med ansvariga personer, men det har även skickats ut en medarbetarundersökning i form av en enkät. I studien har jag dessutom inhämtat information från fallföretagens hemsidor samt års- och hållbarhetsredovisningar.   Resultat och slutsats: Det är inte lika viktigt att finna en enhetlig definition av CSR i dagens samhälle. CSR som begrepp har dessutom allt mer kommit att ersättas av hållbarhet som anses vara ett vidare begrepp. Vidare är det en långsam process att integrera CSR i kärnverksamheten, där intern CSR-röst, utbildning, rutiner och information är av särskild vikt. Genom att ha ett hållbarhetsarbete i framkant och se det som värdeskapande kan företag undvika påtryckning vid potentiella händelser såsom lagkrav.
Background: Today, most companies have recognized the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and regularly communicating the work with stakeholders. Since CSR lacks a uniform definition and thus also a uniform model to work for, it creates uncertainties about the purpose of the work. Companies who only do symbolic actions to be perceived as good citizens of the community can then use CSR as PR. It can therefore be questioned how well CSR is integrated into the core business. However, it has been an increasing number of legal requirements and standards in the area, potentially creating a clearer framework but also another approach.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain a greater understanding of CSR as a concept and then see how companies work to integrate CSR into core business and why. The study also looks at the impact of increased regulation, to see if views on CSR have changed.   Method: The study has primarily a qualitative research strategy with a deductive approach that stands on previous studies. The companies studied are Lammhult Design Group AB and Electra AB. As a data collection method, I have conducted semi-structured interviews with responsible managers, but also a staff survey. I have also used the homepages websites and annual and sustainability reports.   Outcome and conclusion: It is not as important to find a unified definition of CSR in today's society. The concept of CSR has been replaced by sustainability, which is considered as a broader term. Furthermore, it is a slow process of integrating CSR into core business, where internal voice, education, routines and information are of particular importance. By maintaining sustainability at the forefront companies can avoid pressure such as legal requirements.

The need for companies to achieve different outcomes in terms of their vision and goals has resulted in the rise of different drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Due to the differences in these desired outcomes and in some instances lack of sufficient knowledge, companies operate at different maturity levels of CSR. This research was based on the premise that identifying the relationship between CSR drivers and the CSR maturity levels would contribute towards helping to achieve the highest level of maturity while identifying how companies can better understand the concept of CSR as a whole. An exploratory study was undertaken between July 2015 to October 2015 and ten interviews were conducted with company directors, executives or senior managers responsible for sustainability / CSR. Research findings indicate strong, moderate and weak links between CSR drivers and CSR maturity level and these could be used to guide companies that need to move to next level of maturity. Factors such as education and mentoring of companies were identified to be essential for companies in order for them to be driven to a higher CSR maturity level. Matching allocation of funds between the drivers and the desired longterm achievements was found to be essential for achievement of the highest level of maturity level.
Mini-disseration (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
nk2016
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

Purpose and problem discussion: Nowadays, it is crucial to implement social responsibility to business operations to succeed as a business. Companies face increased demands from customers and stakeholders to show their actions regarding social responsibility. At the same time, digital development is shaping the communication industry, creating new communication platforms in the world. The purpose of this study is to explore digital communication agencies role in the production and implementation of digital products within digital channels to best understand digital social responsibility. The study aims to answer the research questions: What social responsibilities does a digital communication agency have in regard to the products and messages they produce for digital channels? and How do digital communication agencies become socially responsible when using digital channels? Method: An abductive analysis method was applied to semi-structured interviews with digital communication agencies in Jönköping, Sweden. The analysis of the empirical findings has resulted in deeper understanding of social responsibility in digital environments; a study area that has not been explored before. Four digital communication agencies represent the average digital social responsibility mindset and business culture in Jönköping, Sweden. This gave us the possibility to research social responsibility on digital channels. Results, discussion and conclusions: The results show that the digital communication agencies clients are entirely responsible for the digital material published on their own digital channels. Although, the agencies do need to make sure they produce the best possible material for their clients to avoid bad relationships with stakeholders and a bad reputation. The results also show that social responsibility is not first priority for any company; profitability always comes first. The key to digital social responsibility is to work with the right clients and thoroughly analyse the client’s business operations to bring out the best in each case and to be prepared for backlashes. The digital communication agencies could also benefit from a crisis plan, to minimise stress and optimize the problem solving if a crisis would occur. If doing this correctly,the agencies enable genuine and honest digital communication, which minimises the risk of being perceived unfairly on digital platforms. This is especially of importance on digital platforms, where the speed, great reach and two-way communication makes it even easier to receive negativity and face backlashes. A digital communication agency can become socially responsible by working with the right clients, as well as producing and publishing genuine and honest digital communication.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the act of taking social responsibility above what you need to do as a corporation. It can be of social, ethical or environmental character, for example an engagement in a local school or a voluntary reduction of pollution within the business buildings. There is no global standard concerning CSR, thus creating a definition gap where organisations are free to create their own definitions of the subject. This is in turn generating validity problems. Some companies are forced to behave as responsible corporate citizens by external pressure groups, for example by negative media attention. Others, though they are not as numerous, choose to implement CSR voluntary. An absolute model of CSR does not exist, since CSR is a concept with many different definitions. There are however two extreme schools that tries to explain CSR. Some argue that CSR is in the interest of all stakeholders, while others claim that CSR is a distraction from the shareholders interest. We have selected three models in order to give an overall picture. These will not however be used to validate the reality.

We argue in our thesis that CSR can be used as a tool within the area of reputation marketing. The purpose is therefore to research this argument with accurate research methods. We conducted a qualitative survey, with a company within the business to business service sector in Sweden, and compared it with a quantitative survey amongst the company’s clients, combined with existing theories concerning CSR as a concept. This is done in order to see whether CSR has made an impact upon the clients’ selection process, whilst choosing service providers.

Our findings show that there are other, more pressing interest areas that are important for the customers within this sector of business. But as pointed out by the service company itself, CSR is not doing any harm to the company, and in the long run, the overall trend is an increase in CSR-associated activities throughout the business environment.

Begreppet CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, har på senare årtionden blivit ett allt viktigare koncept för företag. För att företag ska kunna vara konkurrenskraftiga krävs det idag att man både tar sitt ansvar utifrån det ekonomiska perspektivet och det sociala perspektivet. I och med att begreppet har vuxit har fler och fler företag börjat använda sig utav CSR och börjat integrera det sin verksamhet. Bankerna ser sig själva idag som stora aktörer i samhällets påverkan att sträva framåt. Därför tar man sig an det samhällsansvar som man förväntas att ta av samhällets medborgare för att bankerna ska anses som goda bankaktörer. Detta är det som kännetecknar CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, d.v.s. att man tar ett socialt ansvar som man inte tjänar något på. Somliga företag använder begreppet “hållbarhet” hellre än CSR. Vårt syfte med uppsatsen är att beskriva och förklara fenomenet CSR inom bankerna och få större insyn vad det innebär fören bankverksamhet samt hur viktigt det är för bankerna att ha CSR i sin verksamhet. För att kunna besvara våra frågeställningar har vi dels samlat in data i form av intervjuer med CSR ansvariga i Handelsbanken och Swedbank samt den fackliga organisationen Finansförbundet. Vi har även hämtat data från litteratur och vetenskapliga artiklar. Bankerna försöker göra egna tolkningar av begreppet CSR. Trots att Swedbank och Handelsbanken väljer att använda två olika begrepp så går det att se att grundtanken är den samma. Det som skiljer sig mellan dessa två banker när det gäller CSR är vilka projekt man väljer att involvera sig i när det kommer till de olika ansvarsområdena. Allmänheten kan även se mer av Swedbanks CSR arbete, som sticker ut lite mer än Handelsbankens.

Today, more and more companies are taking their responsibility in different areas. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that companies can use to express their responsibilities in a number of areas. CSR, however, lacks a uniform definition. The view on what the responsibilities are for the companies in different areas are not consistent. The Swedish real estate industry has been working with an environmental focus for a number of years. Today, companies are aware of real estates’ environmental impact and how they can work with the environment in a responsible manner. Discussions have begun over what other responsibilities the real estate sector has and how companies should respond to them. The purpose of this thesis is to locate where the Swedish real estate sector is staged within CSR and how they are addressing this issue. To examine this, a literature review is conducted on the meaning of CSR. The public material from a number of leading companies in CSR has been examined to see what makes their CSR work unique. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with some of Sweden's leading commercial real estate companies and an online survey was sent out to see how companies work with CSR compared to each other and how they define CSR. The results show that the Swedish real estate sector has recently begun working within this field. So far, only a few companies present themselves as CSR. It is relatively unclear in the industry what CSR means and many companies are instead talking about sustainability. What is surprising is that although the environmental issue has been so central in the sector several companies fail to recognize this issue, which means that there is still a lot left to do. Another interesting aspect is that despite the fact that few companies choose to demonstrate a commitment to CSR, the survey shows that a number of companies have involvement in those elements covered by CSR. Why these companies chose not to express themselves as a company with CSR responsibilities may be due to ignorance of what is required in the field. Other companies choose to wait to put resources into developing a strategy and instead see how it develops in the industry. Since a number of companies already demonstrate a CSR commitment and some are currently working on developing strategies for this, it can be assumed that CSR will grow in this industry.

The following thesis is a study of development of CSR policies around the world and in Ukraine in particular. Additionally, the purpose is to make suggestions for positive change in a process of CSR implementation by Ukrainian companies and a role of state in promoting responsible business behavior. Corporate Social Responsibility is an emerging concept in Ukrainian business and delay in its establishment can be explained with a number of factors. There is a need in changes to existing management practice, insuring integration of principles, methods and tools of social responsibility in business activities of Ukrainian corporations in order to ensure their competitiveness, achievement of high productivity and profitability. The study has been performed through a literature review of current research and a case study of Ukrainian company CSR policy. The results show that there have been a major improvement in evolution of CSR concept in Ukraine over last few years, but there are still a number of problems to deal with. This thesis can be useful in reviewing last trends in development of CSR in Ukraine and defining challenges and problematic areas.

Bakgrund och problem: Miljö- och socialt ansvar är frågor som allmänheten allt mer ställer som krav på företagen. Enligt undersökningar så visar det sig att finansbranschens ointresse för etik- och miljöfrågor skadar allmänhetens förtroende till finansbranschen. Samtidigt så visar det sig att finansbranschen har ökat publiceringen av Corporate Social Responsibility.                                                                                Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att få en fördjupad förståelse för hur finansbranschen tar ett socialt ansvar. Vi vill även undersöka hur aktörer inom finansbranschen går tillväga för att agera ansvarsfullt. Metod: För att samla in information har vi använt oss av kvalitativ metod i form av intervjuer. Vi undersökte hållbarhetsredovisningar för att sedan följa upp det med intervjuer med en CSR ansvarig på respektive institut. Slutsats: Genom undersökningen kom vi fram till att finansinstituten följer de krav som ställs på företagen för att uppfylla ett socialt ansvarstagande, vare sig om det är genom lagstadgade regelverk eller etiska normer och värderingar. Det man dock själv kan välja att följa och till vilken grad, är de etiska normerna och värderingarna som definieras genom olika internationella riktlinjer. Undersökningen visade även att de undersökta finansinstituten konceptualiserar CSR genom att sträva efter att uppnå en hållbar finansiering. Finansinstituten har ett identiskt tankesätt vad gäller hållbar finansiering, att de störst kan påverka genom sin utlåningsverksamhet är en utgångspunkt som enar instituten. De anser att det leder till ett större ansvarstagande samt att verksamheten följer en hållbar utveckling.
Background and problem: Environmental- and social responsibilities are the issues that the public increasingly demands on businesses. According to studies, it turns out that the financial sectors disinterest in ethical and environmental questions damages public confidence in the financial industry. Meanwhile, it turns out that the financial sector has increased publication of Corporate Social Responsibility. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of how the financial sector fulfills a social responsibility. We also want to examine how actors in the financial industry go about to act responsibly. Method: To collect the information, we have used interviews. We investigated the sustainability reports and then followed it up with interviews with a CSR manager at the respective institutions. Conclusion: Through the investigation, we concluded that financial institutions comply with the requirements imposed on companies to fulfill a social responsibility, whether it is through statutory regulations or ethical standards and values. It, however, can choose to follow and to what degree, is the ethical norms and values ​​as defined by various international guidelines. The survey also showed that the surveyed financial institutions conceptualize CSR by striving to achieve sustainable funding. Financial institutions have an identical mindset of sustainable funding, the largest can influence through its lending activities is a starting point that unites institutes. They believe that this leads to greater accountability and that the business complies with sustainable development.

Corporate social responsibility is the commitment of businesses to behave ethically and to contribute to sustainable economic development by working with all relevant stakeholders to improve their lives in ways that are good for business, the sustainable development agenda, and society at large. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/8353

My thesis engages with the question about what it means to treat each other as equals, as this has been approached by luck and social egalitarians. Luck egalitarians maintain that luck inequalities should be equalized, while inequalities that are due to people’s choices should be left as they stand. This further implies that the scope of egalitarian justice is universal. Social egalitarians criticize luck egalitarianism for failing to provide a proper understanding of the value of equality. Equality is a relational ideal regarding how people should relate to each other as social and political equals, which properly understood requires that they relate to each other in a nondominating way. Given this, they argue, first, that luck egalitarian principles of justice violate the requirements of non-domination, since responsibility may conflict with the latter; and secondly, that strongly egalitarian duties are generated in virtue of morally significant forms of existing relationships, thus the scope of egalitarian justice is not universal. In my dissertation, I argue that Dworkin—who has traditionally been considered to be a luck egalitarian—shares the two social egalitarian commitments, namely that equality is a relational value and that strong egalitarian duties are generated in virtue of morally significant forms of existing relationships. Given this I defend two theses, both of which constitute an original contribution to our better understanding of the demands of social and political equality: a) Dworkin’s theory of equality properly understood is not only attentive to the social egalitarian requirement of non-domination, but it provides a better understanding of it precisely because it builds upon a conception of personal and consequential responsibility that is constitutive of non-domination. b) I challenge both Dworkin’s and social egalitarians’ view of the scope of egalitarian justice by arguing that properly understood the ideal of social and political equality tells us that we should relate to each other as equals, not that existing relationships are necessary for justice-based duties to be triggered.

This thesis explores the topical yet contentious issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The thesis consists of three empirical essays on CSR. The first essay analyses the association between CSR engagement, vis-a-vis Shariah-compliance, and financial reporting quality. The second essay investigates the relationship between CSR engagement and tax avoidance. The third essay assesses the link between ownership identity and CSR engagement. The first essay examines the association of two forms of ethical principles, i.e., CSR and religion, with the degree of earnings management. Using a large sample of firms domiciled across ten European Union countries for the period between 2003 and 2011, our empirical results show that firms with high CSR scores are less likely to engage in accruals earnings management. On the contrary, inclusion in the Shariah index, which proxies for conformity with religious principles, has the opposite relation with earnings quality. The results also indicate that firms with high CSR ratings and Shariah compliant firms are more likely to use ethical codes as a symbolic management to engage in earnings management and gain organisational legitimacy. Our results are robust to using each main component of the CSR pillars, alternative earnings quality metrics, and the instrumental variable (IV) regression method. Institutional factors, e.g., cultural values and the degree of market liberalization, are also important in determining the link between CSR values, Shariah-compliance, and financial reporting quality. On the whole, the findings suggest that whilst CSR engagement is important in ameliorating managerial ethical behaviour in earnings management, membership of the Shariah index may serve as a legitimacy mechanism so as to be viewed as conforming to stakeholders’ expectations. The second essay investigates the relationship between CSR engagement and tax avoidance. It questions whether socially responsible firms sacrifice profits in order to balance the interests of various stakeholders (by engaging with CSR), or whether firms only engage in CSR when it helps to maximise profits. The essay seeks to empirically examine corporate acts of ‘organised hypocrisy’, where firms claim to champion ethical issues but simultaneously engage in socially irresponsible behaviour; for example, by not paying their fair share of taxes. The analysis is conducted on a sample of firms domiciled in 12 countries for the period of 2005-2011. The empirical results show a positive and significant association between firms’ CSR scores and tax avoidance. This suggests that firms with high CSR scores are more likely to engage in tax avoidance, providing evidence in support the hypothesis of organised hypocrisy. This suggests that a gap exists between corporate talk and action. The results are also consistent with the views of shareholder theory, which suggests that profit maximisation may be the sole social responsibility that firms aim to achieve. The results are robust when using alternative measures of CSR engagement and tax avoidance. Additional analyses using the Heckman two-stage treatment effect approach as well as the IV regression method also yield qualitatively similar results to that of our main model. Furthermore, the home-country corporate governance mechanism, the financial system, as well as the level of industry risk, are important in determining the link between CSR engagement and tax avoidance. The third essay assesses the association between different types of ownership and CSR engagement. It also considers the influence of the institutional landscape within each jurisdiction on the link between ownership identity and CSR engagement. Employing a large sample of firms domiciled across 14 European countries for the period between 2005 and 2012, the empirical results suggest that the proportion of ownership by government and institutional investors is positively and significantly associated with the level of CSR engagement. On the contrary, shareholding by insiders, other firms, and individual investors exerts the opposite effect on CSR engagement. These results are robust when using alternative measures for ownership. In addition, our findings indicate that widely-held firms domiciled in the UK and Ireland have higher degree of CSR engagement in comparison to their counterparts domiciled in other European countries. On the whole, the analysis demonstrates that preference towards CSR engagement is not homogeneous across various types of ownership groups. This may depend on the objectives behind the investment by each group, as well as their respective roles and positions within society.

As social problems, such as environmental pollution persist, the need to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) to enhance societal well-being becomes important. However, little is known about how corporate leaders implement CSR. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report the lived experiences of corporate managers relevant to CSR implementation. This study was guided by ecological systems theory, the Porter hypothesis, the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory, and the Harrod-Domar growth model, which justify the importance of societal well-being to business profitability and growth. The research question regarding the lived experiences of corporate managers of CSR implementation aligns with the research problem. A transcendental phenomenological approach was used to identify and report lived experiences of corporate leaders to illuminate understanding of CSR implementation worthy of emulation. Open-ended questions were used in semi structured interviews of purposefully selected managers, based on their lived experiences relevant to CSR implementation, of manufacturing corporations in Charlotte, North Carolina. Van Kaam's phenomenological analysis as explained by Moustakas was used to analyze data. Findings revealed that corporate leaders implemented CSR by donating and volunteering to support health care, nature preservation, education, and poverty reduction. Participants also responded that they supported recycling and use of alternative sources of energy to improve the health and safety of employees and society. The understanding gained from participants' responses can positively affect social change, as participants assessed that CSR implementation resulted in societal well-being.

There is a lack of attention and understanding of how smaller hotel businesses understand and engage with social responsibility. The lack of understanding has led to a situation where the knowledge of how hotel corporations operate regarding Corporate social responsibility unproblematically is applied across scales onto Small and medium sized hotels behaviour regarding social responsibility. This thesis examines this lack of understanding by analysing discourses related to social responsibility that can be found in online reviews written by former guests of SME hotels in Tällberg, Sweden. The results of the discourse analysis show that SME hotels mainly perform social responsibility through the performance of hospitality and by acting as cultural brokers allowing socialisation to happen. They suggest that the notion most SMEs have of hospitality links into social responsibility without them realising it. However, the unreflective conflation of knowledge across scales regarding social responsibility and the term Corporate social responsibility risk disrupting this performance, as it makes SME hotel owners and managers act counterproductively to this. Thus, this thesis suggests that the very use of the term CSR when talking about SMEs in the hotel sector is problematic. Furthermore, the findings also suggest that the creation and performance of social responsibility in hotel SMEs are mainly dialogic, unlike previously assumed, as it is created in the interaction between two persons.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
O presente trabalho estuda a atuação social dos empresários, comumente denominada de responsabilidade social empresarial - RSE -, a partir do pressuposto de que esta intervenção social, antes de ser uma novidade na atuação dos empresários, conta com uma longa trajetória que remonta aos primórdios do desenvolvimento industrial no país. Nesta trajetória, foram estruturados diferentes modelos de intervenção que aqui são identificados como controle, incorporação e gerenciamento do social. Cada um deles expressa tanto o enfrentamento da relação capital x trabalho como a busca de legitimação do processo de acumulação, ao nível interno de sua força produtiva, como externamente envolvendo em escalas crescentes o conjunto da sociedade. A pesquisa foi estruturada em duas grandes frentes de investigação: uma primeira de perfil documental e bibliográfico buscou reconstituir a trajetória sócio-histórica da atuação social dos empresários. A segunda voltou-se para a compreensão de suas formas de ação frente às novas determinações do capitalismo contemporâneo. Ainda que, analisando processos mais amplos, este estudo focaliza uma empresa hoje multinacional, com marcante atuação no âmbito da RSE, cuja evolução produtiva percorreu os diferentes modelos de intervenção social aqui identificado. Considerando nossa hipótese de que um dos elementos fundamentais da RSE é estruturar, também, uma contraface à emergência de conflitos internos e externos aos interesses do capital, o estudo pautou-se pela identificação da manifestação contraditória entre intervenção e conflito social. Foi utilizado instrumental disponível pelas mídias digitais (internet, sites institucionais e outros endereços eletrônicos) com ênfase no YouTube, considerando-o como um modo de comunicação áudio-visual que dá visibilidade aos interesses e condições de vida de grupos sociais e sistemas ambientais atingidos (e prejudicados) pelo avanço da produção generalizada de mercadorias.
The present thesis studies entrepreneurs social responsibility from the standpoint that their social intervention, instead of being a novelty, is anchored in a long tradition that stretches back to the beginnings of Brazil s industrial development. The different models of intervention developed in this tradition are here identified as incorporation and management control of the social question. Each model expresses the way capital-work relation was coped and the search for legitimacy of the accumulation process at the internal level of its productive force, on the one hand, and at the external level envolving increasingly all society, on the other hand. The reseach was lead in two major fronts: firstly, a documentary and litterary investigation sought to reconstruct the socio-historical path of the social actions of entrepreneurs. Secondly, it turned to the understanding of their forms of action in the face of new determinations of contemporary capitalism. While analyzing broader processes, this study focuses on a Brazilian multinational company which has today significant activity in the evolution of CSR, and whose history toured the different models of social intervention identified here. Considering our hypothesis that one of the basic structure of CSR is also to oppose the emergence of internal and external conflicts concerning the interests of capital, the study was guided by the identification of the outbreak contradiction between intervention and social conflict. Sources included many digital media available in internet, corporate websites and other email addresses, with emphasis on YouTube, considered as a way of audio-visual communication that has been giving visibility to the interests and living conditions of social groups and environmental systems affected and affected by the advance of generalized commodity production.

Background: Corporations are established and organized in order to create economic values for their owners and the main aim of every business enterprise is to be profitable and satisfy the financial expectations of their shareholders. However, corporate social responsibility focuses on the ethical aspects of corporate business in order to achieve the balance between the profitability and social responsibility. Nongovernmental organizations through their activities promote the respect for human rights and environmental care within the corporate world.

Purpose and Scope: To make an in-depth study about the role of nongovernmental organizations regarding corporate social responsibility in order to increase the understanding of corporate social responsibility.

Methodology: We used literature research for our thesis and we analysed the secondary data related to the corporate social responsibility.

Result: The main activities of nongovernmental organizations regarding corporate social responsibility are: to investigate and monitor companies’ social performance, to inform and report the cases of socially irresponsible corporate behaviour, to engage in formulation and observation of Agreements and Codes of Conduct Governing Corporate Labour and Environmental Policies and to condemn the human rights abuse and environmental damage within the corporate world.

Bakgrund: Enligt en undersökning gjord av Livsmedelsverket beräknas tjugo procent av Sveriges barn i dagsläget vara överviktiga eller lida av fetma. Orsaker till detta sägs vara bland annat ändrade levnadsvanor som exempelvis mindre fysisk aktivitet och mindre hälsosam mat. Övervikt ses i normala fall av samhället som ett problem och på senare tid har allt fler samhällsaktörer börjat uppmärksamma frågan. Kravet från samhället ökar på att bland annat företagen skall ta sitt sociala ansvar och hörsamma samt agera för en samhällsförbättring med syfte att komma tillrätta med överviktsproblemet. Något som dock inte har fått lika mycket utrymme i debatten om socialt ansvar i samband med övervikt är hur den offentliga sektorn agerar i denna situation.

Syfte: Utgör statens, kommunens, landstingets och skolans nuvarande agerande var för sig ett socialt ansvartagande med syfte att skapa de bästa förutsättningarna för en grundskolelev att komma tillrätta med sin övervikt? Skapar dessutom de fyra parternas gemensamma sociala ansvarstagande tillräckligt med förutsättningar för att grundskoleleven skall komma tillrätta med sin övervikt?

Tillvägagångssätt: Resultatet baseras på en intervjuundersökning med representanter för landsting, kommuner och skolor i Östergötlands län, närmare bestämt i kommunerna Linköping och Mjölby. Ytterligare har statens offentliga handlingar studerats och utvärderats.

Resultat: Resultatet av undersökningen visar att det fyra olika aktörerna uppmärksammar problemet om barns-, och i detta specifika fall grundskolelevers övervikt. De fyra aktörerna staten, kommunen, landstinget och skolan tar var och en ett socialt ansvar genom både kort och långsiktiga projekt. På frågan om de fyra parternas gemensamma ansvarstagande utgör tillräckliga förutsättningar för att ett barn själv skall komma tillrätta med sin övervikt är svaret nej. Exempelvis erkänner alla inblandande parter själva att de skulle kunna göra mer för att förbättra den rådande situationen. Aktörerna menar att det som saknas är ett helhetstänkande, att exempelvis hälsokunskap skulle behöva integreras i hela skolverksamheten och inte bara i samband med ämnet idrott och hälsa eller i olika temaveckor. Det som ytterligare skulle behövas för att lösa situationen är ett bättre samarbete mellan, de i denna undersökning, fyra olika aktörerna.

Bakgrund: Debatten om Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) har pågått i över 40 år och har under de senaste åren blivit allt mer aktuell även i Sverige. Detta till följd av dels de ökade krav som medarbetare och konsumenter ställer på företagen och dels på grund av en ökande internationalisering, en snabbare informationsspridning och ett hårdare företagsklimat. Idag finns flera exempel på företag som kompletterar målet om att maximera vinsten med ett mål om socialt ansvarstagande. Samtidigt strävar dagens marknadsförare i allt större utsträckning efter att skapa holistiska marknadsförings-aktiviteter, med syfte att bygga ett starkt varumärke som kan skapa konkurrensfördelar. Syfte: Denna uppsats har till syfte att öka förståelsen för CSR:s påverkan på ett företags varumärke. Detta genom att fokusera undersökningen på hur CSR påverkar ett varumärkes identitet och dess betydelse i handeln Business to Business. I uppsatsen vill vi visa på vad som är viktigt att fokusera på vid genomförandet av CSR-aktiviteter. Undersökningen: I vår undersökning har vi genomfört fallstudier av två företag, Santa Maria och Chiquita. Detta har kompletterats med intervjuer av nyckelpersoner på några av Sveriges största butikskedjor inom dagligvaruhandeln. Detta för att undersöka deras relation till de två undersökta företagen och synen på deras CSR-strategier. Slutsats: Utifrån den insamlade sekundärdatan och de genomförda intervjuerna har det framkommit att det finns en positiv inverkan på varumärken om CSR-arbetet är implementerat, kommunicerat och kopplat till affärsverksamheten. Studien har även visat att CSR-strategin måste tilltala företagets intressenter för att företaget ska kunna skapa sig konkurrensfördelar gentemot de andra aktörerna på marknaden. Nyckelord: CSR, varumärken, Business to Business, dagligvaruhandeln.

På en konkurrenskraftig marknad är det viktigt för företag att differentiera sig genom ett starkt varumärke. Genom att vara en ”god medborgare” i form av Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, kan företagstärka relationen mellan kund och företag och på så sett varumärket. CSR innebär att företag på frivillig grund integrerar sociala och miljömässiga hänsyn i sin verksamhet och i sin samverkan med intressenterna, utöver vad lagen kräver. Syftet med uppsatsen är att redogöra för hur företag arbetar med CSR och vidare diskutera vad som stärker ett varumärke, för att sedan klargöra om och hur företagens CSR-arbete kan definieras som varumärkesstärkande. CSR-arbetet kan delas in i Lantos tre kategorier etiskt, strategiskt och altruistiskt och enligt resultatet i uppsatsen kan endast strategisk CSR ses som varumärkesstärkande. Drivkraften bakom engagemanget i CSR-frågor ses antingen som ett business case eller som ett ethics case. Strategisk CSR är snarlik business case då den ekonomiska vinningen är syftet med handlingen. Vid altruistisk CSR och ethics case är det istället viljan att göra ”det rätta” som är syftet. Allt CSR-arbete som på något sätt kommuniceras till företagets intressenter ses indirekt som varumärkesstärkande då arbetet skapar tillit och förtroende för varumärket. Då nästan allt arbete med CSR kommuniceras på något sätt, antingen externt på hemsidor och genom rapporter eller internt till medarbetare, är det varumärkesstärkande enligt teorier om hur ett varumärke stärks.

 

This thesis discusses the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, which means that companies are taking a voluntary accountability towards the society with a view to improve it. Today's stakeholders and people in general have higher demands and expectations on businesses and its products or services than before. This is driving more and more companies to consider questions like voluntary responsibility so that they can maintain public confidence. Confidence towards the banking sector is particularly important to avoid financial crises. Our study focuses on leadership impact on CSR. We aim to examine whether leaders in major Swedish banks can use their leadership to influence CSR. This study is based on a qualitative research method and the deductive approach was applied. Our primary data was collected through four personal interviews with five respondents. We achieved our purpose by exploring managers'/leaders' attitudes about and interest in CSR. Thereby, we got an insight in whether leaders can create conditions for sustainable development. The four major banks that we have been studying are Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank, all of them located in Halmstad. The result was analyzed based on the concepts of communication, business ethics/values and leadership. The study has demonstrated that leadership possessed by the leaders within major Swedish banks can be used to influence CSR, using three factors: communication, values and transformational leadership. This way, a leader may be able to create a solid base for CSR, increase understanding and also motivate employees' commitment and awareness of CSR.

Bakgrund och problem: Finanskrisen hemsökte företag, och påverkade även företags CSR-kommunikationer världen över. Studien har etablerat att det finns alternativa utgångar för företag som kommunicerade ut CSR under finanskrisen. Den ena stigen skildrar CSR-kommunikation i dystert manér, på så sätt att åtagandet bortprioriterades under finanskrisen, medan en annan stig skildrar att CSR-kommunikation användes som ett sätt att dra ekonomiska fördelar. Det kan därmed poneras att finanskrisen har påverkat svenska företags CSR-kommunikationer. En ytterligare annan stig skildrar dock att finanskrisen inte påverkade företags CSR-kommunikationer. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka om och hur och varför eller varför inte finanskrisen har påverkat CSR-kommunikationer i Sverige, genom att fokusera på indikatorer för CSR och ställa frågor till företagsansvariga. Metod: Studien utgår från en kvantitativ undersökningsmetod, därvid data samlades in genom datoriserad innehållsanalys och webbenkäter. Ett populationsurval med 126 företag verkandes i Stockholmsbörsens Large Cap och Mid Cap studerades. Hypoteser skapades utifrån etablerade teorier, med avsikt att besvara studiens ställda syfte. Slutsatser: Svenska företags CSR-kommunikationer förhöll sig desamma, alternativt ökade smått under finanskrisen. Däremot påverkades inte svenska företags CSR-kommunikationer signifikant av finanskrisen. Webbenkäterna svarade särskilt på varför inte finanskrisen påverkade CSR-kommunikationer i Sverige. Svaren visade tendenser på att svenska företag erfor att det inte fanns affärsmöjligheter att inhämta under finanskrisen. Svenska företag visade dessutom tendenser på att ha CSR-kommunikation som en långsiktig strategisk fråga. Detta kan förklara varför svenska företags CSR-kommunikationer inte bortprioriterades under finanskrisen.

The focal point for this thesis is corporate social responsibility and how it can affect competitive advantage. This study is conducted within the pharmaceutical industry, an industry that is claimed to have a very high level of social responsibility. Thus, understanding what kind of CSR factors that contributes to competitive advantage might be seen as a relevant field of study. The purpose if this study is to explain what kind of social responsibility factors that generates competitive advantage for pharmaceutical companies. The method used in this thesis is a content analysis, where pharmaceutical companies´ social responsibility reports are viewed and where the appearance of certain key words associated with CSR factors were counted. The following CSR factors have been used: human rights, labour practice, environment, fair operating practice, consumer issues and community involvement and development.   Findings of this study indicate that consumer issues and community involvement and development are positively related to competitive advantage for pharmaceutical companies.   The main limitations of this study are that findings are only applicable for the pharmaceutical industry. Also, since the sample is relatively small (N=25) it might be hard to replicate the findings of this study. This might alter the generalizability ability. The original value of this study is that it is a step towards understanding what kind of CSR factors that contributes to competitive advantage for pharmaceutical companies.  Key words: pharmaceutical, CSR, corporate social responsibility, competitive advantage.

How can you use your money to make the world a better place? This research explores how institutional shareholders can use their position of ownership to influence corporations with regards to issues such as human rights, labour conditions, and the environment (otherwise known as CSR). This work, comprised of six separate studies, shows that translation processes, which can bridge the disparate institutional logics of the corporate sector with the logics of the environmental protection and social justice sectors, enables shareholders influence on CSR. This research also introduces the notion that shareholders can act in a capacity of norm entrepreneur and norm promoter, suggesting that shareholders can influence corporations in more far-reaching ways than changing single instances of behaviour.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009 Sammanfattning jämte 6 uppsatser

Motivés par des articles et des discussions récentes sur les valeurs monétaires par rapport aux valeurs sociales, j'ai un grand intérêt à étudier l'impact des valeurs sociales ou de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (“CSR”) sur les valeurs des entreprises. Le chapitre un et le chapitre deux étudient tous deux l'activisme des actionnaires sur les questions de CSR, tout en ayant des objectifs différents. Le premier chapitre étudie les propositions d'actionnaires déposées par des fonds socialement responsables (“SRIs”) en utilisant un échantillon collecté à la main. Le premier chapitre fournit des statistiques descriptives sur ces propositions et examine les caractéristiques de l'entreprise cible. Deuxièmement, à l'aide de la méthodologie de l'étude des événements, il examine la réaction du marché autour du dépôt de la proposition et constate une réaction positive du marché à ces propositions. Troisièmement, il examine l’horizon à plus long terme et étudie l’impact à long terme de ces propositions sur la valeur marchande, la performance opérationnelle et la performance sociale des entreprises. Le deuxième chapitre étudie un échantillon plus large de propositions d'actionnaires déposées par différentes parties, notamment des investisseurs institutionnels (par exemple, fonds de pension, fonds SRI), des syndicats, des fondations, des groupes religieux et des particuliers. Le chapitre deux se concentre plus sur l'identification de l'impact des différents déclarants sur le résultat de la proposition, et les résultats montrent que les investisseurs institutionnels tels que les fonds SRI et les fonds de pension sont des déclarants plus performants. Si une proposition est déposée par des fonds SRI ou des fonds de pension, elle a beaucoup plus de chances de réussir et recevoir des votes plus favorables. La réaction du marché aux activités de dépôt de propositions est également positive pour ces déposants et a également une incidence à long terme sur les entreprises cibles. Le chapitre trois étudie la performance des fonds SRI. En choisissant une période de temps particulière (c’est-à-dire la crise financière), elle tente de séparer la performance des investissements des fonds des rendements générés par des groupes spécifiques d’entreprises (c’est-à-dire les entreprises ayant de bonnes notes CSR). Les résultats montrent que ces SRIs génèrent des rendements inférieurs à ceux des fonds conventionnels pendant la crise, alors que ces entreprises obtiennent en moyenne des rendements plus élevés pendant la crise, comme le suggèrent d'autres études (Lins et al. 2017). Cependant, ce résultat ne persiste pas après la crise financière dans l'échantillon correspondant. La volatilité des flux des SRIs est inférieure à celle des fonds conventionnels. L'analyse de la sensibilité des flux dans une régression linéaire par morceaux montre que les SRIs attirent plus de flux que les fonds conventionnels après avoir contrôlé divers autres facteurs. Une analyse plus poussée montre que les SRIs ont tendance à avoir un horizon d'investissement plus long et à vendre moins pendant la crise. Il aborde également les raisons potentielles et les motivations des investisseurs en examinant les flux de fonds SRI, les sensibilités aux performances des flux, horizons des investisseurs et les activités de vente pendant la crise
Motivated by papers and recent talks on monetary values versus social values, I have great interest in studying how social values or corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) could impact firm values. Recent studies have shown that there are mainly three potential channels, through which CSR affects firm value. Firstly, employees help create firm value. Employee welfare is part of CSR (measured by MSCI ESG KLD Statistics, known as KLD scores), and employee satisfaction improves firm value shown by positive long-term abnormal stock market returns. (eg. Edmans 2011) Secondly, customers strongly link to firm value. Product quality and safety are part of CSR, and product characteristics are the main reasons directly linked to customer purchasing decisions, especially for firms in manufacturing and retail industries. Moreover, part of the customers may be socially conscious and are sensitive to firms’ actions towards environmental, community or human rights issues. They may form updated opinion of the firm based on their CSR activities and thus influence their purchasing decisions. Papers find that firms with more customer awareness benefit more from CSR. (eg. Servaes and Tamayo 2013) Thirdly, investors are associated with firm value. Investors, especially socially-conscious investors help discipline the firms’ CSR activities. Shareholder proposal is one good venue where they raise their voice and engage in the firms. Investors could use exit strategy to sell their shares, and changes in investment flows could affect firms’ value. (eg. Bialkowski & Starks 2016) The third channel, investors’ engagements in CSR issues in the firm and their association with firm value implications, as well as the related SRI investment performance are the main focus of this dissertation

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between Brazilian multinationals and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The theoretical framework provides relevant information on CSR and on Sustainability-Oriented Innovation (SOI), which are the basis for the development of hypotheses. In order to collect data, an e-survey was conducted with Brazilian multinationals operating in different industries and segments; as result, we obtained 60 valid questionnaires. In order to analyze the data, a multivariate analysis was accomplished, which involved the procedures of canonical correlation and multiple linear regression. The descriptive analysis indicates that most Brazilian multinationals are headquartered in the Southeast region, especially in the State of São Paulo. The outcomes of the multivariate analysis provided empirical support for five hypothesis: there is a positive correlation between the constructs: i) guidelines for multinationals (defined by OECD and emphasized by several scholars) and the compliance with social and environmental regulation; ii) guidelines for multinationals and CSR as differentiation strategy; iii) compliance with social and environmental regulation and CSR as differentiation strategy; iv) SOI practices and guidelines for multinationals; and v) SOI practices and the compliance with social and environmental regulation. The results did not support the hypothesis that predicted a positive correlation between SOI practices and CSR as differentiation strategy.
O objetivo deste estudo é analisar a relação existente entre multinacionais brasileiras e Responsabilidade Socioambiental Corporativa (RSC). A fundamentação teórica proporciona informações relevantes sobre RSC e inovação para sustentabilidade, ambos os temas são a base para o desenvolvimento de hipóteses. Para a coleta de dados, uma survey eletrônica foi enviada para multinacionais brasileiras que atuam em diversos segmentos e indústrias; 60 questionários válidos foram obtidos. Para analisar os dados, o procedimento de análise multivariada foi aplicado, o qual envolveu os procedimentos de correlação canônica e regressão linear múltipla. A análise descritiva indica que a maior parte das multinacionais brasileiras está sediada na região sudeste, especialmente no Estado de São Paulo. Os resultados da análise multivariada foram suficientes para sustentar cinco hipóteses: existe, então, uma correlação positiva entre os constructos; i) diretrizes para multinacionais (definidas por órgão internacional - OECD - e enfatizadas por pesquisadores) e o cumprimento de regulamentações socioambientais; ii) diretrizes para multinacionais e RSC como estratégia de diferenciação; iii) o cumprimento de regulamentações socioambientais e RSC como estratégia diferenciação; iv) adoção de práticas de inovação para sustentabilidade e diretrizes para multinacionais; e v) práticas de inovação para sustentabilidade e o cumprimento de regulamentações socioambientais. Não houve suporte empírico para a hipótese que previa uma correlação positiva entre práticas de inovação para sustentabilidade e RSC como estratégia de diferenciação.

Mestrado em Finanças
Esta tese visa entender se existe uma conexão entre planeamento fiscal corporativo e responsabilidade social corporativa (RSC). Utilizamos uma amostra composta por 4.453 observações de 914 firmas americanas na NYSE e NASDAQ, entre 2002 e 2016. No geral, não encontramos evidências estatísticas de uma associação entre planeamento fiscal corporativa e responsabilidade social corporativa. No entanto, através de uma regressão por quantis, encontramos evidências estatísticas de uma relação entre planeamento fiscal corporativo e RSC em níveis mais altos de RSC, consistente com a teoria da gestão de risco (Godfrey et al. 2009, Larrinaga et al., 2008). Os nossos resultados fornecem uma visão diferente da literatura, sugerindo que as empresas que usam mais atividades de RSC acabam por praticar mais planeamento fiscal por ajudar numa mitigação do risco de possivelmente serem auditadas e com sanções regulatórias, bem como má reputação proveniente da imprensa e do escrutínio do público.
This study aims to understand if there is a relationship between company?s corporate tax avoidance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The sample comprises 4,453 firm-year observations from 914 US-listed companies in the NYSE and NASDAQ, between 2002 and 2016. Overall, we do not find a statistical support for an association between corporate tax avoidance and corporate social responsibility. However, corporate tax avoidance appears to be positively associated with CSR for firms engaged in higher levels of corporate corporate social responsibility, which is consistent with risk management theory (Godfrey et al. 2009, Larrinaga et al., 2008). Our results provide a different insight to the literature, suggesting that firms that have more socially responsible activities tend to be also more tax avoidant because it helps in mitigating the risk of possibly being audited and having regulatory sanctions, as well as bad reputation from bad press and public scrutiny.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Нигерійські банки зараз керуються розвиненою конкуренцієючерез глобалізацію та дерегуляцію фінансових послуг, приватизацію ранішедержавні банки, астрономічний розвиток інформаційних технологій, серед іншихнадавати послуги відповідно до критеріїв вартості та вигоди.
Nigerian banks are now being driven by advanced competition brought about by globalization and deregulation of financial services, privatization of formerly public banks, astronomical development in information technology, among others, to render services according to cost-benefit criteria.

Recently, an important condition for harmonious integration of business into the global community is the compliance of its activities to the interests of the public. Understanding of modern social, cultural, environmental and economic problems, active work to resolve them becomes an important condition for the success of the company.

Thesis: S.M. in Management Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, May, 2020
Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 27-28).
Often organized as disconnected philanthropic activities independent from core corporate strategy, the potential that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can play in gaining competitive advantage for firms have largely been untapped. One of the challenges in unlocking the strategic advantages of CSR lies in measuring results and connecting outcomes to key business priorities. The application of data analytics can support CSR practitioners in overcoming this challenge. By adopting CSR analytics, practitioners can more transparently measure the impact of their activities, identify underlying relationships with business goals, and utilize data to make strategic choices that contribute to corporate strategy. This research focuses on the case of Wayfair, one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. In support of the firm's corporate goal of improving human resource outcomes, analytics strategies have been developed to describe, predict, and prescribe CSR interventions. These strategies impact the five dimensions of employee engagement: employee satisfaction, employee identification, employee commitment, and employee loyalty. This research study aims to encourage firms to increase focus and investments on the adoption of analytics in CSR. By doing so, firms can achieve business goals and contribute to sustainable development.
by Ponce Ernest Samaniego.
S.M. in Management Studies
S.M.inManagementStudies Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

There has been a long - standing argument on whether or not companies should be socially responsible. This is so because the primary objective of every company is to maximize profit for its shareholders, corporate social responsibility is therefore seen as a distraction. According to the leading proponent of this view Milton Friedman, 'the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits'i, but does society today stand to maximally benefit if the only concern of companies is to make a profit? Supporters of this view posit that companies involvement in projects not directly aimed at maximizing profit for its shareholders like corporate philanthropy and community development are unnecessary. They insist that issues like these should be left to the government and charities. On the contrary, society's present expectation of business covers a lot more than profit maximization; companies' involvement in corporate social responsibility is therefore the only way these expectations could be harnessed. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not only about philanthropy as some think, it involves the myriad ways firms integrate social, environmental and economic concerns into the day to day running of their companies. This essay stresses the need for companies' involvement in corporate social responsibility; it seeks to show that a socially responsible company does not only bring environmental and social benefits to the society at large, but also attracts financial benefits for the company involved. It goes further to suggest strategies that could be used to make companies more responsive to social needs than they presently are. The first chapter answers the question, what is corporate social responsibility? Many people and organizations have attempted defining this concept, but more often than not their views do not entirely reflect what corporate social responsibility is about because of the wide spectrum of issues it covers. To some people, corporate social responsibility is all about corporate philanthropy, to others it is more encompassing than that and is closely linked with principles of sustainable development. Although people look at CSR from different perspectives, what is generally agreed by all advocates of corporate social responsibility is that the management of companies should not only consider the interests of shareholders when running the company, but should take into account the welfare of other company stakeholders. Sustainable Development is defined by the United Nations Brundland Commission as 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.ii The fact that CSR is voluntary leaves companies with discretion to be socially responsible or not. It is the voluntary nature of CSR that makes some people view CSR as basically corporate philanthropy. Those who see CSR as broader than philanthropy and linked with the principles of sustainable development argue that while philanthropy is absolutely discretionary,CSR is sustainable. While philanthropy involves how companies' profits are spent on deserving causes, CSR is concerned with how these profits are made in the first place. Proponents of CSR as an intrinsic part of sustainable development further argue that it is only when social accountability becomes an integral part of corporate conduct rather than a philanthropic add on, that the economic development of the private sector will move forward within an acceptable framework of public purposeiii This is my preferred notion of corporate social responsibility. Chapter one outlines the various definitions of corporate social responsibility. It looks at the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate governance and also gives an overview of the background influences of CSR. Chapter two examines the criticisms of corporate social responsibility and counters them. Chapter three presents the business case for corporate social responsibility; it seeks to show that socially responsible companies are not disadvantaged but enjoy numerous financial benefits. Chapter four suggests strategies that could be used to make companies more responsive to societal needs. Flowing from the fact that CSR is voluntary and some companies remain unresponsive to societal needs, regulation of aspects of CSR that cannot be left at the mercy of companies remains a way socially irresponsible companies would be compelled to comply. This chapter presents the arguments for and against legislation of CSR and suggests a balanced regulatory approach to corporate social responsibility.

The central question addressed was what motivates small business leaders to incorporate social responsibility in their companies' mission, vision, and culture. In particular, there is a knowledge gap about what motivates small business leaders to take both financial and non-financial actions to support their employees, their local economies, and their communities. Interviews with three small business owners in Michigan were coded to identify key emergent themes explaining why small business leaders contributed to their local communities. Theoretical or conceptual support for the study included Carroll's social performance model, Vroom's expectancy theory, and CCI strategies. The literature review included that of motivation and social responsibility. The interviews were coded, analyzed, and six themes emerged. The participants were concerned with being socially responsible and motivation comes from defining social responsibility and finding ways to fulfill a need. Employees play a key role in creating and continuing an environment set by the example of the owner and this is done through repetition, thus aligning business practices with being socially responsible. Lastly, connection to people helps build relationships, while being cognizant of initiatives to protect the environment, thus Going Green initiatives. After the research, the researcher developed the Small Business Community Involvement model (SBCI), based on the themes. This model can help small business leaders looking to partake in socially responsible activities. This study is significant because it will improve understanding of social responsibility in the small business sector.

The aim of the thesis is to identify current trends in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The theoretical part of the paper deals with the evolution of CSR, the basic conceptual approaches, motivation of companies to adopt responsibile business pracitices, and the dominant global trends. The practical part assesses the relevance of CSR trends for one of the world's largest companies - General Electric.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to analyze the system of Corporate Social Responsibility in the banking sector, to propose some measures for solution of identified deficiencies and ways of evaluating the effectiveness of implemented activities. The thesis is divided into two parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical part defines the basic concepts related to the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility, presents its basic characteristics and principles, related and often confused concepts and arguments for the acceptance or rejection of the concept into business practice. There is also described the situation in the Czech Republic and also in selected countries of the European Union. The practical part analyzes the system of socially responsible activities in Česká spořitelna, a.s. and deals with a proposal of specific indicators of implemented activities, which can allow the organization to monitor their effectiveness.

Main focus of this thesis is social responsibility in professional football clubs of Europe. The theoretical part first of all describes the concept of corporate social responsibility with the most important characteristics and then explains some specifics of sport in economic terms. In the last part of the theoretical part offers an introduction of international and European football associations. In the practical part, the author describes and reviews the socially responsible activities of these organizations, followed by a comparison of European football leagues from the same perspective. Major part of practical part is focused on the most successful Czech football club AC Sparta Prague. Based on current activities and on a survey of club´s fans, a set of recommendations has been created for future socially responsible activities of the club.

碩士
國立中央大學
經濟學系
106
In this paper, we analyze the impact of the firms and society, whether the firms pay attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) when the government taxation for environmental. Assume there are two firms in a Cournot Competition. We use three situation to compare pollution prevention and research, output, firm effectiveness and social welfare. We show when the unit pollution is small, the more the firm pays attention to CSR, the higher the optimal research and output, but the greater the impact on the unit pollution. Therefore, when the pollution exceeds a certain range, the more the firms pay more attention to the CSR, the lower the optimal research and output, and the less the firms who pay more attention to the environment, the better the optimal research and t output. After generalizing this model, we found when the unit pollution is small, in the environmental tax increases, the more manufacturers pay attention to CSR, the better social welfare will be. The power that the firms attach importance to the CSR have similar effects with the government's environmental tax. If the government can conduct the firms to CSR activities through standardization and better promotion, it will be able to make up the difficulty of government environmental tax.