Incentives for swedish pharmacies’ sustainability reporting: weak stakeholder influence and strong legal demands

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to explore the Swedish pharmacy market and the potential influence different levels of legal pressure have on sustainability reporting. Interviews with pharmacy representatives and document analysis of sustainability reports and policies were combined, grounded in a constructivist perspective to analyze incentives for sustainability reporting. The data collected was thematically analyzed using concepts of power and Triple Bottom Line, internal/external incentive and level of norms. Furthermore, stakeholder theory and legal pluralism were applied to illuminate and discuss results in regards to their potential influence on sustainability reporting practice. The research found that only two of 43 pharmacy actors proved to have sustainability reports available, and two others said to start reporting this year, due to new legal requirements. All pharmacies said external incentives like customer expectations were important influencers of sustainability. Still, not until legal demands are relevant, two more decided to report. Thus, social norms are not as influential as legal norms. As the study is limited to one industry and country, results are not representative of sustainability incentives across industries nor the EU. Still, the research offers insight in both regulatory implications, like the results of the Amending Directive 2014/95/EU, and the various influencers of corporate governance. The thesis originality and value lies in filling the gap of knowledge identified in the literature review, in regards to a lack of research on sustainability reporting in pharmacy retail. Moreover, the topic is highly relevant due to national legal changes in for instance the Swedish Accounts Legislation (1995:1554), following EU directive 2014/95/EU creating a new context for sustainability.