Impact of Communication of CSR Initiatives on Employee Commitment in Professional Service Firms: A Case Study of the Big Four in Sweden

Abstract: Researches of the previous years have primarily focused on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the communication thereof, yet there has been relatively few studies investigating the impact on internal stakeholders, namely employees. The organizational commitment of employees is influenced by different factors and it is important to investigate to determine the degree to which CSR can contribute to the affective organizational commitment of employees. Researchers that dedicated their studies to incorporating employees in their studies of CSR have been mainly focused on the manufacturing instead of the service industry, which creates a noteworthy gap in the literature. Considering the research gap, this thesis aims at investigating the potential impact CSR initiatives have on organizational commitment of employees in the professional service sector in the context of Sweden. A qualitative research design including 11 interviews with representatives of the Big Four accounting firms was adopted in order to thoroughly analyze the assumed positive relationship. The findings show that CSR initiatives do indeed contribute to the organizational commitment of employees and highlights the importance of efficient CSR communication towards internal stakeholders.