Communication of corporate social responsibility : the case of Skanska AB

Abstract: This master thesis is dealing with the question of the responsibility of corporations and how to communicate the attitude toward the issue. Corporations' interaction with different groups of stakeholders is not a new topic, but the question of what kind of responsibility a corporation really has toward its stakeholders, is a current discussion. Child labour, environmental disasters and ethical dilemmas are all problems that bring the discussion about corporate social responsibility, CSR, to the agenda. The awareness of CSR is increasing and a responsible approach from corporations is demanded. CSR is all about how a company choses to run its business or in which way business is made. A company with a serious CSR intention is likely to gain a competitive advantage, while a company with a neglecting attitude might face overwelming problems. A company that uses environmental friendly methods is eager to let the customers know about it, but a company that uses child labour in the production is hardly keen on informing about it. Both scenarios are based on the communiaction of the CSR attitude, which is the topic of this thesis. The aim of the study is to investigate how corporate social responsibility work at a company is connected to communication. The objective is to provide a picture of a large corporations development and management of CSR questions with a communicational focus and to illustrate how CSR related news appear in media. The study addresses the following issues: What does CSR mean for a corporation and what are the incentives to work with CSR? How does the CSR work develop in a large organization? How does a corporation communicate an active CSR approach? How does a CSR related news appear in media? The study has an qualitative approach and the chosen case company is the Swedish construction corporation Skanska. In order to create a picture of the CSR work at Skanska, empirical material has been collected by making interviews and examining documents. Employees working with CSR and communication at Skanska's head office were interviewed. An empirical background based on current literature about CSR is presented in a separate chapter. In order to describe how a CSR related news is dealt with in media, a specific CSR related news connected to the case company has been examined. Material from the press and press releases from the period has been examined and discussed. The discussion about CSR and communication of CSR shows that CSR should be an important part of a corporations brand management. At the same time, companies should be aware that CSR can have an impact on the reputation of a company in a disastrous way. Communicating positive CSR is a way of strengthening the brand, while a negative CSR news can lead to dramatic consequences.