Ownership and CSR – A Love-Hate Relationship? : A quantitative study of the ownership structure’s influence on corporate socialresponsibility.

Abstract: Background: As corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increasingly received more awarenessdue to a growing expectation of corporations to actively engage in social and environmental issues,understanding the factors influencing CSR is of great importance. Prior literature has shown theownership structure to be contributing factors for variances in CSR performance found amongstfirms. Thus, making this a relevant subject for a deeper understanding for the driving forces behindCSR performance. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explain how the ownership structure, more specifically theidentity and concentration of the owner, make firms engage in CSR activities. Additionally, thisthesis aims to contribute to the literature explaining the relationship between ownership structureand CSR performance in the Swedish context. Method: This study uses a positivistic view of research where a deductive approach is appliedusing a quantitative method to investigate the relationship between ownership structure and CSRperformance. The data were collected through databases, financial reports, and academic articlesand analyzed using Spearman correlation matrix and Tobit regression model. Findings: The findings show that a higher level of concentrated ownership is related to a lower CSR performance. Further, firms with a long-time horizon are more prone to CSR engagementthan firms with a short time horizon. Lastly, the institutionally entrenched ownership structure inSweden shows no relationship to CSR performance.