FULLTEXT01.pdf - Bachelor Thesis Incorporating CSR with...

Bachelor Thesis
Incorporating CSR with
Corporate Strategy:
A Case Study of Electrolux Professional Laundry
Author: Augustine Chika Nnakwu
Christopher Borlund
Supervisor: Dr. Tomas Nilsson
Examiner: Firouze Pourmand
Hilmersson
Date: Spring 2016
Subject:
International Sales and
Marketing
Level: Bachelor
Course code: 2FE22E

i
Abstract
Corporate Social Responsibilty has increased in importance over these decades. Due to
several drivers it is important for companies to initiate and communicate these CSR
initiatives, in order to benefit from them. This increased demand on responsibility from
companies creates an urgency for the company to satisfy this need. This has led to the
concept of “Greenwashing” which is a miscommunication of CSR values. This opposes
the integration of CSR into the corporate strategy which is a more effective method of
initiating CSR. This study will examine CSR initiatives alignment with corporate
strategy, composing a case study on Electrolux Professionl Laundry Ab.
Keywords
Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate strategy, Sustainability
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, we would like to thank our families Mrs.Borlund and Ms Jonas and
Ambrose, Jurgita, Rusel for the endless love and support.
We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr Pejvak Oghazi for his
encouragement and ideas.
In addition we want to thank our supervisor, Dr Tomas Nilsson for his support,
guidance throughout this thesis and further to Peter Caesar, The Managers at Electrolux
whose contribution is highly appreciated.

ii
Contents
1 Introduction _________________________________________________________ 1
1.1 Background ______________________________________________________ 2
1.1.1 Electrolux Group ______________________________________________ 2
1.1.2 Electrolux Professional Laundry __________________________________ 3
1.2 Problem Discussion _______________________________________________ 3
1.3 Purpose Of Study _________________________________________________ 4
1.4 Research Question ________________________________________________ 4
2 Theoretical Framework _______________________________________________ 5
2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility ______________________________________ 5
2.2 Sustainability ____________________________________________________ 6
2.3 Triple Bottom Line ________________________________________________ 7
2.4 ISO Certification _________________________________________________ 7
2.5 Corporate Image and Reputation _____________________________________ 8
3 Methodology _________________________________________________________ 9
3.1 Research Approach ________________________________________________ 9
3.1.1 Inductive vs. Deductive Research _________________________________ 9
3.1.2 Qualitative vs. Quantitative ______________________________________ 9
3.2 Research Design _________________________________________________ 10
3.3 Data Sources ____________________________________________________ 12
3.4 Data Collection Method ___________________________________________ 12
Source: (Yin, 2014, p.106) ____________________________________________ 14
3.5 Data Collection Instrument _________________________________________ 14
3.5.1 Interview guide ______________________________________________ 15
3.6 Sampling _______________________________________________________ 16
3.6.1 Sample Frame _______________________________________________ 16
3.7 Data Analysis ___________________________________________________ 17
3.8 Quality Criteria __________________________________________________ 18
3.8.1 Validity ____________________________________________________ 18
3.8.2 Reliability __________________________________________________ 20
4 Empirical Findings __________________________________________________ 21
4.1 Interview with Electrolux Managers _________________________________ 21
4.1.1 CSR definition at Electrolux Professional AB _______________________ 21
4.1.2 Corporate Strategy at Electrolux Professional AB ___________________ 21
4.1.3 CSR at Electrolux Professional AB _______________________________ 22
5 Analysis ____________________________________________________________ 25
5.1 Corporate social responsibility Pyramid ______________________________ 25
5.1.1 Philanthropic ________________________________________________ 25
5.1.2 Ethical _____________________________________________________ 25
5.1.3 Legal ______________________________________________________ 26
5.1.4 Economic ___________________________________________________ 26
5.2 Competitive advantage ____________________________________________ 27

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6 Conclusion _________________________________________________________ 28
References ___________________________________________________________ 29
Appendices ___________________________________________________________ I
Appendix A - Interview Questions _______________________________________ I
Appendix B - Interview transcripts _____________________________________ III

1
1 Introduction
This research focuses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), specifically it’s use as
a strategy within a business. An overview of the subject CSR is presented along with
the history of the company. Furthermore, a problem discussion is highlighted, resulting
in the formulation of the purpose and development of research questions.