SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration
No 2009:13:
Shareholder Influence on CSR: A Study of the Swedish Corporate Sector
Emma Sjöström ()
Abstract: There is a growing expectation that shareholders can
foster corporate social responsibility (CSR) through engagement activities.
The aim of this study is therefore to explore the influence that
shareholders have on corporations in terms of CSR. The study, which is set
in Sweden, finds that corporations themselves do not perceive shareholders
to have a significant direct influence on how they address CSR. At the same
time, corporations find socially minded shareholders to be legitimate and
important stakeholders. Corporations find that shareholders amplify general
stakeholder pressure in the area of CSR, and that they can function as a
catalyst for CSR by adding legitimacy to the work of CSR professionals. The
one area where shareholders stand out as having a direct influence on CSR
is with regard to corporate transparency and CSR reporting.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; socially responsible investment; shareholder activism; shareholder influence; (follow links to similar papers)
22 pages, June 5, 2009, Revised December 4, 2009
Before downloading any of the electronic versions below
you should read our statement on
copyright.
Download GhostScript
for viewing Postscript files and the
Acrobat Reader for viewing and printing pdf files.
Full text versions of the paper:
hastba2009_013.pdf 
(449kB)
Download Statistics
Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Björn Thodenius ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ()
or Björn Thodenius ().
Programing by
Design by Joakim Ekebom
