Corporate Social Responsibility - konstruktionen av dess sociala dimension

Author: Ulrika Möllerström Title: Corporate Social Responsibility – the construction of its social dimension. Supervisor: Lars Harrysson Assessor: Carina Tigervall This paper has looked into how the social dimension of the concept “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) is constructed in corporate codes of conduct (CoC) from Swedish clothing companies. Previously made research have shown that no general definition of CSR exists and that the concept revolves around three main dimensions; economic, environmental and social. This paper attempted to, by using social constructivism and discourse theory’s concept of antagonism and hegemony amongst others, uncover the construction of the social dimension of CSR within one separate industry. A discourse analysis of six CoCs, representing ten companies, showed that even though they all share similar or the same main themes, there are crucial differences in how companies choose to write about these themes. For example, all studied CoCs forbid child labor. However, how a child is to be defined and at what age employment is acceptable varies both within CoCs and between them. The concept of CSR’s social dimension can, derived from this paper’s method and result, be understood to be constructed by using themes of a general standard and a specific use of language. This makes every company the constructer of a version of the social dimension, none exactly the same as the other. Key words: corporate social responsibility (CSR), social responsibility, social dimension, code of conduct (COC), discourse, discourse theory, antagonism, hegemony, definition*, construction, Swedish clothing companies.