CSR och legitimitet inom försvarsindustrin : En kvalitativ textanalys om CSR-arbete i försvarsindustrin

Sammanfattning

Corporate Social Responsibility is a topic that has become an established concept in most organizations today. Many companies are actively working to meet sustainability requirements and stakeholder expectations by incorporating CSR into their operations. Companies in controversial industries have a strong incentive to engage in CSR in order to gain legitimacy. One controversial industry that has experienced an upswing in the Swedish market is the defense industry. The purpose of this study is to examine how two selected companies in the defense industry, Saab and Nammo, present their CSR work and whether this presentation is used to legitimize their operations. The method used in the study is a qualitative text analysis of the companies' latest sustainability reports. The theoretical framework of the study consists of institutional theory and Carroll's CSR pyramid. Previous research from the defense industry related to CSR highlights a different perspective and focuses on the leader's position and influence on the organization. Research into other controversial companies has greater reason to achieve legitimacy, but the balance is that companies must also demonstrate that their CSR work is genuine. More general research into CSR emphasizes that the reason companies implement CSR in their operations may be due to institutional pressure, economic aspects, or to gain a good reputation. The results of this study show that companies strategically present their CSR work in different ways to achieve legitimacy. There are differences and similarities in how they include/exclude different CSR perspectives. In addition, the results show that both companies are affected by all the institutional pressures described in the theory.