Corporate Social Responsibility in Iceland: Benefits and Challenges

• Main Author: Rubianes, Daniela Soledad Miranda, 1982-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði; Samfélagsábyrgð; Sjálfbærni; Fyrirtæki; Gerðar; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/24915

In a world that is changing faster than ever, corporations have to adapt their business strategies to cope with contemporary needs. The holistic approach of corporate social responsibility (CSR) addresses economic, environmental, and social aspects helping companies to contribute to sustainable development. Some studies that have been conducted in the field of CSR in Iceland, suggest that companies are behind in the process of handling business responsibly in comparison to other countries, especially Scandinavian countries. Contributing to the research on this subject in an attempt to broaden the understanding in this field, the present study examines seven companies in Iceland that vary in size and area of specialization to investigate how they perceive corporate social responsibility. To find out the understanding and views that employees in these companies have on CSR, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The focus of the study is on reactive versus proactive CSR and on what the benefits and challenges of becoming socially responsible organizations are. The sample, comprising different kinds of companies at different stages of progress in the adoption of CSR as part of their business strategy, provides an overview of the current situation regarding CSR in the Icelandic context. Key words: Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainable development, benefits, challenges, reactive and proactive Í heimi sem breytist hraðar en nokkru sinni fyrr þurfa fyrirtæki að aðlaga viðskiptastefnu sína til að ráða við þarfir samtímans. Hin heildræna nálgun sem fólgin er í samfélagslegri ábyrgð fyrirtækja (SÁF) tekst á við efnahagslega, umhverfislega og félagslega þætti sem hjálpa fyrirtækjum við að leggja sitt af mörkum til sjálfbærrar þróunar. Sumar rannsóknir sem gerðar hafa verið á sviði SÁF á Íslandi gefa til kynna að fyrirtæki í þessu landi standa öðrum þjóðum að baki í ferlinu við að ráða fram úr viðskiptum sínum á ábyrgan hátt, einkum ef miðað er við skandinavísku þjóðirnar. Sem ...