• Summarize the current state of affairs in Scandinavia in sustainability and CSR.
• Describe and reflect on the characterization of "Scandinavian management" and the role this may have in sustainability and CSR approaches and performances in Scandinavia while also critiquing such characterizations when they risk becoming stereotypes.
• Critically discuss partnership activities from a stakeholder and value added perspective in the Scandinavian region between companies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and governmental organizations and their relationship to sustainability and CSR.
• Analyze sustainability and CSR activities (management practices, stakeholder engagement, organizational structures, and reporting) at a selection of major Scandinavian firms.

In this course, we consider the current the state of sustainability and CSR in Scandinavia and explore factors that could be considered as having contributed to Scandinavia’s historically strong sustainability and CSR performances. 

We will consider Scandinavian Sustainability in three different ways: 

1. We will identify what is quintessentially “Scandinavian Sustainability”? In other words what are the behaviors that are found primarily here and not elsewhere?

2. Next, we will compare sustainability practices in Scandinavia with practices in other countries. How and why do they differ? How does this difference affect performance? 

3. Finally, we will look at how international standards and global practices are implemented and interpreted through a Scandinavian lens. 

Scandinavia is described by some commentators as a world leader in the areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. Notably, these include deep-routed traditions of stakeholder engagement across Scandinavia, in line with the recent concept of “creating shared value”. Another distinct feature is the active role of government that has encouraged strong CSR and sustainability performances of Scandinavian companies. Finally, many of the sustainable governance and finance solutions underpinning Scandinavian societies operate as hybrid public-private constellations. We compare and evaluate Scandinavian and other approaches to sustainability and CSR. We also reflect upon the challenges for Scandinavia to maintain its standing as a world leader and discuss how and why governments in Scandinavia engage in shaping CSR in business organizations. 

• Classic and basic theory
• New theory
• Teacher’s own research

• Development of research questions
• Data collection
• Analysis
• Discussion, critical reflection, modelling

Strand, R., Freeman, R. E., & Hockerts, K. (2015). Corporate social responsibility and sustainability in Scandinavia: An overview. Journal of Business Ethics, 127, 1-15. 

Bansal, P., & Song, H. C. (2017). Similar but not the same: Differentiating corporate sustainability from corporate responsibility. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 105–149.  

Hockerts, K., & Searcy, C. (2023). How to Sharpen Our Discourse on Corporate Sustainability and Business Ethics—A View from the Section Editors. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-11. 

Knudsen, J. S., Moon, J., & Slager, R. (2015). Government policies for corporate social responsibility in Europe: A comparative analysis of institutionalization. Policy and Politics 43(1), 81-99.  

Vallentin, S. (2015). Governmentalities of CSR: Danish Government Policy as a Reflection of Political Difference. Journal of Business Ethics 127(1), 33-47.  

Girschik, Verena. "Shared responsibility for societal problems: The role of internal activists in reframing corporate responsibility." Business & Society 59, no. 1 (2020): 34-66. 

Van der Byl, C. A., & Slawinski, N. (2015). Embracing tensions in corporate sustainability: A review of research from win-wins and trade-offs to paradoxes and beyond. Organization and Environment, 28(1), 54–79.  

Gaim M, Clegg S, Cunha M (2021) Managing impressions rather than emissions: Volkswagen and the false mastery of paradox. Organization Studies 42(6) 949-970. 

Delmas, M. A., & Burbano, V. C. (2011). The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64-87. 

Schoeneborn, D., & Girschik, V. (2021). Managing CSR Communication. Handbook of Management Communication (pp. 443-458). De Gruyter. 

Herzig, C., & Kuhn, A-L. (2017). Corporate Responsibility Reporting. In A. Rasche, M. Morsing and J. Moon eds., Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategy,Communication and Governance. Cambridge University Press, Chapter 8.