Att implementera abstrakta värden - En flerfallstudie om bankernas CSR-arbete vid utlåning av kapital
The recent development in society?s structure has given rise to a more complex reality for the Swedishbanks. There is an increased pressure from external stakeholders for the banks to take a greater socialresponsibility in society; the bank must therefore focus on both direct as well as indirect effects of itsactions. The term corporate social responsibility implies that the company does not only focus on itsfinancial status but also on values such as ethics and environment. These commitments are crystalized,more or less clearly, in the banks? lending policy?s, whom are entirely defined by the banksthemselves.The nature of the abstract CSR expression gives rise to uncertainty, both in regards to the banks ownefforts towards social responsibility but also for the external stakeholders, for which it can be quitedifficult to understand what commitments are actually made.This study aims to investigate how the Swedish banks public statements, with regards to their lendingpolicy, correlates with the actual actions carried out by the banks. The emphasis lies on the routinesand methods used by the banks to ensure that their lending practice is carried out in a uniform andmorally accepted way, as well as how these practical guidelines are implemented within the bank.The conclusions derived from the study are that the largest Swedish banks, that has been the aim of thestudy, has not managed to fully implement the abstract values off their CSR-ambitions. Hence,discrepancy between ambition and practice has risen. The reason for this discrepancy is that the banks,in general, has insufficient resources, a lack of communication channels as well as conflicts ofinterests.