The Barriers to Corporate Social Responsibility in the Nordic Energy Sector

Mauricio Latapí, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir and Mette Morsing
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Mauricio Latapí: Environment and Natural Resources Program, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland
Lára Jóhannsdóttir: Environment and Natural Resources Program, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland
Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir: Environment and Natural Resources Program, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland
Mette Morsing: Department of Management, Society, and Communication, Copenhagen Business School, DK 2000 Copenhagen, Denmark

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-30

Abstract: Nordic companies have been at the top of sustainable business rankings since the early 2010s. Some of them are energy companies that have adopted Corporate Social Responsibility to have a positive social impact and become carbon neutral. However, limited literature has analyzed the barriers that Nordic energy companies face while implementing Corporate Social Responsibility. This article aims to identify and categorize the barriers faced by Nordic energy companies. The research is based on empirical data obtained from interviews involving high-level managers from the largest suppliers of energy in the Nordic region. A model is developed, which identifies and categorizes seven barriers at the individual level, seven at the organizational level, and three at the institutional level of analysis. The findings suggest that barriers can be of a direct and indirect nature and can be found across the three levels of analysis. The main contributions of this article are: (1) it identifies and categorizes the barriers that Nordic energy companies face; (2) it defines the barriers as direct and indirect based on their interaction with the company; (3) it presents two models of the barriers and provides empirical evidence that complement the literature; and (4) it contributes to the literature by focusing on the Nordic countries, a region that has received limited attention by scholarly research.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; barrier; energy; Nordic; sustainability; strategy; sustainable development; business models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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