In the light of corporate scandals, pressure has increased on organizations to communicate
information related to their corporate social responsibility (CSR). In order to keep up with the
increased pressure on social commitment, organizations’ self-descriptions may be future-oriented
rather than reflections of reality. The future-oriented communication may improve the
organizational culture and thereby motivate staff to perform more efficiently. On the other hand,
if the organization does not fulfill their CSR communication it could lead to internal skepticism.
This thesis constitutes a case study of the organization Coop, comprising whether the
relationship between its CSR communication and the internal perception of Coop’s CSR work
in store has affected their organizational culture.
In order to answer How does Coop communicate it sustainability work through its external
communication? and How does the staff perceive Coop's sustainability work? a qualitative
content analysis and interviews with Coop’s staff have been conducted. The theoretical
framework consists of Nils Brunsson’s (2006) theory about Organized hypocrisy, and
Christensen's (1997) Autocommunication.
A conclusion that can be made from the results of this thesis, is that the image communicated
from Coop (regarding their sustainability work) does not seem to be fully aligned with the
staff’s perception of Coop’s sustainability work. Coop’s definition of their sustainability work
had only been acknowledged by some, whereas half of the staff had individual interpretations
of Coop’s sustainability work. The various definitions of sustainability among the staff led to
various attitudes towards Coop’s sustainability work, which ultimately resulted in a fragmented
organizational culture.
2018. , p. 63
organized hypocrisy, autocommunication, self-promoted paradox, expectation gap, corporate social responsibility