Implementing CSR : A case study of Ekenäs Mekaniska AB

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a new issue however it has recently started to get more attention. Mostly research has been conducted within the larger companies in many different aspects such as benefits with CSR, its financial impact and the implementation process. Since this is a matter that becomes more and more important in the society of today we wanted to focus our study on small and medium sized enterprises to see how they can take part in the CSR implementation too. Firstly we wanted to examine the small and medium sized companies (SMEs) within the Jönköping region however due to the special conditions of the companies in this region we decided to conduct a case study instead. The case study is conducted with the managing director of Ekenäs Mekaniska AB, the primary information were collected through two face to face interviews. The material was then compiled and analysed. We provide some practical solution to the problems existing within Ekenäs Mekaniska AB and suggest a model for Ekenäs Mekaniska AB as well as for other companies. The purpose of conducting this case study is to make it easier for Ekenäs Mekaniska to implement more CSR in the future as well as it is to serve as an example for other small sized firms that it is possible to still conduct CSR even though you are limited in resources. We also aim at providing a step by step guide on how to implement CSR efficiently that can be used for both small, medium sized companies and large companies however each step needs to be undertaken with the size of the company in mind. The final conclusion of this case study is that the most important stakeholder of Ekenäs Mekaniska AB when implementing CSR is the employees. A clear goal, vision and mission from the top managers are crucial for Ekenäs Mekaniska AB to implement CSR efficiently. The communication with the important internal and external stakeholders and the feedback collected from them are also very important to ensure that everyone in the organization is doing the right things. The employees need to be guided through a systematic guide book to ensure that the current or potential CSR activities satisfy their needs. The strategy of Ekenäs Mekaniska AB should well combine with their CSR agenda by us-ing the model introduced in the thesis. Due to limited financial resource, it is hard for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to implement the whole CSR activities within the organization, therefore, the local government should provide appropriate fund or tax reduction programs to help SMEs implement CSR efficiently