Corporate social responsibility: Social responsibility from a stakeholder oriented perspective in Nordea Bank

Corporate social responsibility and a good corporate image are acknowledged to improve competitive advantage. Therefore it is beneficial for a corporation to seek good image. Corporate social responsibility can lead to a better image, which then leads to competitive advantage. The study problem is to identify the means to improve corporate image using CSR. The objective of this study is to explain how a banking company understands the use of CSR to improve their image from a stakeholder oriented perspective and also the strategic marketing aspect it possess. This increases comprehensive knowledge on social responsibility and image improvement through CSR in the banking industry. This study focuses on social responsibility, because the study approach is from a stakeholder oriented perspective. Using synchronized corporate marketing connected with social responsibility values the corporation can shape the corporation identity, which is the company’s representation of the image it pursues. The corporate identity is presented to the internal stakeholders. The internal stakeholder groups adapt the new values and promises to act according to them and the values are passed on to external stakeholders. Everyday actions and promise fulfillment have a positive effect on the corporate image. This study is a qualitative study, for it seeks to explain how a company understands the phenomenon. For this research Nordea Bank Plc was chosen because it is committed to the principles of CSR and the new values support this ideology. Two expert interviews were conducted to achieve accurate data on the company’s behalf. The study shows that Nordea does not have a clear statement about CSR, even though the policies exist, but they seek to manage their image using unified corporate marketing through internal stakeholders. The company does its part with social responsibility, but it does not use CSR per se to achieve more competitive advantage.