Sweden

Although the idea of social responsibility of business has a long history, the debate over corporate social responsibility has escalated in Sweden during the past few decades under the label of CSR. CSR has become an idea on the corporate agenda in Sweden. This chapter describes how CSR arrived in Sweden and how social responsibility takes its form and translates into practice in Swedish corporations. In order to understand the background of how CSR entered the Swedish business community, the chapter begins by describing social responsibility from a historical perspective and the recent revival of CSR in Sweden. In broad terms, the topic of the social responsibility of business has a long root in different societies around the world. The emergence of the industrial community in Sweden between the mid-seventeenth century and the mid-nineteenth century was a period in which Swedish corporations had played a prominent role in the local community, contributing to the development of several social institutions, including the fire brigade, medical services, and schools. During the last century, the scope of corporate responsibilities was marginalized to that of economic responsibility. However, in the last 20 years, the Swedish discourse on corporate responsibilities has changed in concert with the state of the market and with the division of roles between corporations and the state. As in many other countries, Swedish companies are being criticized by stakeholders and they are being urged to take on greater responsibilities both in Sweden and elsewhere. Hence, during the last few decades, the field of CSR has solidified and taken a better shape both nationally and internationally. The chapter discusses how companies listed in the Swedish stock exchange communicate information on their CSR activities and also examines how three large Swedish corporations practice CSR.