Motivations for CSR in the Norwegian maritime cluster: stakeholder perspectives and policy implications

Abstract

The goal of the paper is to explore the motives for firms’ engagement in CSR and to find out what underlines the CSR stakeholder choice. We integrated both qualitative and quantitative approaches and addressed the research questions by using the Norwegian maritime cluster as the research setting. The findings show that the concept of CSR differs among industry players even within the same industry. CSR may have different interpretations based on industry, firm, or even individual perception. Consensus over the meaning of CSR continues to be problematic while the lack of clarity is complicated by the multiplicity of stakeholders’ interests and expectations. We found that within the maritime industry, important CSR initiatives are targeted at stakeholders such as the environment, sponsorship, charities, and safety. Intrinsic motivation was found to be highly related to CSR targeted at the community, shareholders, and employees while extrinsic motivation appears to be limited to concerns for the environment and suppliers. However, the weak association between motivation and CSR targeted at the environment could be explained by other factors (e.g. legislation).