The role of human resource management in corporate social responsibility : case study analysis of KPMG Luxembourg and PwC Luxembourg

Details

Supervisors

Ehnert, Ina

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion

Abstract

A growing number of firms implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy which success requires, among others, the creation of an organizational culture that supports CSR, a change in employees’ attitudes and behaviors towards social and environmental issues as well as employees’ engagement. The tone from the top along with the responsible treatment of employees is also crucial for an effective search of sustainability. Extant literature supports the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the implementation of a CSR strategy. According to Taylor, Osland, & Egri (2012, p.789), HRM can be both a means and an end towards sustainability. “As a means, HRM policies and practices help direct employee mind-sets and actions toward achieving the sustainability goals of the firm”. However, there is a “lack of information on the support human resource management offers to organizational sustainability applied to real cases” (de Souza Freitas, Jabbour, Mangili, Leal Filho, & de Oliveira, 2012, p.147) especially in the financial services sector where the “entrenched culture is not compatible with sustainability principles” (Cohen, Taylor, & Muller-Camen, 2012, p.7). Given the limited empirical research about CSR in the financial sector and especially in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, this thesis aims at providing practical evidence in order to answer the following question: How does HRM practically support the implementation of a CSR strategy? More precisely, this paper analyzes what HRM practices are used in financial firms to create a CSR culture and raise employees’ CSR awareness, to engage the workforce in the CSR mission as well as to contribute to the internal dimension of CSR namely the responsible treatment of employees. The second research question is the following: How does HRM functionally support the implementation of a CSR strategy? This refers to the contribution of the HR department and HR professionals in the CSR strategy of their firm. In order to investigate this contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-world context (Yin, 2014, p. 16), case study research method has been chosen with KPMG Luxembourg and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Luxembourg as the researched organizations. The data have been mainly collected through semi-structured interviews with the CSR Leader and a couple employees of each firm. Internal documents such as the CSR reports and the firms’ website have also been consulted.