Kan vår tids nya företag vara med och rädda världen?

Abstract (Swedish)

Title: Can new companies be in a position to save the world? A qualitative study in how small, newly started companies, with an expressed focus on sustainability, work operatively in their supply chain.
Seminar date: 31st of May 2018
Course: FEKH99, Degree Project Undergraduate level, Business Administration, Undergraduate level, 15 University Credits Points (UPC) or ECTS
Authors: Alexandra Karaszi, Ebba Schollin, Moa Darnolf Lindskog
Advisor: Tommy Shih
Key words: Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Supply Chains, Triple Bottom Line, Vision
Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate how the vision of smaller, newly started companies with a stated focus on sustainability, is expressed and embodied in the operational work of the supply chain. By studying the operational work, the paper aims at investigating the impact on companies' economic, environmental and social sustainability, as well as the integration between them. Integration in this case means that more than one of the aspects is met, at the same time. As a result of this paper, the intention is to expand the understanding of sustainable entrepreneurship.
Methodology: The essay is based on a qualitative case study, and apply an abductive reasoning. We have conducted two in-depth, semistructured interviews, in Swedish, where the interviewees hold the role of both CEO and owner of each company. The interviews have taken place in Helsingborg in April 2018.
Theoretical perspective: The theoretical perspective is based on Elkington's (1998) theory, Triple Bottom Line. The purpose of this theory is to encourage and contribute to corporate responsibility and sustainability. Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line was combined with Cetinkaya et al's (2011) framework, focusing on three different parts of the supply chain; procurement, production and distribution. In addition, the collected literature involved subjects such as entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, the vision of the company, sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability indicators. The theories and literature were chosen to create an understanding of how the vision of smaller, newly started companies is expressed and embodied in the operational work in the supply chain.
Empirical foundation: The empirical material underlying this paper has been collected during an interview with two smaller, start-up companies in the food industry with an expressed focus on sustainability. The interviewees were asked to answer questions about their own and the company's vision, as well as its operational work in the supply chain and its commitment to sustainability. The interviews, together with selected theories and literature, form a solid foundation for the analysis and results.
Conclusions: The results of this paper show that the company's vision, which incorporates sustainability, to some extent is reflected in the investigative companies' operational work within the supply chain. Economic, environmental and social sustainability has been incorporated into the core business and in its daily operations, both in procurement, production and distribution. This has been done through active choices by the company, concerning suppliers, raw materials, production methods and distributors. The results also show that by integrating sustainability in the supply chain, the company experiences both positive effects and challenges.

• author: Karaszi, Alexandra ; Schollin, Ebba and Darnolf Lindskog, Moa
• supervisor: Madeleine Forsberg
• organization: Department of Business Administration
• course: FEKH99 20181
• year: 2018
• type: M2 - Bachelor Degree
• subject: Business and Economics
• keywords: Entrepreneurship, sustainable development, sustainable supply chains, triple bottom line, vision
• language: Swedish
• id: 8959147
• date added to LUP: 2018-10-10 16:11:20
• date last changed: 2018-10-10 16:11:20