Bridging the Gap: Converging Finance and Strategic Communication for Sustainable Impact
(2023) SKOK11 20231Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- The pressing issue of sustainability necessitates a broader collaboration span across all fields, such as finance and communication. Investments hold substantial power in the current sustainability reform, and it is therefore crucial that they not only meet the escalating demands of society but also actively contribute to forging a better future. The financial industry continues to grapple with new regulations pertaining to sustainability initiatives. Financial advisors at Swedish banks play a vital role in promoting sustainable investments. However, due to its inherent complexity, effective sustainability communication mandates extensive expertise, which is why it often fails to be practiced successfully. Utilizing the three modes of... (More)
- The pressing issue of sustainability necessitates a broader collaboration span across all fields, such as finance and communication. Investments hold substantial power in the current sustainability reform, and it is therefore crucial that they not only meet the escalating demands of society but also actively contribute to forging a better future. The financial industry continues to grapple with new regulations pertaining to sustainability initiatives. Financial advisors at Swedish banks play a vital role in promoting sustainable investments. However, due to its inherent complexity, effective sustainability communication mandates extensive expertise, which is why it often fails to be practiced successfully. Utilizing the three modes of sustainability communication, alongside the Organizational Paradox Theory and the business ethics of CSR as a fundamental framework, an inductive content analysis was undertaken on the empirical data, comprising interviews conducted with financial advisors employed across multiple Swedish banks. The study focuses on financial advisors' perceptions of their own sustainability communication and the challenges they are faced with. It was found that some advisors do not discuss sustainability, while others found their communication on this topic ineffective, and several barriers contribute to the ineffectiveness. The analysis identified challenges in utilizing all three modes of sustainability communication, as well as multiple paradoxes at play which are all contributing to the difficulties faced by financial advisors. Furthermore, it was underlined that financial advisors can greatly improve their communication on sustainability and effectively promote sustainable investments by utilizing the paradox framework of banks developed in this study as a starting point, and seeking support from strategic communication specialists. This finding underscores the crucial role of effective communication in addressing sustainability challenges within the field of finance and creating a more sustainable future. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9117551
- author
- Czajkowski Mikalsen, Julia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SKOK11 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- strategic communication, sustainability communication, sustainable investments, Swedish banks, financial advisors, advisory meetings, paradoxes, perspectives of CSR
- language
- English
- id
- 9117551
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-28 09:07:56
- date last changed
- 2023-08-28 09:07:56
@misc{9117551,
abstract = {{The pressing issue of sustainability necessitates a broader collaboration span across all fields, such as finance and communication. Investments hold substantial power in the current sustainability reform, and it is therefore crucial that they not only meet the escalating demands of society but also actively contribute to forging a better future. The financial industry continues to grapple with new regulations pertaining to sustainability initiatives. Financial advisors at Swedish banks play a vital role in promoting sustainable investments. However, due to its inherent complexity, effective sustainability communication mandates extensive expertise, which is why it often fails to be practiced successfully. Utilizing the three modes of sustainability communication, alongside the Organizational Paradox Theory and the business ethics of CSR as a fundamental framework, an inductive content analysis was undertaken on the empirical data, comprising interviews conducted with financial advisors employed across multiple Swedish banks. The study focuses on financial advisors' perceptions of their own sustainability communication and the challenges they are faced with. It was found that some advisors do not discuss sustainability, while others found their communication on this topic ineffective, and several barriers contribute to the ineffectiveness. The analysis identified challenges in utilizing all three modes of sustainability communication, as well as multiple paradoxes at play which are all contributing to the difficulties faced by financial advisors. Furthermore, it was underlined that financial advisors can greatly improve their communication on sustainability and effectively promote sustainable investments by utilizing the paradox framework of banks developed in this study as a starting point, and seeking support from strategic communication specialists. This finding underscores the crucial role of effective communication in addressing sustainability challenges within the field of finance and creating a more sustainable future.}},
author = {{Czajkowski Mikalsen, Julia}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Bridging the Gap: Converging Finance and Strategic Communication for Sustainable Impact}},
year = {{2023}},
}