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‘The quest for social value’
The narrative of IKEAs partnership with social entrepreneurs
Klara Wellén
Human Rights, Department of Global Political Studies Bachelor Thesis
15 credits Spring 2020
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Abstract
Narratives in corporate storytelling is a powerful and persuasive tool for validation of Corporate Social Responsibility. To further their social mission, IKEA partner with social entrepreneurs, a collaboration which produce products or services for IKEA while creating incomes for the social entrepreneurs, claimed by IKEA as a win. In this thesis, the win-win narrative is analysed with a management theory applied in a critical perspective in conjunction with a narrative method. The aim is to investigate the validity of the win-win narrative produced by IKEA in this partnership to identify to what extent this narrative meets the reality of IKEAs CSR and human rights commitments. Issues investigated are to what end this narrative is produced, what is the dominant narrative, what is not presented and how are the social entrepreneurs represented in the IKEA narrative.
Key words: Corporate Social Responsibility, Social entrepreneurship, IKEA, Corporate
narratives
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Table of Content
List of abbreviations ... 4
1. Introduction ... 5
1.2 Research problem ... 6
1.3 Aim and purpose... 6
1.4 Research question ... 7
1.5 Relevance to human rights... 7
1.6 Delimitations ... 8
2. Previous research... 8
2.1 Advancement of CSR... 9
2.2 Social Entrepreneurship...10
2.3 Social entrepreneurship and the corporation...11
2.4 Corporate storytelling...12
2.5 Positionality ...13
3. Theory ... 13
3.1 The concept of Creating Shared Value...14
3.2 A critical perspective of Creating Shared Value ...16
3.3 Application and critical reflection ...18
4. Method and Material ... 18
4.1 Narrative method analysis ...18
4.1.1 Application and critical reflections...21
4.2 Material ...22
5. IKEA Case presentation ... 23
5.1 Background ...23
5.2 Social responsibility ...23
5.2.1 Yalla Trappan...24
5.3 IKEA from another perspective...25
6. Analysis ... 27
6.1 Narrative on values and CSR actions ...27
6.2 Narrative on social entrepreneurship ...30
6.3 Narrative by Yalla Trappan...33
7. Conclusion... 37
7.1 Further research ...38
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List of abbreviations
CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility MNC- Multinational Corporation
CSE- Corporate Social Entrepreneurship CSV- Creating Shared Value
UNGP- United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights ILO- International Labour Organisation
SDGs- Sustainable Development Goals
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1. Introduction
On what ethical ground can multinational corporations present an image of themselves as socially responsible when it is primarily based on their own interests, presented in a manner which neglects harmful corporate practises? This is one issue of the concept Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR lack one definition although the general aspects are defined as a framework for corporate operation and strategies which is influenced by an ethical standard, based on the growing belief that corporations hold a certain degree of responsibility, due to negative corporate impact on social and environmental issues. CSR engagements has become the norm for corporations to maintain on the market and in the 1990s, CSR had a remarkable rise which also brought new perspectives. Although, CSR remains until today a contested concept. The main critique is that the development of CSR has legitimised a discourse of ethicality and responsibility in corporate action, which in practise has small-scale positive impact on social issues and is ultimately beneficial of economic profitability and the corporate brand on the market. Arguably, an extended avenue for the growth of corporate capitalism under the disguise of social responsibility (Walker- Said 2015: 1-2). As a reaction to this, new perspectives on this developed where scholars aimed at researching an advancement of the previous limited efforts of CSR, to create a strategy which would have substantial positive social impact. Conclusively, social innovation, partnerships between sectors and new management solutions for creating social value was identified. One of these research fields developed was in social entrepreneurship. Due to its impact on sustainable development, partnerships with social entrepreneurs became of interest for corporations, predominantly as it provided opportunity for the combination of economic and social value (Huybrechts and Nicholls 2012: 1-4).
The interest point for this thesis is the collaboration between Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and social entrepreneurs as an effort of extending the social value for the corporation while increasing profitability. IKEA is one of the largest furniture brands on the global market and has collaborated with social entrepreneurs since 2012. In recent years, this engagement has grown, both in partnerships and in publicised communications. These are business partnerships and not charity, as this provides both economic and social value to the
corporation while also being beneficial for the social enterprise which is claimed by IKEA to be a win-win outcome. This claim will be examined in this thesis with a critical perspective
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on the narrative produced by IKEA. IKEA was chosen for this research based on their worldwide positive reputation in their CSR efforts, listed on corporations for best CSR reputation by Forbes (Valet 2019) and recognised as a forerunner in corporate storytelling. With a curiosity of why that is, this thesis will analyse how IKEA present their partnership with social entrepreneurs with a human rights perspective. Researching CSR efforts is rather limited to what the corporation themselves publish and as these publications are part of communications and PR, a critical perspective is needed to deconstruct what is and is not presented and in what aim. In this thesis that is based on a critical theoretical framework, a narrative method, and narration on the partnership by one of the social entrepreneurs collaborated with, Yalla Trappan in Malmö. The narrative method has a central role in this thesis as this provides insights on the corporate storytelling and what image is produced by IKEA about themselves and enables a critical viewpoint of the claimed win-win outcome when partnering with social entrepreneurs.
1.2 Research problem
The overarching research problem is the issue of how narratives are used by corporations in their presentation of themselves in relation to being socially responsible whether this is a tool for persuasion and validation for a flawed social responsibility compliance or a presentation with substantial ground in efforts and concerns for social change. In this thesis, the issue investigated is the claim by IKEA that their partnership with social entrepreneurs is equally beneficial and result in a win-win outcome. When large corporations collaborate with often marginalised entrepreneurs, issues of power dynamics, agency, purpose, how this is narrated and presented are part of possible problematic elements as this tension could result in issues of exploitation. In this thesis, the case of IKEAs presentation of their partnership with social entrepreneurship is used to explore these issues with a foundation in how IKEA present themselves in validity as socially responsible.
1.3 Aim and purpose
The aim is to investigate the impact of the narrative created by IKEA in their partnerships with social entrepreneurs. This is the case of IKEAs social mission of collaboration with social entrepreneurs to further their social responsibilities while simultaneously creating
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economic profitability and brand value through these business partnerships. To first analyse IKEAs presentation of CSR commitments, values and collaboration with social entrepreneurs provides insights on the desired narrative of the IKEA brand and social impact commitment. Then using the partnership with the social enterprise Yalla Trappan to gain deeper insight, facilitates an analysis on possible controversies of the collaboration not presented by IKEA themselves. The aim is to essentially investigate the validity of the win-win narrative produced by IKEA in their engagement with social entrepreneurs.
1.4 Research question
To what extent does IKEAs narration of the partnership with social entrepreneurs as a win-win, meet the reality of their commitment to social responsibility?
1.5 Relevance to human rights
The discussion on the relation between business and human rights has developed from
questioning its relevance to questions of how to address human rights issues through business operations. The growth in interest originated from cases of corporations’ irresponsibility toward social and environmental issues combined with the rising power of corporations in society as in some cases, MNCs began to have greater power and influence than the States they operate in, thus creating a larger responsibility for ensuring human rights. One prominent issue has been Western MNCs operating in developing countries where issues of exploiting the local population in various ways has been reported (Nolan 2016a: 21-24). The United Nations, among other actors in society, developed initiatives and frameworks to fill the governance gap in human rights issues between nation-states and corporations which resulted from globalisation. The UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights, International Labour Organisation and the UN Global Compact are some examples of these which also are incorporated in the IKEA business guidelines (Nolan 2016b: 55-63). Sustainability Reports are produced every financial year for corporations to communicate their financial, social, and environmental commitments to sustainable development and social responsibilities. Since the formation in 2015 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), consisting of 17 goals for eliminating poverty, ensuring equality and environmental sustainability among
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others, is commonly used as a foundation in these reports. Relevant for this thesis, is a growing interest that social entrepreneurship can play a significant role in reaching these goals, thus, also an avenue for corporations to collaborate with as part of their CSR
commitment (Seelos et al. 2006: 236-237). The main human rights perspective in this thesis, apart from CSR, is the collaboration between an MNC and social entrepreneurs. When large corporations collaborate with marginalised people, there is an unequal power dynamic from the beginning which could be problematic as this tension needs to be addressed in a manner which is not exploitive of the marginalised group. Investigated is the reasoning behind this partnership as well as how it is presented in corporate narratives.
1.6 Delimitations
The focus of this thesis is the business partnerships IKEA has with social entrepreneurs, those who produce products and services for IKEA. Thus, the investments in social
entrepreneurship outside the IKEA business is not the narrative focused on. Neither is the work of the IKEA Foundation as this is solely a philanthropic interest. Recognised is that the use of Yalla Trappan as an input of a perspective of the social entrepreneurs, solely represent that one perspective and is not necessarily transferable to other social entrepreneurs. It merely functions as a perspective not based on the publications of IKEA to highlight other
dimensions and controversies of the partnership.
2. Previous research
This section function as an introduction to concepts and definitions of related aspects of this thesis and to demonstrate the previous research which led to the choice of the focus on social entrepreneurship as corporations’ expansion of CSR. This section also introduces the concept of corporate storytelling as a feature in corporate communications.
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2.1 Advancement of CSR
The creation of ‘The pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility’ by Archie Carroll was pivotal as it defined categories of CSR which also initiated the advancement of CSR. The categories and their statuses are economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic where the first two being defined as required, the third is expected and the fourth being desirable. These
definitions became the foundation for the developments of advancing CSR due to
disagreements on what should be considered requested, expected, and desirable. This was introduced in 1991, with a revised version in 2003 where these categories are placed in a Venn diagram to eliminate the hierarchical structure and see how the intertwine in an aim to improve the understanding of the relationship between business and society (Schwartz and Carrol 2003: p.503-509).
A thorough review of CSR as a business, governance, and ethical system since the 1970s is presented by Visser (2012) where the different developments of CSR is presented throughout different stages and reasons for why it arguably, has failed. Determining the success or failure of a concept as CSR is based on the positive or negative impact of business on society and environment. Claimed is that although CSR has grown and is incorporated in essentially all businesses, the social and environmental health of our globe has not improved, especially not due to corporate responsibility. In this article, Visser defines different ages with a respectively approach to CSR in an aim of identifying reasons for its lack of positive impact on society. The fundamental aspect of the failure of CSR is argued to be capitalistic greed which has corrupted business, governance, and ethics notions. The age of greed is defensive CSR which is limited actions of responsibility only considered if it can protect shareholder value. The age of philanthropy is charitable CSR where corporations make donations or sponsorships usually through a foundation in an aim at community or organisation empowerment. The age of marketing is a promotional CSR approach which is mainly a marketing tool and public
relations opportunity to enhance brand value. This can use practices of charitable and strategic CSR and change it into the language of PR, introducing the concept of ‘greenwashing’. The age of management which is a strategic approach to CSR where responsibility is related to the corporations’ core business. This is often done through policies, CSR codes, goals, program implementation and reporting. This is a focus on the micro-changes a corporation can engage in. Finally, the age of responsibility is defined as a systemic approach to CSR which are activities aimed at the root causes of the issues aimed at solving, usually done through
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innovative business models, revolutionising products and services and lobbying for systematic policy changes nationally and globally. This is a macro-level changes which corporations can be involved in. Argued by Visser, is if corporations stay in the first four stages, CSR will continue to fail (Visser 2012: 1-3).
The principles for what he calls CSR 2.0 is framed in the concepts of innovation, creativity, scalability, sustainability, responsiveness, globality and circularity. It is argued that for business to fundamentally change towards social and environmental improvements, these ideals need to be incorporated in the core business strategy (Visser 2012: 8-12). This open for the growing academic interest of social entrepreneurship.
2.2 Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship is inherently an interdisciplinary field where ideas from business, charity and social movements are revised to create new approaches for sustainable social value for community solutions. It is argued that social entrepreneurship brings a new standard of scale and reach of the generated social impact to have effect on a more systematic level. The growth of social entrepreneurship is most likely due to the measurable impact in
improving the lives of the most disadvantaged groups in society and globally. Inspiring stories has proven the validity of social entrepreneurship, as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh which developed a new innovative approach for people living in poverty to access loans which transformed economic development and alleviated poverty. This social enterprise also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Social enterprises’ ability to reach the people furthest from the economic market in providing products, services or jobs is the essence for its success.
Additionally, movements as Fair Trade has systematically changed consumer consciousness about social issues and realised the powerful impact of consumer behaviours toward
corporations (Nicholls 2006: 2-5). Social entrepreneurship is multifaceted and operate in many different fields, the development of social entrepreneurship has been essential in reshaping the view on social value creation. Mair et al. (2006) described social
entrepreneurship to be a research field in the start-up mode where some elements developed from non-profit leadership research, thus, social entrepreneurship is the intersection of management and social issues. A branch of this field is focused on the MNC and their CSR engagement (Mair et al. 2006: 1-3). A prominent view of social entrepreneurship is its
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connection to sustainable development, in economic, social, and environmental terms so the SDGs are usually the foundation for corporations’ commitment in their CSR report, thus social entrepreneurship is claimed to have an ideal place within CSR actions (Seelos et al. 2006: 235-237).
2.3 Social entrepreneurship and the corporation
The study of entrepreneurship can either be in the social sphere or in the corporate.
Entrepreneurship in the corporate sphere is mainly in redefining market opportunities through innovation and organisation to create a new competitive advantage. The concept of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) is a combination of the two, a mission of using
entrepreneurship as a corporate practise with a combined social and economic aim. One definition of this is “the process of extending the firm’s domain of competence and
corresponding opportunity set through innovative leveraging of resources, both within and outside its direct control, aimed at the simultaneous creation of economic and social value” (Austin et al. 2006: 170). CSE function as the process of acceleration of social initiatives and an approach to strengthen strategic corporate citizenship as improving from the previous notion of charity and philanthropy. There are various ‘push and pull factors’ for why corporations ought to engage in more robust forms of CSR. The major push factor is the expectation by the public stakeholders as consumers, employees, and communities. The aspiration for CSE is to go beyond these defensive reactions resulting from societal expectations, thus the pull factor is the rewarding aspect from consumers as it increases profits while enhancing the corporate brand on the market (Austin et al. 2006: 169-176). Austin and Reficco (2009) argue that for CSE to be effective, corporations need to shift to an entrepreneurial mindset and cultivate an entrepreneurial environment to transform the entire business way of operating. A strong vision and an encouraging leadership for all parts of the corporation to be innovative and collaborative is necessary for the success of CSE. For
corporations to change its management approaches to become entrepreneurial and incorporate CSE, the need for individuals in the corporation as key drivers of innovation with the focus of internal organisational transformation into an advanced CSR is how innovation is ensured in practice. These people are the corporate intrapreneurs (Austin and Reficco 2009: 2-6). Another important aspect is partnerships and alliances with other corporations, social sector
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organisation or social enterprises. This is an essential part of successful CSE due to one of the challenges with CSE is the lack of skills and knowledge within social value creation and the needs of marginalised communities. The positive outcomes of CSE is the sustainability of the business in growth and profitability, while also bringing employee satisfaction resulting in quality work and good reputation of the corporation as employer and engagement in social issues (Zaefarian et al. 2015: 320-330).
One challenge of CSE, like CSR, is the lack of one definition of social entrepreneurship, making CSE a contested phenomenon and highly contextual due to its interdisciplinarity. Additionally, criticism towards corporations presenting social entrepreneurship through an emphasis on the individual entrepreneur as the hero could be problematic as it reflect Western cultural values in a field where collective action is central and thus of equal importance is the empowerment of the local institutions and partnerships. These challenges are argued for in need of further academic research (Huybrechts and Nicholls 2012: 7-10).
2.4 Corporate storytelling
Storytelling can be a powerful corporate management tool to facilitate the business to thrive. This is commonly used in explaining and communicating strategies, corporate culture and values as well as strengthening the brand image. Storytelling in various ways is a universal medium for connecting people. It is believed to be so powerful due to its existence since the beginning of time and being the first way, we learn to communicate as children and later, how we express our own experiences. The performance of this storytelling is what makes it
compelling or not, rememberable or not, interesting, or not. Telling stories has been parable as an artform, demanding practise and skills. There is no one definition of a good story, although to have the target group and context in mind is of importance and knowledge of rhetoric and narratology to enable a convincing portrait. General business objective in storytelling is to build trust, inform, persuade, and inspire. The fundamental aspect for success is authenticity as it needs to be reliant on facts although presented in a language which stirs emotion in the reader, often in a positive aspect. If the story is not reliant of facts and truths, storytelling can have devastated negative effects as the validity of the person or corporation telling the story collapses (Forman 2013: 1-6, 22-32).
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These stories, which can be found in essentially all publicised texts by corporations, are carefully designed in what words are chosen, what pictures to present, colours, size and layout all play a role in creating the desired image. This is to introduce themselves, their identity, products, and services as the better option to attract more customers and increase sales. In corporate texts on CSR engagement, complex issues as climate change and corporate impact on human rights are presented through a simplified, positive story. The story presented in a backdrop of ‘conscious capitalism’ is a critique against corporate storytelling. This narrative created can influence the audience’s perspective to a state of detachment from reality, a bubble where their analytic or scepticism is driven by the positive narrative created. Thus, this bubble can enable corporations to not present the full picture of these complex issues and affect how consumers view these issues and the corporations’ action within them. This often contribute to customers feeling powerful in their consumer behaviour and under the
impression that they can be a force of change in issues from saving the planet to alleviating poverty of the women in the global south. The corporate brand benefits from the feel-good and do-good ideology (Chen and Eriksson 2019: 1-2).
2.5 Positionality
This thesis takes a stance in the future aspect when a corporation engages in what has been defined as more advanced CSR, to further analyse whether the foundational critique of CSR still exists. Specifically, how the narration of these ‘better’ efforts in CSR are communicated, the function of to what end this narrative is produced, with a view on the problematic and possible harm this entails. This will contribute to insights on how CSR find new avenues and narratives to legitimise the corporations’ ethicality as a promoter and protector of human rights.
3. Theory
This section outlines the theoretical framework for this thesis. As this is a topic of business and human rights, a management theoretical concept is used with a critical perspective to enable an analysis from the social aspect in terms of human rights, exploitation, and harmful
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corporate practices. Included is also the choice and application of this framework with a critical reflection.
3.1 The concept of Creating Shared Value
The concept of Creating Shared Value has had great influence in the field of practical reshaping CSR towards a more advanced and innovative approach by incorporating a larger perspective of the corporates’ mission for solving social issues within their business strategy of economic profitability. The concept was developed by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, scholars at Harvard University and frequent publishers in Harvard Business Review where the concept was first introduced in 2006 and further explained in 2011. The focus of the article from 2006 was exploring strategic frameworks for advanced CSR to better the relationship between business and society fundamentally based on corporate advantage. The failings of previous CSR efforts are claimed to be due to society and business being put against one another when they indeed are interdependent. The second reason is that CSR has not been considered as a core value incorporated in the fundamental business strategy, if it were it would reveal opportunities in innovation for business and social value creation. The framework is created through mapping the social impact of the corporations’ value chain which is all activities involved when doing business. Through this, corporations can identify and handle the negative and positive outcomes of their operations. Their strategic approach enables proactive efforts of CSR, move the corporation ahead of being merely a good corporate citizen and fundamentally shift how corporations engage in social issues while improving the brand value. This embraces the opportunities of Creating Shared Value (CSV) (Porter and Kramer 2006: 1-10).
In the article of 2011, the CSV concept is extendedly explained. They framed it ‘The Big Idea- Creating Shared Value. How to reinvent capitalism—and unleash a wave of innovation and growth’ (Porter and Kramer 2011: 1). Provenly, it became a pivotal management concept as it claimed new insights and ideas of the corporation in society. They further their claim of CSR practices not being an inherent part of business strategies and only functions at the periphery which makes corporations stuck in a social responsibility mode of operations with limited social impact. For them, corporations must be the leading change in bringing business and society back together, thus, have a new approach of economic value creation which
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simultaneously creates social value. For them, a successful and thriving society is dependent of a successful and thriving businesses, and vice versa. CSV is labelled a business and management concept due to its aim of achieving economic success and the core idea that capitalism is “the unparalleled vehicle for meeting human needs, improving efficiency, creating jobs, and building wealth” (Porter and Kramer 2011: 4). It is this new perspective of capitalism which will unleash this potential as claimed the commonly narrow view of
capitalism has prevented corporations from addressing societal issues.
There are three avenues for corporation to create Shared Value, and efforts in one of them lead to improvements in all. First by reconceiving products and markets would mean for the corporation to decide what type of social issues their products or services would fit as a solution and what new market to aim at. The idea is that by serving disadvantaged
communities and developing countries provides great opportunities as they previously have not been acknowledged as viable markets. By amending the products or distribution to fit the need of the disadvantaged can bring substantial profitability for the corporation while have a deep societal benefit. This avenue is essentially asking whether the products are good for the costumers, in terms of societal needs. An example of this is microfinancing or job creation for marginalised groups. Secondly, by redefining productivity in the value chain is essentially about increasing efficiency in time and costs, which also has a positive impact on a social issue. This could be in reduce excess packaging or more effective transports and logistics. An example of this is investing in local suppliers to improve quality of the product which provide higher income for them, reduce environmental impact, and provide the corporation with better quality products and social value creation. Third, by building supportive industry clusters at the company’s locations is about enhancing productivity through partnerships and
collaborations with local institutions, organisations, and suppliers. The aim is to identify gaps in the local setting, which is also the greatest constraint on the growth of the corporation, where a local collaboration can solve the issue more cost efficient. This will enable a
circularity of social and economic development. An example of this is investment of industry support to improve conditions and production through educational programs, advising and provide skilled work often in collaboration with multiple actors. Additionally, acknowledged is the potential of social entrepreneurship. Due to not being conformed in traditional business strategies, social entrepreneurs are often at advantage of corporations in discovering
innovative opportunities for social needs. The promise of CSV to bring powerful growth and have substantial social impact lies in treating these issues from a productivity approach rather
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than a feel-good approach. This is claimed to be the persuasion for implementing it in practise as it creates a real commitment by the corporation. Focusing on the right kind of profits, step away from philanthropy, an entrepreneurial mindset and a combined view of economic and social value are the key aspects of CSV, and will ultimately legitimise the corporation in society again based on the win-win outcome of this approach (Porter and Kramer 2011: 7-17).
3.2 A critical perspective of Creating Shared Value
Fleming and Jones published an influential book of criticisms and critique of CSR with the strong opening stating that CSR never really begun. It is a perspective fundamentally funded in criticism of capitalism where economic profitability is the priority and a systematic way of doing business, where the existing CSR efforts will never have any substantial positive effect in creating social value. The core notion of the CSR paradox is the aim of solving issues created by corporations in the first place. They are essentially rejecting CSR and business ethics all together, in their argument that all CSR activities is fundamentally about maximising profit and strengthening of the corporate brand. For them, CSR brings a fake notion of ethics to the inherent anti-social formation that is the MNC. Claimed that behind a veil of social and environmental well-being lies a more disconcerting institutional logic and the need to view CSR efforts upon the interest of financial profitability, brand value and corporate power due to the capitalistic society they function within (Fleming and Jones 2012: 11-18, 27). Regarding the role of social entrepreneurship, this perspective is sceptical of the corporations interest of ‘unlocking’ the potential and now acknowledging the opportunity of the ‘new markets’ in disadvantaged or developing communities as these have been seen as non-viable markets precisely due to corporate capitalism. Emphasised is the view of this as an enhanced marketing practise to improve brand value (Fleming and Jones 2012: 111-112). Acknowledging the pivotal writings of the CSV concept, as an idea which would constitute as the ‘enlightened self-interest’, a term used to describe corporate action which benefits both society and the business, generating the ‘win-win’ situation. However, the ‘enlightened self-interest’ is a normative goal claimed by Fleming and Jones, a systematically impossible aim for business to function within through their CSR efforts. CSV is essentially validating a dangerous ideology of the ‘win-win’ outcome of such activities which ultimately enable more power to the already powerful corporation (Fleming and Jones 2012: 39-40). The win-win notion is in this critical perspective more related to social exploitation which fuel the idea of
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the ‘ethical corporation’. Ultimately, the gap between the core functions of an MNC is far from the carefully selected words on social values in their sustainability reports due to being dictated by the economic system they are a part of. The major objection is the ‘win-win’ notion of advanced CSR which is particularly interesting due to the research question in this thesis (Fleming and Jones 2012: 20-22).
Additional critique of CSV is also predominantly based on the win-win notion. Crane et al. (2014) argue that the concept provides a simplistic approach to complex problem, claiming an easy win-win outcome in relation to issues involving systematic injustices, especially
potentially harmful when involving collaboration with marginalised people. Instead of endorsing moral common good, CSV endorses a more sophisticated approach to
greenwashing. The concept aims at transforming and legitimising business on a macro-level, but the solutions are found at a micro-level, at the easy to reach solutions providing a good corporate image. There is a paradox in the claim to rethink the purpose of business by enhancing just that purpose, maximising profits (Crane et al. 2014: 137- 141). An important critique of CSV is a cultural one based on its Western roots with solutions aimed at issues with a disproportionate impact on the ‘developing’ or ‘emerging’ communities while also utilise these communities as part of the solution, thus, a critical perspective of the cultural and social context is needed. In the claim of the win-win outcome of Western corporations
partnering with non-Western local suppliers or entrepreneurs, a perspective of the systematic power dynamics cannot be neglected. The power and prestige connected to the Harvard Business Review and the two scholars, reflect on the inherent Western corporate and capitalist take on values as well as market behaviours and fitting solutions. It is argued that a
generalised concept as CSV, with this strong Western influence, will fail to see the
multifaceted nature and nuances of non-Western cultural and social contexts. By proclaiming CSV as a transformative win-win concept, indicates a level of Western imperialism and paternalism as it fundamentally neglects cultural power dynamics where the marginalised people rarely get an equally big part of the ‘win’ (Voltan et al. 2017: 347-349, 358).
Additionally, this perspective is essential in a thesis of this nature and adds another dimension to the research question in terms of representation. Especially concerning IKEAs partnerships with social entrepreneurs in developing countries and vulnerable communities.
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3.3 Application and critical reflection
This theory section functions as a guideline of how to connect, and what to consider as, core drivers for CSR when analysing the material and to interpret, problematise and deconstruct the narrative produced, in this case related to the partnership between IKEA and social entrepreneurship. A theoretical framework when applying a narrative method is essential for interpreting the material based on theory rather than based on personal interests and
experience. It is not to claim an objectivity, as the nature of this thesis is a critical one and the choices made throughout the thesis has been made for this aim. Still, this function as a
framework for placing the analysis in an academic approach. Inherent to a narrative method is a narrative theory which is ideas of how narratives are created, what influences, aims and experiences shape a narrative. A narrative theory is often applied in conjunction with other types of theories as feminism, Marxism or queer theory depending on research. In this thesis on CSR, a business and management theory of Creating Shared Value was needed and chosen to place the narrative in this field and applied with a critical perspective to incorporate a human rights approach. Thus, in this thesis, the element of narrative theory has its function in the methodology.
4. Method and Material
The following section will present what a narrative method is and how it has been used in this thesis, including a critical reflection on this choice and application. Then a presentation of the material on which the theoretical framework and narrative method will be applied to,
including why this material has been chosen.
4.1 Narrative method analysis
Telling stories about experiences is an ancient, universal human activity and perhaps the first way of communication we learn as children which continues throughout our lives. Individuals create stories which represent the world around them and their interpretation of it. Past events are constructed through human agency which in personal narratives create an identity and
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construct life stories. These stories create meaning and in a social context they also reflect structures of power (Riessman 1993: 2-3 and Daiute 2014: 2-6). The widespread use, in multiple areas of research, of narrative analysis is based on its robust essence beyond the individual. People are the creators of the experienced story and these are also transferred to identity groups, governments, and organisations in presenting stories about themselves to create identity and values. It is commonly used in communications strategies as narratives effect social interactions and stirs emotion that other communications do not, meaning narratives can also be a tool of performance and persuasion. In short, narratives are strategic,
functional, and purposeful especially when applied on organisations, in the political sphere or in social change movements. Using this method in analysis, the aim is to investigate beyond
the surface story to see to what end and purpose this narrative was created (Riessman 2008: 7- 8).
Despite it interdisciplinarity, scholars agree to certain key characteristics of what a narrative is. First, tracing back to the claims of Aristotle that narratives has a beginning, middle and end which create a plot and this plot is the foundation for the narrative as it stirs emotion in the reader. Thus, it is agreed that a chronological sequencing is important in a narrative
(Riessman 1993: 17, 2008: 4, Elliot 2005: 4, Czarniawska 1998: 2). The sequencing of events in the story is believed as important due to its reflection of the social context (Elliot 2005: 4) as where and when a narrative is beginning or ending can greatly modify its meaning
(Riessman 1993: 19). Second, foundational to sociology is also the quest for understanding the meaning of behaviour and experiences. In narratives this meaning is created through the interpretation of how the narrative is communicated in terms of what is significant and emphasised in the presentation. Third, the social context plays a prominent role in storytelling as the material always bears in mind who is telling the story and to whom (Elliot 2005: 4).
Narrative analysis in social sciences functions predominantly as an interpretive tool and depending on the research, various branches of the methodology can be selected. Translating narrative into common tongue as storytelling emphasises its application to create and
construct stories in a certain manner and in a particular context. Therefore, the objective of a narrative analysis is to investigate and interpret the story itself. In addition to textual
materials, narrative analysis can also be applied on video or images which also tell a story in how they are presented. Narrative analysis is a qualitative method characterised by analysing the story itself and its whole presentation, whereas in traditional qualitative methods of interpretation usually fragment the text to analyse pieces of it which eliminates the whole
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story produced. These aspects are what differentiate narrative analysis from content and discourse analysis (Riessman 1993: 1-5).
The foundation of the analysis in this thesis is threefold, in content, form and context. This is a combination of models of narrative analysis presented by Riessman as thematic, structural, and interactional analysis. The content is analysed in a thematic approach which focuses on what is presented in the narrative and organised by themes. This is helpful in case studies with a holistic approach where a thematic organising can clarify the various contents while also finding common thematic elements. This essentially provides an overarching analysis of what information is chosen for the narrative. The form is analysed in a structural approach which shift focus to the way a narrative is presented in how and why it is presented in a certain manner. The investigation of language determines the persuasiveness of the narrative as the how and why, produce what image is desired in the narrative and this is where the detailed narrative produces meaning for the underlying story and to what end it is created. The context is analysed in an interactional approach which focuses on the relation between who is telling the story and to whom. Additionally, the social context of power relations and agency is available for analysis here which allows for analysis of the features of the narrative in what is the dominant narrative, who is represented in the narrative and how are social contexts
acknowledged. Extending from this is a performative aspect often found in communications as persuasion in how the narrators want to be known and performing their identity. Here, the use of visuals as images or videos is a contemporary innovative tool for legitimisation, although, also opens for critique (Riessman 2005: 1-5).
For this thesis, the central concept of values needs to be incorporated when analysing the content, form, and context. Values are goals and guidelines for ways of knowing,
experiencing, and acting in relation to the social, economic, and political surroundings.
Narratives produce stories, but values determine the selection and arrangement of that story to fall in line with the value-image desired to display. Simply put, values organise the narrative for a certain purpose. Value analysis has previously been useful in research on social change, development, and human rights (Daiute 2014: 68-69, 87).
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4.1.1 Application and critical reflections
A narrative method has been chosen as the focus of this thesis is corporate storytelling in CSR to analyse what impact and implications specific narratives create. The threefold approach has been chosen due to the complex narrative produced in CSR efforts, and in this thesis the three components need to be included to enable an answer to the research question. Using this as a methodology, enables a holistic approach to the narrative created as it opens for analysis of what is communicated, the linguistics used, the context of the story, how images are presented and the role of cultural aspects as well as the persuasiveness of how it is presented.
Essentially, an analysis of what does this narrative do. A narrative analysis can widely vary in results depending on the values and interest of the interpreter. Thus, relying on a theory guides what to focus on in the interpretation process of the narratives. The theoretical
framework is based on a critical perspective of CSV and advanced CSR. Therefore, values, power dynamics and the notion of a win-win outcome are the guidelines for applying this narrative method.
In this analysis, the method has been applied first to understand the image IKEA desire to
produce on their CSR engagement through corporate values. Then, to understand the desired outcome in the presentation of partnership with social entrepreneurs. By doing this first from IKEAs own presentation and then using Yalla Trappan as an additional insight enable a problematisation of the win-win narrative in terms of representation and possible exploitive elements. The method has been applied systematically on the material and considered are aspects as the layout in what is presented in the headlines, what is emphasised, what is the dominant narrative and what is excluded from the narrative. The first dimension of analysis is in noting the validity and strong brand that IKEA is through an analysis of their values and CSR engagement. Secondly, in identifying how elements of the theoretical framework is incorporated in IKEA and the narrative of the win-win in partnering with social entrepreneurs. Then, a narrative by Yalla Trappan is analysed to deepen the analysis. Essentially, the
narrative method aims at analysing what does this narrative do. In using this method, one need
to be aware of their own narrative and own interpretation of values. The aim is to rely on the theory to guide the decisions for critical aspects in the analysis. A narrative analysis is a mirroring of the story presented, not a copying of the reality, and will be influenced by my own choices in this thesis. In writing this, there is a need to be transparent in the choices made to show how my interpretation is guided and for what cause.
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4.2 Material
The selection of material is guided by the research question and theoretical framework. The material used for the narrative analysis in this thesis is the publicised communications by IKEA. ‘The testament of a furniture dealer’ written by Kamprad himself in 1976, is a
handbook on the IKEA values and culture which is used in internal trainings and a publicised text. This material function as a presentation for the core values in IKEA which has created the brand it is today. The IKEA Sustainability Report FY19 (SRFY19) provides a holistic overview of the corporations’ social responsibilities while also providing what role in this belongs to social entrepreneurship. The webpage ikeasocialentrepreneurship.org is a platform devoted to describing IKEAs involvement in social entrepreneurship. This material provides both a holistic view of the engagement in social entrepreneurship while also providing the specific narrative communicated in describing this engagement in texts as well as images. The material used for Yalla Trappans’ perspective is predominantly based on a lecture held by Christina Merker-Siesjö, founder of Yalla Trappan, at KC Kompetenscenter in Malmö where the partnership with IKEA is described during the last 10 minutes. This material is used to provide more in detail particularly of the struggles in the partnership but also how the partnership developed to what it is today from their perspective. In an aim of furthering this information from the lecture, in a hope for a more detailed description of how the negotiations were handled mainly in terms of Yalla Trappans’ agency and participation in outlining the criteria of the partnership, I reached out for an interview. As it was not possible to get in contact with Christina, I had a phone interview with the Head of Operations at Yalla Trappan. This did not add much value, as I had hoped, due to her not being part of this process as she has been working at Yalla Trappan since 2015. However, it is incorporated in this thesis in an aim of transparency, additional information from Yalla Trappan and basis for analysis. This interview does not function as a method in this thesis but merely in an aim of gather
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5. IKEA Case presentation
5.1 Background
In 1943, Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA at 17 years old by selling pens and picture frames in a small village in Sweden, where the living standards and opportunities at that time was limited, so an entrepreneurial mindset and innovative skills became a means for survival. Therefore, the roots of this now global MNC are essential as the values created by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943 still are the core driving force of IKEA in everything they do. The solutions from the challenges over the years is what have made IKEA successful, for example, the pivotal change in selling the furniture in flat packages to be self-assembled at home. Kamprad wanted to sell quality furniture at a low cost with a vision which remains today: to create a better everyday life for the many people (IKEA Our Heritage webpage). The IKEA culture and values are formed from its history and start-up in the Swedish countryside and
maintaining these values created by the founder is claimed to be essential for IKEAs success. The key values are presented as down-to-earth, togetherness, cost-conscious, democracy, equality and innovation which has created a unique business approach for the corporation (IKEA Culture & Values webpage). Described as the holy bible of the IKEA culture is ‘The testament of a furniture dealer’ written by Kamprad himself in 1976 where he founded the unique IKEA business strategy (Kamprad 1976). Now, with 211.000 co-workers, 433 IKEA stores in more than 50 markets and with 41.3 billion EUR in IKEA retail sales in FY19, IKEA is one of the most well-known home furniture brands with a strong establishment in the globalised market and with this comes a social responsibility (SRFY19).
5.2 Social responsibility
IKEAs commitment to social responsibility is evident in everything that is communicated. All corporate action must be in line with their vision of creating a better life for the many people. The IWAY is a code of conduct based on international guidelines, documents and
conventions on human rights, environmental protection, and labour standards in addition to IKEAs own values, which since the launch in 2000 is incorporated in all IKEAs activities. The IWAY is continuously updated to follow emerging global issues and the compliance is regularly monitored (SRFY19: 109). IKEAs sustainability strategy is named ‘People & Planet
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Positive’ with the subcategories of ‘Healthy & Sustainable living’, ‘Circular & Climate positive’ and ‘Fair & Equal’. This strategy defines the ambition of transforming into a sustainable business with positive impact throughout the value chain and their effort for achieving the SDGs. The fair & equal subcategory is what this thesis is predominantly focused on as this concerns the commitment to human rights based on the UNGPs, providing decent and meaningful work in their value chain, being an inclusive business and promoting diversity and equality (SRFY19: 12, 35). Thus, this is where their engagement in social entrepreneurship is visible. Collaboration with social entrepreneurs, locally and globally, is done in an aim of supporting marginalised people who are far from the labour market. The businesses of the entrepreneurs are mainly concerning reducing poverty, empower women and tackle social and environmental issues in their communities. Since 2012, the collaboration with social entrepreneurs has consisted of designing and producing handmade collections sold in IKEA stores and created jobs for approximately 20.000 artisans and local farmers. The shift in 2019 was to broaden the scope through co-worker engagement, direct investments, and accelerator programs to enable partnerships with social entrepreneurs outside the IKEA business (SRFY19: 106-108). In 2018, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship B.V was incorporated as an entity within the IKEA business to make this scale up accessible. The focus areas for IKEAs social entrepreneurship initiative are inclusion, equality, and livelihood. The approach includes topics as empowerment, co-creation, trust, innovation, led by example and
transparency which will be further explored in the analysis (ikeasocialentrepreneurship webpage).
5.2.1 Yalla Trappan
Partnerships with local entrepreneurs are encouraged in all IKEA locations as these products or services create an added value to the IKEA costumer. In Malmö Sweden, this local
partnership is with social enterprise Yalla Trappan. Here, Yalla Trappan provide a sewing studio inside the IKEA warehouse for costumers buying fabric which needs tailoring (ikeasocialentrepreneurship webpage).
Yalla Trappan is a work-integrating female co-operative for women far from the labour market. Being a social enterprise, the societal benefit and benefits for its members is the primary goal and not financial profitability while all profits are reinvested in the enterprise to
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further the social mission. Yalla Trappan provide work and intern positions for women without or limited formal education, no previous work experience and limited knowledge in the Swedish language. Starting up, they needed to focus on the skills these women had which was predominantly cooking, cleaning, and sewing as they had been working in the household. Yalla Trappan is founded on participation, democracy, and entrepreneurship with an aim of creating a meeting and marketplace in Rosengård, an area in Malmö with high numbers of foreign-born population and described as a socially vulnerable area. The initiative of Yalla Trappan strengthens the opportunity to work, education and self-sufficiency. This will support women in re-finding confidence, empowerment, and a sense of participation in society which many feel they have lost since leaving their home countries (Merker-Siesjö 2014: 15). The first contact between IKEA and Yalla Trappan was in 2010 when an employee at IKEA had lunch at Yalla Trappan’s café. She was working at the diversity and inclusion department at IKEA and mentioned that they needed to provide headscarves for their employees at the warehouse, as they wanted them to match the IKEA uniform. This resulted in Yalla Trappan sewing three prototypes, and IKEA bought two of them. At this time, IKEA provided sewing services for their customers buying fabric at IKEA and this is what the warehouse in Malmö then changed to Yalla Trappan providing this service, first at their own studios to now having a studio at the IKEA warehouse in Malmö. Yalla Trappan now provide this for IKEAs customers but also sew all things for the IKEA office in Malmö which they change throughout the year, from curtains to pillowcases (Merker-Siesjö 2017, lecture). How this partnership developed and what respective part benefit from it will be presented in the analysis.
5.3 IKEA from another perspective
This previous presentation of IKEA is sole based on their own publications. To add another perspective, a short presentation of a critical view and scandals of IKEA is therefore presented next as it is relevant for the topic of human rights and the critique of CSR. It also adds
insights to the success and the strong brand that is IKEA.
IKEAs core values are fundamentally based on what is perceived as Swedish values, and more specifically built on the story of Ingvar Kamprad and the identity of Småland. This has built the corporate culture which influence all internal trainings and external publications of
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IKEA, predominantly based on values as equality, democracy, and the Swedish social welfare state. This is argued to be an idealistic picture of IKEA (and Sweden), to build a strong positive brand which has made a commercial success. In ‘Design by IKEA: a cultural
history’, the author’s counter argument of this is phrased “Identifying a Swedish identity is a postmodern nightmare” (Kristoffersson 2014: 91). These values and images were founded in a time before globalisation as we know it today and is not necessarily representative of the contemporary Swedish society. This is claimed based on Sweden having a variety of cultures, identities, lifestyles, and classes, although, the corporate world allows things to be portrayed less complicated as it has the power to create their own image which does not need to
represent the full picture. The Swedish image from when the core values of the business was created is often related to a then more ethnically fairly homogenous, unequal and
heteronormative society, which in contemporary times has been one of the challenges for IKEA to change in their commitment of diversity, equality and inclusiveness. Some of the recent scandals faced has been the decision to exclude pictures of women in the Saudi Arabia IKEA catalogue and exclude same-sex couples in advertisement in Russia. Another hallmark of IKEA and validation for their innovative and entrepreneurial mindset is the flat packaging ‘revolution’. However, this has proven to be an idea borrowed from an existing furniture brand, only IKEA made it commercialised in a business-like manner (Kristoffersson 2014: 91-101).
The personal history of the founder faced a scandal when Ingvar Kamprads’ connection to Nazism was revealed in 1994. His German roots and link to Germany remained strong during the growing power of Hitler and Kamprad was active and sympathised with the fascist New Swedish Movement after the war. The crisis management of this has been described as a “rhetorical masterpiece”. Although, as late as 2010, Kamprad commented on the leader of the NSM group that he “was a great man, a view I shall maintain as long as I live”
(Kristoffersson 2014: 99). Other revelations decaying of the IKEA image is discoveries of child labour and other unacceptable working conditions in manufacturing, including forced labour. Could this be the price for the core value of cost-efficiency and constant aim for lower prices in an agenda of ‘creating a better everyday life for the many people’? (Kristoffersson 2014: 91-99). The IKEA slogan ‘Low price. But Not At Any Price’ is to establish the
corporation as socially conscious and derived from improved policies following the criticisms of social irresponsibility. The embracement and growth from these scandals could be a reason for why IKEA is not only perceived to be, but also has proven to be, among the good
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examples of corporate responsibility which has made their brand stronger. A concept as the ‘The Teflon Multinational’ has been applied on IKEA as it appears criticism and accusations fails to adhere to the corporation. This notion has also been subjected to criticism of being merely a façade. A former employer who worked in management positions at IKEA for 20 years wrote a book with heavy critique of the IKEA corporate culture and strategies
fundamentally based on the ethicality of IKEA is merely a marketing tool with little authentic concern for social responsibility (Kristoffersson 2014: 101-102).
6. Analysis
Corporate storytelling is visible in all publicised texts, images, and videos to build a strong and positive brand. To create validity in this, the key essential is building a strong corporate culture through presenting corporate values. Therefore, the first part of this analysis will explore the narrative in how IKEA present themselves in their values and how they present their CSR actions. This underpins the validity of the IKEA brand and how they present their commitment to CSR. Secondly, a narrative analysis will be applied on IKEAs presentation of their partnerships with social entrepreneurs to investigate how they present this collaboration as a win-win. The narrative by Yalla Trappan provide a deeper insight of controversies in the IKEA narrative.
6.1 Narrative on values and CSR actions
IKEAs narrative in creating their identity through values has undoubtedly been effective and persuasive in validating their image as socially responsible and an authentic corporation. IKEA has written its own history, where the founders’ words and stories still are the core of the corporate culture. This has been a process in internal training and in external publications which has successfully created a solid and authentic image of IKEA, possibly one of the reasons the corporation has not encountered any serious friction or scandals. Or possibly due to their strong brand and values, the scandals have been perceived as mistakes and easily forgiven, nevertheless not excessively harmful to the corporate image. The prominent value content presented are togetherness, democracy, uniqueness, innovation, and
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employees. Throughout ‘The testament of a furniture dealer’, the formation of these values is narrated with a strong emphasis on simplicity, humbleness, and community in a spirit of anything is possible. The introduction of this document states that the following is a lifestyle guide to become freer as human beings and that they can be a valuable force in democratising the world and the concluding remarks states “Together with humbleness, will-power and strengths are your secret weapons for development as an individual and fellow human being” (Kamprad 1976).
This is a narrative of inspiration and changing-the-world spirit which is extremely powerful in achieving the aim of incorporating the core values in every employee which furthers IKEAs image to the world. In presenting these values through the own words of the founder of the corporation contribute to a legitimacy and authenticity. The use of ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ in this mission, diminish the obvious power relation of the founder communicating to employees, this furthers the aim of incorporating the value of community of the IKEA family and that everyone plays an essential part in creating the IKEA brand. Additionally, it extends the down-to-earth image of Ingvar Kamprad, portraits the image of uniqueness and places the narrative within a context of equality as it diminishes the common corporate hierarchy structure (Kamprad 1976). Therefore, the life story and personal narrative of Kamprad is an essential part of the IKEA way of business. Also, the story of him as an entrepreneur, innovative, from a rather poor background and how he maintained his humbleness with his growing empire has been essential (IKEA webpage Our Heritage). ‘The testament of a furniture dealer’ is the hallmark of narratives being strategic, functional, and purposeful. Throughout the Sustainability report FY19, the strategic elements of CSV are identifiable. Firstly, evident in the whole report is the recurring of the core values of IKEA as socially conscious and committed to positive social impact. Thus, their CSR engagement is part of the core business strategy and presented in a manner of working together with society, not against it. The largest part of the report consists of mapping the impact throughout the value chain to display their progress in their sustainability strategy, including a range of examples on every step from resourcing material to the products end-of-life, and the environmental and social impact of these actions. These efforts are motivated by doing more than what is legally required, create proactive initiatives to move beyond merely a good corporate citizenship image to inspire and shift the way of doing business into a more socially conscious way. Thus, IKEA places themselves at a corporate advantage as doing more than the ordinary MNC which strengthens their brand. IKEA endorse collaboration between multiple
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stakeholders, while placing themselves at the centre of the narrative in “Working together, leading by example, and finding better ways to get things done are the IKEA ways of working” (SRFY19: 10), ultimately legitimising their strong role in this development while simultaneously legitimising the business in society as a driver of social change. These are key activities in the pursuit of the concept of CSV.
A critical perspective of their presentation of CSR is found in how every challenge presented in the report is followed by an ‘easy’ solution, where IKEA is part of a new initiative or is leading the change. This narrative presents a conflict or difficulty, although nothing that cannot be solved, ideally by IKEA or in collaboration with other actors. Or if the problem appears too far out of reach, the need for technology innovations is stressed. The narrative in this report is again formed in a ‘changing-the-world’ and ‘everything is possible’ influence where the solutions to the challenges explained are persuasive. This is due to the transparency in acknowledging challenges and shortcomings which are presented in a manner that IKEA is doing everything in their power to change structural social and environmental issues which is leading the change of the whole industry. “Considering our size, we can also make a
difference by contributing beyond our own needs. We aim to transform the industry” (SRFY19: 48). Particularly in the section of sustainable palm oil and extracting conflict minerals, enlightens harmful corporate actions hidden behind a narrative of ‘responsible
initiatives’ to avoid human rights violations. The Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is an initiative with a 75% industry-governed voluntary certification system (International Labour Rights Forum webpage), thus its interests can be questioned. IKEA claims to have an ongoing mapping of the supply chain for palm oil and on-the-ground human rights
assessment, which implies an effort in combating the issues. Although, these issues have been known for decades, so it is questionable why this has not been done before. Perhaps due to growing consumer knowledge and pressure. This is evident in other parts of the report as well, that societal pressures and awareness dictate the focus of CSR, such as the global youth climate strikes are mentioned to emphasise the climate crisis and the request for more plant-based food options. Under the animal welfare headline, it is evident that all the initiatives started in 2019 and no numbers of improved animal welfare can be presented. IKEA joined the Responsible Minerals Initiatives in an aim of understanding and learning the best practises of minerals extracted in conflict zones which finances armed conflicts (SRFY19: 60-62). These are examples of even with the incorporation of advanced CSR engagement, there is still evidence for the primary corporate self-interest in CSR and how the use of narratives allow
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for a disguise of the corporation as socially conscious with positive social impact in what is actually harmful corporate interests and actions. Noted here is the critique based in the theoretical framework of the inherent anti-social formation of the MNC as these corporate practices are involved in known human rights violations although in an aim of doing it better. These narratives fuel the fantasy of the ethical corporation and indicating that MNCs are dictated by the economic system they are a part of.
6.2 Narrative on social entrepreneurship
IKEAs partnership with social entrepreneurs is an effort of extending their social mission to be more inclusive and sustainable. The two avenues for CSV which are particularly visible in IKEA social entrepreneurship are the first as in reconceiving products and markets, and the third as in building supportive industry clusters in local partnerships. The partnership with social entrepreneurs opens new business relationships in new markets, create new products sold for IKEA costumers while improving the livelihood of the social entrepreneurs through job creation. What IKEA has focused on is their entrepreneurial skills in developing business partnerships and supporting new businesses to thrive, as income opportunities is one of the societal issues at their local clusters. This initiative is a way of creating sustainable social change for a more equal and inclusive society (SRFY19 106-108).
The content desired to display on the webpage for social entrepreneurship, is information on the role of the entrepreneurs, the role of IKEA and IKEAs social mission. Those three themes all include narratives based on IKEA values and shapes a narrative aimed at validating these partnerships as a driving force for sustainable development and social change. The common theme in these contents are a dominant narrative which circles back to IKEAs efforts for social value creation. IKEA present the social entrepreneurs’ role as pioneers, pathfinders, innovators, and visionaries with interest of the social impact over profits. Under the headline ‘We bring people together’, IKEA present their role in the partnership primarily through solving the challenge of social enterprises having limited financials, business networks and supply chains which hinder the expansion of the social enterprise. The collaboration is predominantly in co-designing and manufacturing IKEA collections to be sold for IKEA costumers. Through this, IKEA gives the entrepreneurs access to a new market, sustainable production, mentoring, business management, strategic development, and networking to name
