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“There is no one size fits all”

A case study of managers role, when implementing sustainability work in an organization - in a Malaysian

context

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Bachelor Thesis

Authors: Hannah Cangemark & Marie Rydståle Supervisor: Mathias Karlsson

Examiner: Mikael Lundgren Term: Spring-2020

Subject: Business administration III- organization- Bachelor Thesis, 15 credits Level: Bachelor

Course code: 2FE78E

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Abstract

Introduction: Countries all over the world has through the UN Global Development Goals, Agenda 2030, voluntarily committed to work for an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable world. Countries may have different conditions for achieving the goals, and for managers this kind of change can result in higher expectations on the leadership. Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia's most economically developed countries, but within the country there are still knowledge and economic gaps. It appears that managers in a Malaysian context can face many challenges when implementing the sustainability work that Agenda 2030 requires. Previous research shows limitations in how managers implement and communicate sustainability issues, without it becoming too abstract and difficult for the employees to understand.

Therefore, we consider it important to study this subject.

Purpose: By examining how managers implement sustainability work, such as Agenda 2030, in the organization, we can gain a greater understanding of which aspects that are important in a change work and how managers deal with the increasing expectations.

Research methodology: The study is a case study based on a qualitative research method with an inductive approach. Eleven recorded semi-structured interviews, with 22 questions, were conducted with various managers in a multinational Swedish company operating in Malaysia, including the CEO and the Sustainability manager of Southeast Asia. The theoretical framework is, from the empirical material, based on three themes- leadership in change, communication and create an understanding through learning.

Result and analysis: The result from the study shows that the role of leadership, communication and creation of an understanding through learning are important aspects for a successful organizational change, which the sustainability work with Agenda 2030 brings.

Conclusion: We have found that leadership, communication and creation of an understanding through learning is three important aspects when managers implement sustainability work. This study shows that through good communication, continuous work with sustainability issues and contributing with the right education, managers can create an understanding and commitment in the implementation process for the employees. At the same time, it seems advantageous for managers to set a good example, have a good understanding for employees different conditions and opportunities, and that the context can play a big role when it comes to understanding and working with sustainability.

Keywords: Sustainability, Agenda 2030, Organizational change, Leadership, Implementation, Communication, Learning

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Acknowledgments

We would like to take this opportunity to express our greatest gratitude towards those who have contributed to making this thesis possible. First and foremost, thank you to SIDA and Linnaeus University for the opportunity to write a bachelor thesis based on a different context. We would like to extend a big thank you to all the eleven respondents who took their time to participate in the study. You all provided us with insight, valuable information and personal experiences, which has been both rewarding and interesting for our study. Thanks to the HR Director who we have had continuous contact with and the HR Business partner who helped provide us with the respondents and a really well- made schedule for the interviews.

We would also like to express our greatest appreciation to our supervisor Mathias Karlsson, who has been an amazing support to us throughout the process. You have always taken your time to help us and your engagement, interest, expertise and advice for the subject have been worth gold. Without you, the essay would not have been as good or interesting.

A big thank you to our examiner, Mikael Lundgren, who has challenged us to constantly improve our work and given us constructive criticism and valuable feedback during the writing process. Thanks also to our opponents who have contributed with useful improvement suggestions.

Last but not least, we want to thank our families, friends and each other. Thank you for all the support we received during our conduct of this study.

Kalmar, Sweden 28th of May 2020

Hannah Cangemark Marie Rydståle

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Table of contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Problem discussion 4

1.3 Purpose 8

2 Research methodology 9

2.1 Research approach 9

2.2 Qualitative research method 10

2.2.1 Qualitative interviews 11

2.2.2 Semi-structured interviews 11

2.2.3 Selection of respondents 13

2.2.4 Interview process 14

2.3 Interpretation of our empirical material 15

2.3.1 Thematic Analysis 17

2.4 The quality of the study 17

2.4.1 The trustworthiness of the study 17

2.4.2 The credibility of the study 18

2.4.3 The transferability of the study 18

2.5 Research ethical issues 19

2.6 Work process and distribution 20

3 Theoretical framework 21

3.1 Organizational change 21

3.2 Leadership in change 23

3.3 Communication 25

3.3.1 Strategic communication 26

3.3.2 Organizational- internal and symbolic communication 26

3.4 Learning 27

3.4.1 Successful organizational change work 28

3.4.2 Failed organizational change work- resistance 30

3.4.3 Single and double loop learning 31

3.5 Summary 31

4 Results and analysis 33

4.1 The managers role in change work 33

4.1.1 Live by example 34

4.1.2 Creation of meaning 35

4.1.3 Organizational structure and culture 37

4.1.4 Summary of the managers role in change work 38

4.2 The importance of communication 38

4.2.1 Internal communication 38

4.2.2 Summary of the importance of communication 41

4.3 The role of learning and understanding 41

4.3.1 Creating an awareness and understanding 42

4.3.2 Knowledegaps 44

4.3.3 The importance of follow-up 46

4.3.4 Summary of the role of learning and understanding 47

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4.4 Organizational change 47 4.4.1 Organizational change- the importance of context 47

5 Conclusion 51

5.1 Answering of main problems 51

5.1.1 Communication 51

5.1.2 Context 53

5.1.3 Awareness, commitment and knowledge 54

5.1.4 There is no one size fits all 55

5.2 Practical implications 56

5.3 Future research 56

Bibliography 58

Appendices

Appendix A- Agenda 2030 Global goals Appendix B- Interview questions

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1 Introduction

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Environment and sustainability are becoming more and more relevant and important in the world, not least for the individual but also for organizations and managers. The introduction to this chapter therefore highlights the challenges that managers in organizations face in terms of sustainability. Four limitations in previous research are highlighted and discussed, and we find that the limitations make this subject particularly

interesting to study. Finally, this chapter describes the purpose of the study.

_______________________________________________________________________________

1.1 Background

It is not a new phenomenon that the Arctic polar ice is melting, it has been going on for decades (Världsnaturfonden WWF, 2020). The discussion about the climate threat has probably not escaped anyone. Global warming, too high carbon dioxide, tsunamis and natural fires are just a few examples. But how do we deal with the problem? On September 25th, 2015, the United Nation approved a new development plan and global goals for sustainable development, Agenda 2030 (United Nations Confederation, n.d.).

The 193 member states that are part of the United Nations have, through the agenda, voluntarily committed to working towards an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable world, with the aim of achieving the goals by 2030 (United Nations Confederation, n.d.). Agenda 2030 contains 17 goals and 169 sub-goals on how all countries should take the responsibility and work to eradicate poverty, stop climate change and create a safe and better society. With the introduction of Agenda 2030, new and higher expectations of sustainable work may be placed on companies and managers around the world. The

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implementation of this type of organizational change can be assumed to become more important or a more prominent task for managers1.

Moreover, organizations do not only have sustainable requirements, but financial, which can be paradoxical and challenging (Karlsson, 2018). Today's sustainability challenges are complex, and each context is different. A country in Europe may have different priorities than an Asian country. The EU is a major economic player who contributes with development assistance so that countries have the opportunity to develop and eventually end up in the same development as an industrialized country (Soutullo, 2019). But if companies themselves work with sustainability, in a country that is still considered a developing country, it can also provide benefits for the country (Achilles, 2020). The work can, for example, mean that industrialized countries will establish their companies in the developing country and create corporation's if the entire value chain works sustainably. This might mean that managers need to work in different ways with strategies to achieve the sustainability goals, depending on the context in which they act (Soutullo, 2019). The context of this study is Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia's most developed countries (United Nations Association, 2015). Malaysia's economic growth is one of the reasons why we find it interesting to do the study in a Malaysian context, because we wonder if it is possible to combine the pursuit of economic growth with the goals of Agenda 2030.

Malaysia became independent in 1957 and political stability and industrialization formed the basis for a relatively high standard of living. For many years, Malaysia was one of the world's fastest growing economies, and between 1957 and 2007, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of 6.2% per year. The prime minister since February 2020 is Muhyiddin Yassin who took over after Mahatir Mohamad who was elected prime minister 2018 (Aftonbladet, 2020). Former Prime Minister Najib Razak reaffirmed Malaysia's commitment to support, implement and work towards the sustainable goals in

1In this study leaders and managers have similar meanings for us, of which managers will be the choice of word throughout the text.

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Agenda 2030. The Prime Minister and the former political government has developed the country from being a commodity-producing developing country into a middle-income country and the economy is dominated by the service and industry (Daleke, 2019). The growing economy helped to smooth out economic gaps in the country, but regional differences still persist and knowledge levels in Malaysia are still very different, not least rural versus large cities (Closing the gap, n.d.). Malaysia is a multicultural country thanks to an extensive labour migration that reached its peak around 1880 to 1930, and the official religion is Islam (Pike, 2019). The country has a significant Chinese majority, with about 25% of the population but also Indian, with about 7%. Since there are many different cultures in Malaysia, it can have an impact on how employees perceive and practice sustainability work (Adnan, Hay & Van Staden, 2018).

Malaysia has been working with sustainable development since the 1970s (United Nation, 2020). Malaysia has developed sustainable plans that run for five years each and jointly, including sustainable economic growth, access to education, working with environmental protection etc. However, the work towards the sustainability goals in Agenda 2030 can be affected by the Malaysian government, depending on what the government prioritizes which might also be something for managers to take into account when working with sustainability (WWF, 2018).

The fact that countries focus on different sub-goals in Agenda 2030 may have to do with what the country's government prioritizes, for the country's development (WWF, 2018). If the country's government do not have the same sustainability priorities as companies, it might be difficult for companies that have collaborations with other countries to make the entire value chain sustainable (Keijzers, 2005). This, in turn, might make the implementation of sustainability difficult for managers, as the government may not share companies goals with sustainability. There are articles showing that the Malaysian government may not have prioritized sustainability efforts as clearly as can be believed (WWF, 2018). In an open letter to Malaysian parties before the 2018 elections, non-governmental organizations, including WWF among others, are appealing that the parties should prioritize sustainability development.

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It seems that managers in a Malaysian context can face many challenges when implementing the sustainability work that Agenda 2030 may requires. This lead us into the problem discussion.

1.2 Problem discussion

With the background in mind, we can assume that managers play an important role in the implementation of sustainability work, such as Agenda 2030. We can also assume that a lack of understanding can be something that affects how managers communicate with their employees so that everyone understands the meaning and importance of the content of the message. This is why we find it necessary to study how managers work with sustainability today, how managers communicate change work and how they work to give employees an understanding and awareness of how to work sustainable. By looking at how managers implement and communicate information about global goals today, it is possible to further chart how managers can work to improve and facilitate understanding of Agenda 2030 throughout the organization. When examining for past research on how managers implement and communicate sustainability issues to their employees, we believe that there are four limitations in the research. We will account for these limitations in this following problem discussion.

The first limitation we found is that we do not know enough about how managers communicate sustainability goals to their employees without it becoming too abstract and difficult to understand. Creating awareness and constantly communicating about sustainability issues is part of almost every organization. Internal communication is an important aspect of communicating sustainability, but previous studies show that communication is not a major means of implementing sustainability initiatives (Dawkins, 2005). The internal sustainability work of an organization is particularly about having formal and informal systems but also about strong driving forces within the organization such as leadership, culture and the people (Epstein, Buhovac & Yuthas, 2010). Internal communication is often handled through information sources such as intranets, pm, formal and personal meetings, newsletters and much more (Kataria, Kataria & Garg, 2013).

Organizations need to review how they work with sustainability today and how that work can be improved (Alvesson, 2019). By actively working with sustainability issues, the

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organization also contributes to the sustainability issues at individual level. The employees, which can be seen as one of the most important stakeholder organizations have, also have a key function in implementing sustainability in the operational operations. Making the employees aware of the sustainability work can mean that they also begin to work privately on the issues, consciously or unconsciously. The work with sustainability becomes a normalization and a changed attitude to the prevailing cultural perspective within the organization (Alvesson, 2019). We therefore want to study how managers implement and communicate the sustainability work to their employees to make the information less abstract and easier to understand.

Galpin and Whittington (2012) claim that there is a lack of research regarding how managers communicate sustainability, and Agenda 2030, to create the most employee engagement, which we need more knowledge of. We need more knowledge of this since sustainability have become an important part of organizations around the world (Galpin and Whittington, 2012). However, some research, for example Lahdo and Shafiq (2019), has been done regarding the implementation of Agenda 2030. The Agenda 2030 has according to Lahdo and Shafiq (2019) been a great help and a guide for future work, for organizations and managers, with sustainability goals and it has created a greater understanding of sustainability throughout the organization. Therefore, the lack of research on how communication of Agenda 2030, and not just only sustainability, can be seen as the second limitation. Lahdo and Shafiq's (2019) study discusses the implementation of Agenda 2030, but communication of Agenda 2030 is not highlighted, of which this study can contribute to this aspect.

Galpin and Whittington (2012) also argue that people's awareness of sustainability issues has increased dramatically in recent years. However, they emphasize that more knowledge is needed about sustainability work. Here we see a third limitation in previous research, that there is still a gap to fill in how companies should work with sustainability. It turns out that employees attach great importance partly to the fact that they have great confidence in the manager, but it is also important that the manager succeeds in implementing and communicating the sustainability work to the employees. When an employee feels commitment towards the organization's sustainability strategy, the employee will identify,

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communicate and proactively work to promote and implement the strategy (Galpin &

Whittington, 2012). In theory, it is obvious that both companies and people in general should have a sustainability mindset for our world and future, but in practice there may be factors that make it difficult to work with these issues. Influencing factors can for example be cultural differences, lack of economy, lack of understanding, ignorance and more (Nilsson et al., 2018). Since Malaysia is still considered a developing country where culture, hierarchies, lack of understanding and economy can be crucial factors for sustainable work, managers implementing and communication of sustainability work seems to be an important part to study.

However, in the study "How Do Corporations Embed Sustainability Across the Organization?", we find some answers to the questions we ask ourselves regarding implementation and the work with sustainability. Haugh and Talwar (2010) examine what methods organizations use to increase employees' awareness of sustainability. The researchers believe that sustainability work is not only a matter to be addressed between leaders and senior executives in the organizations, but sustainability work must permeate the entire business, of all employees. Haugh and Talwar (2010) find, among other things, that the organizations are limited by their financial resources, which may affect the extent to which the organization is willing to work with the issues. The researchers believe that sustainability issues are not high on governments' agendas if a large part of the population lives in poverty, do not have a roof over their heads or faces life-threatening illnesses.

Another conclusion Haugh and Talwar (2010) draw is that the organization must actively work with the issue and make investments in education opportunities for its employees. At the same time, the education must be adjusted to the employees so that the employees feel enthusiasm, interest and are motivated to learn. If enthusiasm, interest and motivation is not created for employees to learn more about policies, processes and routines, it will be difficult for the organizations to change the employees' meteoric patterns. Finally, a changed behavioural pattern will also affect the entire organization's capacity for change and commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement (Haugh & Talwar, 2010). In the study, (Haugh & Talwar, 2010) mention the importance of communication and education for the employees, however, the manager's role in sustainability work is not highlighted.

Although, the Malaysian context and culture might make it difficult for managers to enthuse,

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motivate and educate sustainability work to employees. The fact that Haugh and Talwars (2010) study do not illustrate the manager's role, the context or the culture when working with sustainability can therefore be seen as a fourth limitation.

All the research above shows that existing research has focused mainly on the work with sustainability issues and Agenda 2030. The goals the United Nation has set for the current Agenda 2030 primarily concern how countries and organizations broadly work with sustainability issues (United Nations Confederation, n.d.). The focus is on the organizations and not how the managers implement the work outward in the organization. Therefore, it becomes a matter for managers to work out a way of working and to take a position on the sustainability issue. This means that it might places expectations both of the organization but also on the managers of the organization. How can managers easily implement and work with sustainability issues so that everyone in the organization understands and are willing to contribute?

At present, in the pursuit of research on sustainability and Agenda 2030, we find that there are not many studies or research done on how managers work with implementing and communicating sustainability issues or Agenda 2030 to their employees and that research has been done on sustainability, CSR or Agenda 2030. However, there seems to be a lack of research regarding how organizations work with sustainability, especially Agenda 2030, and how managers work implementing and communicating the sustainability work to the employees. To a large extent, the non-existent research and studies in this issue may be due to the fact that Agenda 2030 has only existed since 2015. Since sustainability issues are becoming an increasingly important issue for organizations as well as individuals, this means that organizations need to clarify issues for all stakeholders in the organization.

Because of the increasingly central focus on sustainability, employers and managers need to find an appropriate and easy-to-understand way to communicate the organization's sustainability work to their employees. Therefore, we find it interesting to examine how managers implement and communicate the sustainability work to their employees, so that the employees feel a desire and an understanding of the change work. Our wish is

therefore to hopefully fill the knowledge gap regarding leadership and the dissemination of

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sustainability that we see today. Focus will be on managers, not the employees, and the purpose of the study is therefore as follows.

1.3 Purpose

By examining how managers implement sustainability work, such as Agenda 20302, in the organization, we aim to increase the understanding of which aspects that are important in an organizational change work from the perspective of managers.

2In order to develop and improve the organization have the ambition to focus on sustainability The company's main focus is on sub-goals 9, 11, 13 and 17 of Agenda 2030 (more information regarding the global goals, see Appendix A). However, the study is about how managers implement sustainability in general and will not elucidate any specific goal.

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2 Research methodology

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To understand how managers implement and communicate sustainability work, such as Agenda 2030, and which aspects that are important in change work, we have made a qualitative study with interviews. The method choice will be presented in this chapter. The

chapter will also present the study's execution and study design. Finally, the study's trustworthiness and research ethics are presented, followed by the work process and

distribution.

In order to achieve the purpose of the study and to be able to answer the problem discussion, interviews have been conducted with eleven various managers within a Swedish multinational company, acting in Malaysia, including the CEO and Sustainability manager of Southeast Asia. Furthermore, a theoretical framework has been compiled based on literature in the form of articles and books in the chosen research area. The study involves an interpretation of people's experience (Jacobsen, 2002). For the study, this means that empirical material has been collected, from eleven different managers within the company, and then compiled. The interviews, become our way of interpreting, understanding and explaining what the respondents convey.

2.1 Research approach

This is a case study with an inductive approach. A case study means that the researcher thoroughly study a specific case (Bryman & Bell, 2013), in our study it means that we have studied a single organization. An inductive perspective is an approach to the relationship between research practice and theory where theory is generated from praxis (Jacobsen, 2002). However, it can be difficult to behave purely in the inductive way. Since the study was to be conducted in Malaysia, we chose to read about some possible relevant theories in advance. This was because we knew there would be limitations to certain literature in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, since we might not have had the opportunity to enter the university libraries in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The travel to Malaysia, and the planed field study, was cancelled due to the Coronavirus (CODIV-19) and the interviews were instead made thru Skype, but the original plan may have influenced the choice of interview questions. The questions may have been given some focus, a certain way, by keeping the theories in mind.

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The inductive way was an ideal and approach to strive for in our study. We tried to achieve this by compiling the respondents' responses and using the answers as a starting point, various themes were developed. Subsequently, relevant theories have been selected. The theory in our study has been created by reasoning with our empirical data from the interviews. The qualitative research process, on which this study is based, gave us a greater flexibility in our interpretation compared to a quantitative study that is largely based on data collected and reported in figures (Bryman & Bell, 2013). As the study is based on managers and their experience of the implementation and communication of sustainability work, the study will be based on an inductive approach.

Figure 2.1 Inductive approach to the relationship between theory and research (Bryman & Bell, 2013)

Collected empirical data have been processed and, based on the results of the data, a relevant theoretical framework has been developed (Blomkvist, Hallin & Lindell, 2018).

2.2 Qualitative research method

We wanted to get a nuanced and detailed picture of how the managers implement and communicate their work with the organization's sustainability issues. Much of our empirical material is based on respondents' answers and attitudes in order to create a good understanding of the studied problem. Qualitative methods can be referred to as participatory observation, in-depth interviews, hermeneutics and phenomenology (Holme, Solvang &

Nilsson, 1997). To understand the reality that organizations and individuals are in, the researcher must try to understand their context. This is most easily done by familiarizing yourself with the context or situation the organization and individuals are in, thereby trying to see what their reality looks like. Thus, the qualitative method makes interpretations of

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social reality (Bryman & Bell 2013). The interpretations are made based on the respondents' view of their social reality and may be different in different studies, depending on how the participants interpret their reality. In qualitative research, trustworthiness can be used to discuss the research quality of the study.

The study was best suited to be a qualitative study since interviews were conducted with managers in the company and data obtained from the interviews were analysed.

2.2.1 Qualitative interviews

In this study, the focus has been on interviewing eleven managers in a multinational Swedish company in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Eleven qualitative interviews with various managers from different origin have been conducted in order to get a good picture of their work with sustainability.

The empirical material in this study have been gathered through primary interviews from relevant managers who work on a daily basis to implement and communicate the sustainability work to their employees. A longer interview was also conducted with the sustainability manager and the CEO of Southeast Asia, which has contributed to the credibility of the study but also increased our understanding of the sustainability work in the organization. Thus, during the process, it is not a theory that has been tested like the deductive approach.

Theories help us to see certain aspects of the empirical material and they can help us to deepen our understanding. The study's empirical material has been given a central role and is strengthened with current theory. Since the study is about, without expectations and with an openness, understanding how managers implement sustainability in the organization, we first had to gather the empirical material, through the interviews. The interviews provided information and understanding about the problem and the theory then helps to understand the problem from a theoretical perspective.

2.2.2 Semi-structured interviews

Semi-structured interviews have a list of specific topics, an interview guide, that will be addressed where respondents' is free to formulate their own answers (Blomkvist, Hallin,

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Lindell, 2018). The questions do not have to be in the same order that is designed in the interview guide but can be answered based on how the interview is developed. For the study, an interview guide with 22 different questions (see appendix B) was designed and semi- structured interviews were conducted with the respondents. Bell & Waters (2016) highlight that the response in the answer can generate more information than, for example, surveys, which can be an advantage. Since the interviews for the study were not conducted with physical meetings, but via Skype, we could not read body language or mimicry. The reason we could not read body language and mimicry was because the respondents did not use the camera function. We do not know, and did not ask, why they did not use the camera function, but this was consistent in all our contact with the organization. This may be due to cultural reasons or that the organization does not have it as a policy with Skype meetings. However, this is only our own speculation. If we have had the opportunity to have the interviews made physically, we would have been able to observe, through the respondents' body language, how the questions were received and it might have given more credibility and additional insights to the study. It might therefore be more important to listen to tones and pauses, but we believe that the respondent´s tones or pauses have not affected our study.

Another aspect to consider is how the answers is interpreted by the interviewer. According to Czarnawska (2014), it is easy for misconceptions as the material that emerges can be perceived transparently. People tend to interpret the answers based on their own experiences, which may not always reflect the real answer. This has meant that we had to listen more closely to what the respondent answered and that we also listened to the recordings several times in order to get as accurate picture of the respondent's answer as possible. Furthermore, to the greatest extent possible, we have tried to remain neutral and open to the answers that emerged from the interviews.

Since most of the interviews were not conducted in our mother tongue, we realized the difficulties with asking supplementary questions. In one way, there was a lack of knowledge in interviewing and the limitations became higher because the interviews were conducted in English. However, some of the interviews were conducted in Swedish, as some of the respondents were Swedes working in the company in Malaysia, which facilitated the

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interviews. We tried to ask more supplementary questions during the Swedish interviews to gain a better understanding of previous answers that have been difficult to understand.

2.2.3 Selection of respondents

Since we do not have personal contacts in Malaysia, we used private contacts at the company in Sweden that provided us contacts with the company in Malaysia. The selection of respondents was made with help of one of the company's HR business partner in Malaysia, who also made up the interview schedule for us. The HR business partner asked which managers that were suitable and whom we wanted to interview. We replied that the HR business partner could choose the most suitable managers for the study. To get different perspectives from the organization our requirements were that the managers had insight in sustainability work and that the managers were from different departments. Letting someone else choose the respondent, in this case the HR business partner, and not choose ourselves, we believe can have pros and cons. Benefits of someone within the company asking the managers to participate, may be that the managers actually choose to participate compared to if we had asked them ourselves. The disadvantages may have been that we missed out on any relevant manager, simply because the HR business partner did not consider the manager to be relevant for the study. Another aspect to keep in mind is that the HR business partner may have provided us with managers who only highlight advantageous things with the company. However, we feel that this has not been a problem for us. Partly because sustainability work may not be viewed as somewhat sensitive and that the respondents have had different opinions on issues regarding certain work or approaches in the company, which indicates that the respondents did not just want to give a positive picture of the company.

The HR business partner provided us with nine managers from different departments and also the CEO and the Sustainability manager of Southeast Asia, eleven respondents in total.

The respondents have been employed within the company for both short and long time, they are both women and men, have different backgrounds and nationalities and their ages range between 30 - 62 years. The selection of respondents has therefore become what Denscombe (2014) describes as an appropriate selection. One disadvantage of interviews is that it takes a long time to compile the data (Bell & Waters, 2016). This means that we have had to be selective with the managers we interview and have only used the managers we think can add

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most to the study. When the HR business partner asked us which managers we wanted to interview, we asked the HR business partner to selectively select appropriate managers for the study and not include managers who were not relevant. All eleven respondents are thus relevant to the study. Throughout the process, the respondents have been courteous and helpful. This has facilitated the entire work by providing us with relevant information.

2.2.4 Interview process

The interviews were intended to take place physically at the company in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Due to the Coronavirus (COVID 19), this opportunity was not possible, and the interviews were conducted in Sweden via Skype. Not being in Malaysia can mean that we did not get as much insight into the business or the context as we would have had if we had been in Malaysia physically. Since the interviews was instead conducted via Skype, we missed out on these in-depth parts of our study.

For each interview, one and a half hours were assigned. With the respondents' approval, the interviews were recorded using the recording function of the smartphone. More focus could be placed on what the respondent said because the interviews were recorded, which made it possible to go back and listen to what the respondents said, if something was unclear. Being able to record the interview is something Bell & Waters (2016) highlights as a positive aspect. It becomes more difficult to read body language of the respondent during interviews via Skype without video, which allows some criticism of chosen method. If the opportunity had been available to conduct the interviews on site in Malaysia, we believe it would have been beneficial and credible for the study. During the interviews notes were taken and after each interview, we listened to the interviews again and noted if there was something we missed. The most relevant parts of the interviews were transcribed. Bell, Bryman, and Harley (2019) recommend transcribing interviews to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. After the interviews, we compiled and compared the respondents' responses to create the discussion and conclusion.

The interviews were conducted with managers in different areas within the company and the respondents were given access to the interview questions in advance via email so that they had time to reflect on the answers. We wanted to get as broad view of the companies managers as possible, which is why we see it as something positive that the managers work

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in many different parts of the company. A manager who works in HR may work in a different way than a manager who works with the production. Therefore, we saw it as very interesting to gain insight into how different managers work in different areas of the company. This way, we were given the opportunity to see if there were differences in the way of working with sustainability depending on where in the company the manager is acting. It can be discussed whether it is a positive or negative aspect that the respondents were given the interview questions in advance. Providing the respondents with the interview questions in advance can in one way result in the respondent having time to think of a desirable answer (Johannessen, Tufte & Christoffersen, 2019). On the other hand, it can make the answers more thoughtful than it would have been if the respondent gets the questions right away during the interview.

In the interviews, both introductory, interpretative, exploratory and specified questions were asked in order to get the most developed answers possible. If something was unclear, we asked the respondent to clarify or develop the answer and if we had follow-up questions, we had the opportunity to email the respondent afterwards and get a supplementary answer, however, this has not been necessary.

After the first interviews, the interview schedule was changed because we realized that we could clarify the questions and get a more natural flow by changing the order of the schedule.

A couple of questions were also added to get clearer answers regarding the Malaysian context.

2.3 Interpretation of our empirical material

The interpretation of a phenomenon is something that is constantly present throughout the process, from start to finish (Holme & Solvang, 1997). However, we are aware that the interpretation work is constantly present, but we try to be as open as possible because we are based on the inductive approach. This was difficult, but one example of how we succeeded was that we abandoned one of our first ideas and research question of which dilemmas that may arise in the work towards sustainability, and chose to be more responsive to the theme of organizational change, since many of our respondents mentioned this aspect. In a research process, it is important to keep in mind that there is no guarantee that what the researcher interprets, based on the material collected, is the same view as the respondents. It is not

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entirely certain that the researcher can mediate and create the same understanding of the problem as the respondent mediated (Holme & Solvang, 1997). This means that after the data collection we as researchers begin to interpret and select relevant data and a fairly critical phase in the process begins. We listened to our recorded material and wrote the text based on what the respondents told us. The risk of misinterpretation will constantly be present, which means that researchers must be careful and vigilant in the interpretation and processing of the information, throughout the process. However, interpretation does not always mean misinterpretation. In one way, misunderstandings can be avoided through triangulation but we tried to avoid misinterpretation by being open and responsive and contacting the respondents in the event of ambiguity (Holme & Solvang, 1997).

The study is based on the answers that emerged during the interviews. The results of the interviews were then compiled by listening to the recorded material several times together so that no important information was missed. A discussion and conclusion have then been formulated.

The three themes, leadership, communication and creation of an understanding through learning, that we identified based on the respondents answers and which are highlighted in the empirical have repeatedly been present when we wrote the discussion and conclusion chapters. We chose these three themes because they were highlighted themes in all eleven interviews. We are aware that the data obtained is only a sample and can therefore only generate a generalized situation. The situated generalization Fejes and Thornberg (2019) describes as a way for the researcher to produce designs, i.e. interpretations, concepts and descriptions of different processes or structures. The respondents answers allowed us to find important points in the answers and create an interpretation of the respondents answer. The aim is that the interpretation will be general in such way that the researcher will be able to pick parts of the interpretation and apply what fits in similar cases (Fejes & Thornberg, 2009). It is recognition that becomes the primary, that can be used and embodied in other situations and cases. What the researcher contributes is the processes and patterns identified during the conduct of the research. If this study had been made with other managers in another company, in a different context, the answers and the data might have been different.

The results and data are thus interpretations made by us, the authors of this particular study.

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2.3.1 Thematic Analysis

Based on the respondents' answers we have identified patterns, important and recurring parts that support our purpose and have therefore chosen to create a thematic analysis. The thematic analysis means that the researcher finds connections in the empirical material (Fejes

& Thornberg, 2019). After the interviews, we went through our material several times and discussed what similar aspects and experiences we could find in the respondents' answers.

We then compiled these aspects and grouped them in order to distinguish specific themes.

Finally, we came up with three themes, leadership, communication and creation of an understanding through learning, that were recurring in the respondents' responses. These themes then form the basis for future analysis, discussion and conclusion. Some respondents' responses felt extra relevant and provided a greater understanding. We wanted to highlight these extra relevant answers and have therefore chosen to quote them in the result and analysis.

2.4 The quality of the study

A qualitative study can be assessed in several ways. To assess the quality of our study, we have chosen to use the concepts of trustworthiness, credibility and transferability.

2.4.1 The trustworthiness of the study

According to Blomqvist, Hallin & Lindell (2018), trustworthiness is about studying things properly. The higher trustworthiness the study has, the greater the chance that the result will be the same in a similar study (Säfsten & Gustavsson, 2019). In the qualitative analysis, trustworthiness is largely dependent on the context in which the study was conducted (Johannessen, Tufte, Christoffersen, 2019). It is more or less impossible for another researcher to perform an exact study similar to another. Partly because the answers to what are investigated depends on the respondent's experience and partly because the researcher cannot have the same background and knowledge as another researcher. This is also something that problematizes the pure inductive method since the researchers' interpretations are at risk of being included. The researcher will not make the same interpretation as anyone else. In order for the researcher to be able to substantiate the research, and thereby to create trustworthiness, the researcher must provide the reader with an in-depth description of the

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context in which the research is carried out and a detailed explanation of the research approach.

Since the interviews for the study were conducted via Skype and not physically, it can be debated whether it affects the credibility and the reliability of the study. Interviews via Skype without camera function do not help to, for example, read body language (Bell & Waters, 2016). On the other hand, interviews via Skype may help the respondent feel more comfortable than physically attend in an interview.

2.4.2 The credibility of the study

Credibility, or internal validity, means that the researcher measure what the researcher intends to measure (Johannessen et al., 2019). The difficult thing about qualitative studies is that it is often impossible to measure. However, it is possible to determine whether the study is investigating what the study is intended to investigate. In the qualitative study, it becomes important to make sure that the research approach and results really reflect the purpose of the research and whether it can thereby be an example of reality.

One way to create credibility is to share the results with the respondents so that they have the opportunity to confirm the researcher's interpretations and to be able to eliminate and correct any errors. We had the possibility of contact the respondents afterwards in case of any uncertainties, which was not necessary.

2.4.3 The transferability of the study

Transferability, or external validity, is about research being able to reproduce a similar event (Johannessen et al., 2019). The goal is that research should not be limited to just one specific case or research. For the researcher, it is mainly about being able to make descriptions, concepts, interpretations and explanations that can be reproduced or used in more than one area. Research can be able to contribute and transfer to similar circumstances.

One difficult thing about this study is to create a generalization as the study involves interviews with individuals working in a specific company and who also has their own interpretations and perceptions of how the implementation of sustainability issues can be carried out. It could also be difficult to generalize it since the study is in a Malaysian context.

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However, our wish with the study is to be able to serve as a form of reference to other companies in their work with the implementation of sustainability work. Even if it is not the same company in the same field, we believe that other companies can still benefit and use the results of the study by creating their own interpretation and approach. The study can therefore be seen as a situated generalization (Fejes & Thornberg, 2009).

2.5 Research ethical issues

The studied company, as well as all respondents, are anonymous. The anonymity of the study mainly contributes to the respondents feeling of being able to share details of a more sensitive nature. In addition, the authors do not want any of the respondents to feel that they end up in a vulnerable situation that may damage their psychological and physical integrity (Holme & Solvang, 1997). All of the respondents have been informed that participation is voluntary and have been informed about the content of the study. We are aware that it, on one hand can create a more interesting reading if the reader has access to the respondents' titles, but we have chosen to name them only as numbers. This choice was made to not reveal the sources and maintain their anonymity. We believe that it was the most ethically correct choice.

Conducting the study in an organization operating in a Muslim country, such as Malaysia, may pose a risk to certain ethical and cultural dilemmas. For example, Swedes dress in a way that we can assume is not appropriate in a Muslim country, which can be reflected in companies in Malaysia. Since the interviews were conducted via Skype and without video function, this did not become a noticeable problem for us. On the other hand, it is likely that we would have had to adapt more if the interviews had been conducted in the country. We can assume that Swedes may, because of a different religion, have a different view and attitude partly in actions and expressions, but also in handling and attitudes to sustainability issues. Sweden is a more economic developed country, which means that we can assume that Sweden probably also have a greater opportunity to prioritize sustainability than countries that are not as economically developed. Therefore, as researchers, we must take into account that cultural conflicts and communication deficiencies may arise. An open approach and understanding have therefore been constantly present throughout the study.

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The studied company is a multinational Swedish company, which may not give a complete picture of Malaysian companies. It also may not give a fair picture of Malaysia, as Malaysian companies may not have come as far in their sustainability efforts as Swedish companies.

This is something we have had with us during the course of the study. Some respondents have different origins than Malaysia, which may not give a general picture of employees.

This too is something we have been aware of. However, they are employed in a Malaysian context and thus need to adapt to the country. The fact that it is a Swedish company can influence how things are handled and managed within the company. Since the company is global, there are several different cultures and perspectives within the company, which is also important to take into account during the study.

2.6 Work process and distribution

During the work with our thesis we have worked together. The process started by drawing up a schedule where we entered different part-deadlines, supervisor meetings and seminars.

We have chosen to meet physically every day to have the opportunity to share each other's thoughts and knowledge. For us, this way of working has worked well where both have been able to contribute different parts of the work. Since we are two different individuals with different personal characteristics, we have tried to take advantage of it, which means that one of us has taken a little more responsibility, for example created the right flow in the text, while the other put more focus on for example formalia. We have supported each other during these weeks when someone felt it was difficult. Because the bachelor thesis differs from other work that we have done during our studies, and because we have worked so closely together for a long period, we have learned that being responsive to one another is an important aspect. You have to let each other have different opinions, because different opinions can generate good angles and thus a more developed essay than if you were to work alone. If there has been any disagreement, we have agreed to disagree and have found a solution where both are satisfied. For us, it is difficult to describe each individual's contribution to the work as we worked together throughout the process.

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3 Theoretical framework

_________________________________________________________________________

During the course of the study, we have found that the main problem with the researched phenomenon lies in organizational changes. There are several important aspects to keep in mind when it comes to organizational change, and in order to gain an understanding of the

subject, we have taken the study's empiricism and chosen to immerse ourselves in three theoretical aspects; Leadership3, communication and learning. The theories will then

support future result and analysis.

_________________________________________________________________________

3.1 Organizational change

To understand the implementation of the sustainability work, linked to this study, we have chosen to immerse ourselves into the aspect of leadership, communication and the creation of an understanding through learning. However, we will begin with some theory about change work, which implementation of sustainability work can entail.

Organizations change during their lifetime (Aronsson, Hellgren, Isaksson, Johansson, Sverke & Torbiörn, 2012). However, in change work at, for example, implementation of sustainability work, there are certain aspects that might need to be taken into account for the change work to work well. Both management but also understanding of the employees need to be kept in mind. Also, managers need to create understanding among the employees, therefore clear information and communication is needed as to why the change should take place. The changes are necessary for the development and survival of organizations for the constant change of society. How an organizational change is received by employees may vary depending on if the change will affect the employee, distal, or not, proximal change (Aronsson et al., 2012), which will be explained later in the chapter.

3In this study leaders and managers have similar meanings for us, of which managers will be the choice of word throughout the text. To understand managers work, we use leadership theory.

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Organizational changes can be continuous, incremental and endless, or episodic, sometimes radical and irregular (Gilley, Gilley & McMillan, 2009). Continuous changes often involve small, purposeful adjustments and the adaptation process is of a more repetitive nature (Carter, Armenakis, Field & Mossholder, 2013). The small changes take place at the same time and make the different work units develop according to the purpose of the change. An improvement in the organization's capacity is the underlying goal of organizational change.

In organizational change, there are different change models to use to get a clearer picture of the process. One of the models is Kurt Lewin's (1951) three-step model which is divided into three phases: unfreezing, moving and refreezing. In the first phase, the employees are being prepared for future change and the forces that hold the old structures are reduced and removed. Courses, workshops and lectures can be arranged to demonstrate that change is necessary. During the relocation phase, the new structures or working methods are implemented and in the third phase the process is implemented permanently. The final phase is carried out to avoid re-applying old habits and working methods. A change is complex, and the model is debated because it does not take complexity into account. However, it does show the basis for how a change can happen (Gilley et al., 2009).

Figure 3.1. Lewin's Three step model for change-process, Hayes, 2018, s.58. Self-made by the authors.

In summary, small organizational changes can be made in case of organizational changes. If major adjustments are made, the change is instead called radical. A manager may need to keep in mind that the change can affect employees more or less. A common model for organizational change is Lewin's three-step model, which is divided into three phases. We will now move on and explore the managers role in change work.

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3.2 Leadership in change

To create an understanding of how managers implement and communicate sustainability work to employees, the leadership's meaningful role and leadership in change will be highlighted.

Heide, Johansson and Simonsson (2012) argue that leadership is about communicating and creating meaning and context. The meaningful role a manager has can be described from three aspects; refine and explain, initiate and create conditions for dialogue, as well as sift and sort.

Refine and explain: Since communication is often about complex and ambiguous information, the information needs to be interpreted, explained and refined in order for employees to see the meaningful connection to daily work (Heide et al., 2012). If this is not communicated, there is a risk that the information will lose its purpose.

Initiating and creating conditions for dialogue: In order for the manager to be able to create an understanding among the employees about complex information, the manager must encourage a dialogue and not a one-way communication (Heide et al., 2012). Dialogues also have a natural link to learning, participation and other processes within organizations.

Sifting and sorting: Because a large amount of information is often disseminated, and for that reason, it can be difficult to find out what is important and insignificant, it becomes fundamental for managers to help employees investigate what information is important (Heide et al., 2012). If the manager does not help with this, there is a high risk of the employees working in different directions, which can lead to a fragmented business.

There are different directions in leadership in change work. Leadership prescriptions are based on finding the most effective leadership, and one style that is highlighted is the transformational leadership (Nilsson et al., 2018). Transformational leadership involves changing and developing employees to perform more than they think they are able to.

Transformational leadership is seen as advantageous as the leader can create meaning in an ongoing change and to have the employee share the organization's values and invest more of him- and herself in the tasks the employee is facing. Leadership may look different

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depending on whether change or development is to be made, but transformational leadership is said to be most effective and active (Nilsson et al., 2018). Hanson (2004) argues that organizational changes do not lead to automatic participation. Managers thus need to guide employees, and this can be done through educational leadership where employees learn through the managers' actions and guidance. The path to the set goal needs structure and content that promotes learning and communication.

The work with sustainability has created a new arena in which companies and managers in the organizations must act (Patzer & Voegtlin, 2013). The globalization process can, to some extent, create certain ethical challenges and responsibilities for the organizations. Managers might need to, to a greater extent, work with the management of sustainability issues such as environmental pollution, occupational safety and labour standards. In addition, managers must adapt their leadership to the diversity of the organization where employees' culture and backgrounds will have a major impact on their approach to sustainability issues. The challenge for the manager will largely be to make decisions that both serves best to the organization but also benefit and can be accepted by all stakeholders of the organization (Patzer & Voegtlin, 2013). There is research that shows that if an organization actively works to promote better environmental management, provide feedback and encouragement to staff, and create a commitment and inclusion to sustainability issues, will lead to higher engagement and better performance with sustainability issues (Dunphy & Benn, 2013).

Dunphy and Benn (2013) describe three leadership skills that they believe may have a positive impact on a manager's ability to mediate and work with sustainability issues; Self- change skills, interpersonal change skills and change project leadership skills. Self-change skill means that the manager has the ability to personally work with sustainability issues, both in private life but also in the daily work. Interpersonal change skills mean that the manager has an ability to understand how they can influence others through their own actions. The manager has the ability to identify and communicate sustainability issues so that all employees and stakeholders understand them. Change project leadership skill means that the manager of the organization is an effective change leader where the manager works with inclusion where all stakeholders are allowed to come up with ideas and suggestions on how the work should proceed.

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All change work and, above all, the work with sustainability, will pose a question if it is ultimately financially justifiable to implement the change (Ha, 2014). The goal for the managers, however, is to find solutions that ultimately generate both a financial gain while the change contributes to a more sustainable world. It is usually talked about that sustainability includes economic, social cultural and environmental sustainability. However, Ha (2014) explains that there is one other aspect to consider, namely the organizational culture. It is impossible to create a functioning change regarding sustainability if the organization does not have a culture of openness, innovation, creativity, teamwork and problem-solving ability. Furthermore, Ha (2014) believes that managers must have the ability to create an awareness and openness as well as provide feedback to their employees in their sustainability work. If the manager has the right approach, he will be able to more easily create a culture and leadership where work with change and sustainability is a natural part of everyday life.

In summary, leadership in change work can require communication, creating meaningfulness and context. One advantageous leadership in change work is the transformational leadership, where the manager encourages employees to work beyond their own expectations and that the manager also teaches the employees through educational leadership. It is also advantageous for the manager to live by example and understand the meaning of his own actions. Furthermore, a manager can strive to achieve a culture of openness, innovation, creativity, teamwork and problem-solving ability. The next step will be to find out the importance of communication in change work.

3.3 Communication

A second way to create an understanding of how managers are able to implement and communicate sustainability work to employees is through communication. This study focuses on strategic communication, organizational and internal communication.

"Communication is now seen as the means of creating, influencing and preserving relationships, engineering shared values, shared cultures and goals, but also what creates our socially constructed reality"

(Heide, Johansson, Simonsson, 2012, p.33, translated by the authors)

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In communication between people, transmitters and receivers create a social reality (Heide, Johansson & Simonsson, 2012). Social reality contains knowledge, relationships, meaning and identity, a so-called social construct that is partly common but also individual. How the content of the communication is interpreted depends on people's previous knowledge, experiences, values, attitudes and status. People's knowledge, understanding, preparedness and emotions are changed through the communication processes.

3.3.1 Strategic communication

Strategic communication, according to Falkheimer and Heide (2014), refers to conscious communication efforts in companies to achieve the overall goals of the companies. Thus, not goals for a specific communication effort, but workshop-related and long-term goals.

The initiatives include communication processes that take place to various stakeholders, both internally, externally, formally and informally in order to achieve the organizational goals and visions. Heide, Johansson and Simonsson (2012) also highlight communication as crucial for all companies members to gain knowledge about, become involved and understand the goals of the company. The goals are achieved according to Falkheimer and Heide (2014) through the use of a strategy which then contributes to a plan for how the goals are to be achieved. This means that the strategies and goals are interconnected, which means that strategic communication is an important part of the process. Convincing in a communicative way, but also, informing in a planned approach instead of acting on intuition or randomly to achieve the company's goals is something Hallahan, Holtzhausen, Van Ruler, Vercic & Sriramesh (2007) mention as strategic communication

3.3.2 Organizational- internal and symbolic communication

One of the research fields of communication is organizational communication (Falkheimer

& Heide, 2014). Organizational communication stands for internal communication and aims to create lasting relationships, understanding and a common identity. One of the most important part of strategic communication is internal communication. According to Falkheimer and Heide (2014), there is research that shows that companies can more easily achieve their goals and have a positive working environment if internal communication develops into an effective system.

References

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