The research was based on three largest operating banks in Finland. It thus doesn’t reflect the industry’s CSR reporting as a whole. The research method was qualitative content analysis, which reflects the researcher’s subjective interpretation of the content. Therefore different research results can be achieved by different researchers. Because of the underlying themes and concepts of CSR analyzed in this research can have varying meanings and can debatably be understood differently, differences between concepts such as social and environmental responsibility cannot be generalized based on this research.
By trying to form a descriptive overview of the development of CSR reporting by analyzing the contents of the CSR reports, it follows that the research doesn’t sufficiently represent all
of the contents’ of the reports. In other words the contents of the CSR reports weren’t fully cited and analyzed because that didn’t fit the research delimitations and problems.
Ultimately the data analysis method and delimitations of the research mean that some important information, comprehension or insight regarding the research results may have been left out due to the nature of interpretable nature of the research material. Further research is required to establish a clearer picture of the banks CSR reporting development by concentrating on single themes more efficiently. Researching single themes more extensively or focusing on the contents of the GRI reports only could prove to be invaluable in determining more intricate details and new information about the bank sector’s CSR reporting and future development trends.
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Research material Danske Bank Group
Danske Bank Group – Corporate Responsibility 2012
- Available: http://www.danskebank.com/en-uk/csr/documents/cr_report_2012.pdf Danske Bank Group – Corporate Responsibility 2013
- Available: http://www.danskebank.com/enuk/CSR/Documents/CR_Report_2013.pdf Danske Bank Group – Corporate Responsibility 2014
- Available: http://www.danskebank.com/enuk/CSR/Documents/CR_Report_2014.pdf Nordea Bank
Nordea – CSR Report 2012
- Available: https://www.nordea.com/Images/33-35036/nordea-CSR-report-2012.pdf Nordea – CSR Report 2013
- Available: https://www.nordea.com/Images/37-35038/nordea-CSR-report-2013.pdf Nordea – CSR Report 2014
- Available: https://www.nordea.com/Images/35-34916/nordea-CSR-report-2014.pdf OP Financial Group
OP Pohjola Group - Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2012
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OP Pohjola Group’s - Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2013
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OP Year 2014
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