| Summary: | In the light of corporate scandals, pressure has increased on organizations to communicate information related to their corporate social responsibility (CSR). In order to keep up with the increased pressure on social commitment, organizations’ self-descriptions may be future-oriented rather than reflections of reality. The future-oriented communication may improve the organizational culture and thereby motivate staff to perform more efficiently. On the other hand, if the organization does not fulfill their CSR communication it could lead to internal skepticism. This thesis constitutes a case study of the organization Coop, comprising whether the relationship between its CSR communication and the internal perception of Coop’s CSR work in store has affected their organizational culture. In order to answer How does Coop communicate it sustainability work through its external communication? and How does the staff perceive Coop's sustainability work? a qualitative content analysis and interviews with Coop’s staff have been conducted. The theoretical framework consists of Nils Brunsson’s (2006) theory about Organized hypocrisy, and Christensen's (1997) Autocommunication. A conclusion that can be made from the results of this thesis, is that the image communicated from Coop (regarding their sustainability work) does not seem to be fully aligned with the staff’s perception of Coop’s sustainability work. Coop’s definition of their sustainability work had only been acknowledged by some, whereas half of the staff had individual interpretations of Coop’s sustainability work. The various definitions of sustainability among the staff led to various attitudes towards Coop’s sustainability work, which ultimately resulted in a fragmented organizational culture.
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