Sustainability within the Swedish automotive industry - A qualitative study of the incorporation of sustainability criteria in the decision-making process
Abstract
An increasing amount of pressure has been seen from stakeholders that companies should
transition their business to become more sustainable. The result of this pressure can be seen in
the Swedish automotive industry as the largest companies have all committed to ambitious
sustainability goals. The purpose of this study was to explore how the Swedish automotive
industry has incorporated sustainability criteria in the decision-making process. The literature
review covered the concept of sustainability through the triple bottom line, long-term
planning methods, and some decision-making methods that include multiple criteria. To
receive an in-depth understanding of this, a qualitative study was conducted with an
exploratory approach. The primary data collection was gathered through eight
semi-structured interviews, and along with the secondary data it was contrasted with the
literature. The findings suggest that as the economic criterion has always been prioritized in
decision-making, the environmental criterion has caught up and is now arguably as important
as the economic one. The findings also suggest that the social criterion is viewed as a
management subject, and that little attention is given to it on a functional level. As the
industry is facing many challenges, the results indicate that scenario planning is an important
tool for decision-makers' ability to plan for a sustainable future. Lastly, the main barriers
identified were the difficulty in measuring and collecting qualitative sustainability criteria,
and ensuring the incorporation of sustainability criteria across the entire value chain with
limited insight.
Degree
Master 2-years
Collections
View/ Open
Date
2023-07-19Author
Enström, Erik
Frendin, Olle
Keywords
Decision-making
Sustainability criteria
Automotive industry
Multi-criteria decision analysis
Scenario Planning
Series/Report no.
Master Degree Project 2023:44
Language
eng