Overview

Through a series of case studies in diverse regions of the world, this book explores how transnational Norwegian energy and extractive industries handle corporate social responsibility (CSR) when operating abroad in places such as China, Brazil, and Turkey. With significant state ownership and embeddedness in the Nordic societal model, Norwegian capitalism is often represented as “benign” or ethical. By tracing CSR policy and practice—from headquarters to operations—this volume critically explores the workings of Norwegian corporate capitalism and its engagement with key issues of responsibility, accountability, and sustainability.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ståle Knudsen
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
ISBN:  

9781836951216

ISBN 10:   1836951213
Pages:   354
Publication Date:   01 February 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Preface Introduction: Bringing the State Back in: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Paradoxes of Norwegian State Capitalism in the International Energy and Extraction Industries Ståle Knudsen, Dinah Rajak, Siri Lange, and Isabelle Hugøy Part I: Setting the Scene. Introduction and Framing of CSR in the Norwegian Context. Chapter 1. Rethinking Access: Key Methodological Challenges in Studying Energy Companies Ingrid Birce Müftüoğlu, Ståle Knudsen, Ragnhild Freng Dale, Oda Eiken, Dinah Rajak, and Siri Lange Chapter 2. Samfunnsansvar is not CSR: Mapping Expectations and Practices of (Corporate) Social Responsibility in Norway Oda Eiken Maraire and Isabelle Hugøy Chapter 3. Dynamics of Localized Social Responsibility: A Case from Agder, Norway Eldar Bråten Chapter 4. Model of a Model: Norsk Hydro at Home and Abroad Ståle Knudsen Part II: Ethnographies of Norwegian Corporations’ Engagement with CSR Chapter 5. Traveling, Translation, Transformation: On Social Responsibility and the Nordic Model in China Emil A. Røyrvik Chapter 6. Between Social Footprint and Compliance, or “What IBAMA Wants”: Equinor Brazil’s Social Sustainability Policy Iselin Åsedotter Strønen Chapter 7. Gender, Regulation, and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Case of Equinor’s Social Investments in Tanzania Siri Langeand Victoria Wyndham Chapter 8. Exporting the Norwegian Model Through the “Capacity Building” of a Local Union Branch: The Case of Equinor in Tanzania Siri Lange Chapter 9. Staging Mutual Dependencies: Energy Infrastructure and CSR in a Norwegian Petroleum Town Ragnhild Freng Dale Chapter 10. Standardizing Responsibility Through the Stakeholder Figure: Norwegian Hydropower in Turkey Ståle Knudsen, Ingrid Birce Müftüoğlu, and Isabelle Hugøy Chapter 11. The “Nordic model” in the Middle East Oil Fields: How Shareholder Value Eclipses Corporate Responsibility Synnøve Bendixsen     Conclusion: Inactive State Ownership and the Nordic Model Recast as “Values” Ståle Knudsen Index

Reviews

“Offers a timely and vital critique of the practice of corporate social responsibility by state-owned companies, filling a gap in existing literature that focuses on private firms.” • Jessica Smith, Colorado School of Mines

Author Information

Ståle Knudsen is Professor in the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway. Knudsen has, since the early 1990s, done ethnographic fieldwork in Turkey, and his publications include the monograph, Fisheries in Modernizing Turkey (Berghahn 2009).

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