E-Waste Awareness at Malmö University: A Qualitative Study about Organizational Influences on Knowledge, Perceptions and Behaviours of Employees

“Electronic waste” (e-waste) is the fastest growing waste stream globally. The majority of ewaste generated in Europe is exported to developing countries where it is informally recycled using crude and unscientific methods. These practices lead to severe contamination of entire regions including air, water and soil, posing immense risks to human health and the ecosystem. Therefore, e-waste has become an international sustainability issue. Awareness about e-waste has been identified as an important driver for sustainable improvements. Research implies that awareness about e-waste is critically low on a global scale. However, the role organizations play in increasing knowledge and awareness around e-waste is underrepresented in scientific research. This study aims to deepen understanding in this field of research by focusing on Malmö University in Sweden, which has implemented an e-waste management process. In doing so it is explored how organizational efforts to reduce e-waste shape employee knowledge, awareness and perceptions regarding both the institutional e-waste processes at Malmö University and e-waste as a broader sustainability issue. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews with employees of Malmö University were conducted followed by a Thematic Analysis. The theoretical foundations of this thesis are Knowledge Management, Translation Theory and Employee Green Behaviour. The conducted study demonstrated no connection between organizational initiatives towards better e-waste handling and e-waste awareness. However, this was most likely caused by improper knowledge transfer within the organization. Although all employees perceived e-waste as a sustainability issue, their knowledge on the topic was largely incomplete. However, they demonstrated a very sustainable mindset and receptiveness towards sustainable processes and initiatives regarding e-waste. It was concluded that MAU could potentially become a leading organization in manifesting and spreading awareness about e-waste.