The project examines 12 Swedish grocery stores that are certified according to the KRAV standard for organic stores. The aim is to contribute with critically oriented knowledge about contemporary "Audit society" through analyses of the implications from store certification on the organization: What do such audits do with the business activities that are audited in terms of, for instance, work routines, resource prioritization and market communication? What is prioritized and what is neglected or maybe downplayed?

Another research question has to do with the relation between these auditing practices and consumer culture: how do the store certification standard seek to control and shape consumer values, responsibility, identity and practices on the market in terms of, for example, sustainability, health, and fairness? Once again, what types of competence and knowledge among the consumers are prioritized and what is neglected or maybe downplayed?

Yet another research interest within the project concerns the actual meeting between the certifier and the certified organization: How is the auditor’s "independence" constructed – which is a fundamental ideal within auditing more broadly – in this meeting that necessarily implies that a relationship is established, often with financial dependencies between the audited and auditee?

The research has been undertaken in 2017 with funding from the Swedish Retail and Wholesale Council (Handelsrådet). The research has been led by Kristina Tamm Hallström and the research group also has included Carl Yngfalk. The project ended by 31 December 2017. In April, a final report from the project (in Swedish) will be made available at the website of the funding agency Handelsrådet.