Corporate social responsibility: impacts on strategic marketing and customer value

Piercy, Nigel F., and Nikala Lane. "Corporate social responsibility: impacts on strategic marketing and customer value." Marketing Review 9, no. 4 (Winter2009 2009): 335-360.

CSR has impacted the policies and behaviors of companies throughout the world. Once considered mostly a matter of corporate generosity or moral obligation, CSR is increasingly recognized as a source of competitive advantage, and thus a significant corporate resource. While CSR generally remains filled with strong moral imperative, modern supporters of the CSR movement rely on four arguments to justify attention and resources for these initiatives: 1) moral obligation – the duty for a company to do the right thing, 2) sustainability – an emphasis on the environmental and community impact of the business, 3) license to operate – permission a company needs from powers that be to do business, and 4) reputation – CSR initiatives to enhance a company’s image, strengthen its brand, improve morale, or even raise share prices. Some companies have made high-profile efforts to be positioned as socially responsible which may be in response to external critics, but also part of the vision of the business. CSR is moving more and more into the mainstream of business practices on a daily basis. CSR can be related to the ability of companies to attract and retain the best talent because many young professionals stay away from employers with bad reputations. Also, CSR can help differentiate companies from their competitors, as proven by Toyota’s success gaining the “green car” company identity with the Prius hybrid.