Voicing your ethical stance

Roberts, Jo. "Voicing your ethical stance. (cover story)." Marketing Week (01419285) 33, no. 10 (March 4, 2010): 14-18.

Coke, like Walgreen’s, recently launched a CSR website called “Live Positively”. It provides sustainability information as well on issues such as water, packaging and climate change. They also used deliberately chosen language to be accessible and easily understood to as wide an audience as possible (Roberts 2010). Many large companies are finding that adopting sustainable practices in their operations is having a positive influence on their image. As well as the CSR websites mentioned earlier that many more companies have available now, there are other areas where a company can prove itself as environmentally interested. Organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace are willing to partner up for promotional purposes, but only after the interested company proves itself worthy of their backing. When seen by consumers that Coke, for instance, has a relationship with the WWF, it produces a positive feeling in the consumer. In short, utilizing green third parties can have a tremendously positive effect on the consumer attitude toward a company, regardless of any previous feelings.

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.

Strategizing corporate social responsibility: evidence from an Italian medium-sized, family-owned company.

Perrini, Francesco, and Mario Minoja. "Strategizing corporate social responsibility: evidence from an Italian medium-sized, family-owned company." Business Ethics: A European Review 17, no. 1 (January 2008): 47-63.

CSR is becoming a mainstream issue as both researchers and managers are realizing its importance, but knowledge gaps persist. Specifically, the processes underlying the adoption of responsible managerial practices and the effects associated with them are still at the center of the debate. This paper finds three basic answers to encompass theoretical and managerial concerns over the integration of CSR into strategy. First, beliefs and value systems of entrepreneurs, as well as their past experiences, seem to play a fundamental role in shaping responsible corporate strategy. In fact, conditions leading to competitive advantage tend to coincide with those enhancing CSR. Next, the importance and extent of the relationship between social performance and financial performance depend on the consistency between CSR programs and policies adopted and the kind of competitive strategy that has been selected. Last, people need to be aware of it. CSR strategies must be explicit and worked into specific managerial procedures.

Working for the greater good?

Altman, Wilf. "Working for the greater good? [corporate social responsibility]." Engineering Management 17, no. 6 (December 2007): 12-15.

Even in these most difficult of economic times CSR is becoming a key component in business contributing to the competitiveness and creating new opportunities. It is moving companies past a base of legal compliance to integrating sustainable behavior into their core values because they are realizing the benefits of doing so. Companies today such as Caterpillar are demonstrating that a strong focus on social responsibility and sustaining the environment can contribute to delivering strong financial results and create profitable growth opportunities. Caterpillar was recently added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index which recognizes companies that led their industries in corporate social responsibility. Another sign of the growing interest in CSR is the formation of the European Alliance for CSR, launched by the European Commission. Another indication that adoption of CSR practices is spreading is that many of the most admired companies according to Fortune are those which take CSR most seriously. CSR social responsibility reports are increasingly demanded by customers and investors who want to understand financial risk and opportunities but also how the company conducts its business. CSR activities are increasingly seen as a way of managing risk and protecting corporate reputations. Effectiveness and success of CSR initiatives is based on gaining a commitment at all levels of the company, from the ground up. There has recently developed a CSR Academy in the UK which, in turn, developed the CSR Competency Framework. It is a structure by which companies can use to integrate CSR, or to review its CSR processes.