STRATEGY AND SOCIETY: THE

LINK BETWEEN COMPETITIVE

ADVANTAGE AND CORPORATE
STRATEGY
By Group
2:
Heena
Minerva
Mohit
Pushp
Shashank
Samarpan

THE PREVAILING APPROACHES

Successful corporations need a healthy society
Governments, activists and media play important part
CSR has become a inescapable priority for business
leaders
Traditional approaches assume that companiesThinking
and of
CSR in
society are in confl ict Pitting
business
generic ways
A zero-sum game
against
instead of
society

This is counterproductive, since

the two are interdependent
Companies fail to recognize the
importance of CSR in their
strategies

their firms
strategy

The efforts
still remain
unsuccessf
ul

FOUR PEVAILING JUSTIFICATIONS

FOR CSR
Moral
Obligation
Sustainabili
ty

Achieving commercial success in ways that honor ethical

values
Absolute; No way to balance social and economic tradeoffs
Varies and contradictory values among managers, regions
and countries
Meeting needs of present without compromising future
needs
Offer little basis for balancing long term objectives
against short term costs

License to
operate

Building goodwill to secure consent of government and

stakeholders
Cedes control to external player who arent always aware
of corporate strategy and operations

Reputation

Enhancing reputation and brand with customers,

investors and employees
Confuses public relations with social and business results

INTEGRATING BUSINESS WITH

SOCIETY
All the four school of thoughts focus on tension
between business and society rather than
interdependence
Result:
Uncoordinated CSR and Philanthropic activities
disconnected from companys strategy

Both business decisions and social policies must

follow the principle of shared value
Choices must benefi t both the sides
Comanies must integrate a social perspective into the
core framework it already uses for
Competition, and
Business strategy

IDENTIFYING THE POINTS OF

INTERSECTION
Inside Out Linkages

Company impinges
upon society through
its operations in
normal course of
Locatio
business
Time
n
Impacts on society
are
based on As social
Same

manufacturing
operations will
have different
social
consequences in

standards and
science evolves,
companys impact
on society
changes over

Outside In Linkages
External social
conditions infl uence
corporations for
better or worse
Competitive Context
Quantity and Quality of
available business
inputs
Rules and incentives
that govern competition
Size and sophistication
of local demand
Local availability of
supporting insudtries

CHOOSING WHICH SOCIAL ISSUE TO

ADDRESS

CREATING A CORPORATE SOCIAL

AGENDA
An Affirmative corporate social agenda moves from mitigating harm
to reinforcing corporate strategy through social progress

Responsive CSR
Good Corporate Citizenship
Mitigating adverse eff ects
from business activities

Strategic CSR
Choosing unique position
Includes both inside-out &
outside-in linkages working
in tandem

INTEGRATING
INSIDE-OUT AND OUTSIDE-IN
PRACTICES

Provides 180 hrs of paid

classroom and on the job
training to chronically
unemployed job candidates
Supports local community
service organizations which
identify and recruit
candidates to Marriott
Reduces cost for the
company
A substantially higher
retention rates achieved

Works directly with small

farmers in developing countries
to source milk, coff ee and
cocoa(its global business)
Provides enormous social
benefi ts by investing in local
infrastructure and transfer of
world-class technology and
knowledge
Gives Nestle direct access to
commodities to maintain
profi ts
Its distinctive strategy is

CREATING A SOCIAL DIMENSION TO

THE VALUE PROPOSITION

Value proposition: To sell

organic, natural and healthy
food products to customers who
are passionate about food and
environment
Social issues are fundamental
to the company
Sources from local farmers
Commitment to natural and
environment friendly operating
practices extend beyond
sourcing
Purchased renewable wind
energy credits to 100% of its

Ecomagination initiative
Focuses on creating water
purifi cation technology and
other green businesses
Pioneer new
products,
packaging and
distribution
systems to meet
the needs of the
poorest
populations

ORGANIZING FOR CSR

Strategy is always about making choices, and success in
CSR is no diff erent.
It is about choosing which social issues to focus on
Integrating business and social needs requires
Adjustments in organizationsFragmented,
Defensive
Reporting relationships
Approach
Incentives

Emphasis on
Image

To

Emphasis on
Substance

To

Affirmative
Approach

Social impact needs

to be measured

Organizations that make right choices

and build to focused, proactive and integrated social
initiatives in concert with their core strategies
diff erentiate themselves from the rest

THE MORAL PURPOSE OF BUSINESS

Diff erent thinking is required in Business
Social responsibility must be perceived as building
shared value rather than damage control or PR
campaign
NGOs, Government and companies should think of
CSR as corporate social integration
We are convinced that CSR is becoming increasingly
important to competitive success
Microsoft Working Connections Partnership

THANK YOU