Building in sustainability, social responsibility and value co-creation

Abstract

PurposeThis paper addresses the question of how value can be created through social responsibility programs or other means, so that sustainability is achieved through increasing stakeholders' participation in the process of design and selection of such programs, so that transparency is maximised and trust can be built with the lasting benefits of co-creation of value. Design/Methodology/ApproachThis paper studies the relationship between sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and value co-creation based on qualitative research data gathered from two embedded case studies. The first case study in a large mining company operating in New Zealand and the second case study is based on the New Zealand Merino Company. FindingsFindings of this research suggest that sustainability is built with the participation of many interconnected entities, that is, suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, or more generally stakeholders whose actions are fostered by social responsibility that fuels the pride, trust, and consistency of the members of the value chain. Value in all forms -functional value, hedonic value, symbolic value and cost value-is a recurrent theme in this research data; however it is value co-creation, working together, living up to the values that their products and services promise that ultimately supports sustainability. Originality/ValueThis paper shows how the scope of sustainability has broadened from environmental matters to include other topics such as good corporate citizenship, business relationships and the value that is created and shared, not only with shareholders, but also within a wider community of stakeholders.In Case Study 1, interaction is facilitated by an existing working relationship, then, in subsequent interaction both parties utilise each other's resources in co-creating value. The involvement of the stakeholder in the project, legitimises the company's actions while making the stakeholder feel proud of the project outcome, thus, the company is seen as a good partner and thus the relationship becomes stronger. Later, the successfully completed project serves as the context of interaction where the parties are able to discuss and resolve problems that otherwise might be irreconcilable.While consistency and trust are well known dimensions of business relationships, pride, not previously studied, became a relevant issue in Case study 2. Pride emerges from the feeling of ownership value that co-created activities nurture. Pride, strengthens the network links promoting business bottom-line viability at little or no cost. It also reduces the parties' motivation for opportunistic behaviour. A virtual circle between value co-creation and the perception of value that a project delivers, derives from integrity. Integrity makes the company boundaries less sharp, and thus increases the parties' ownership of the outcomes that the operations of the company deliver.

Soccer fields? What for? Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives in the mining industry

“…In other words, stakeholder needs must be considered in the prioritization and design of the CSR initiatives (Biggemann, Williams, & Kro, 2014). Although generally considered for natural resource management issues, CAM (Scarlett, 2013) seems to be a suitable approach to address effectiveness in CSR initiatives.…”

Introducing Sustainability in Value Models to Support Design Decision Making: A Systematic Review

“…Along this line of thought, Sekerka and Stimel [67] present a framework to help leaders in examining their strategic perspective based on their organization's identity. Several have investigated how value can be created through social responsibility programs [68,69], with empirical evidence being found of the existence of a positive and bidirectional relationship between CSR and financial performances [70].…”

Introducing Sustainability in Value Models to Support Design Decision Making: A Systematic Review

“…Along this line of thought, Sekerka and Stimel [65] present a framework to help leaders in examining their strategic perspective based on their organization's identity. Several have investigated how value can be created through social responsibility programs [66][67], with empirical evidence being found of the existence of a positive and bidirectional relationship between CSR and financial performances [68].…”