Companies achieve remarkable things. They create products for customers, financial returns for investors, and jobs for employees. At the same time, they develop medications that cure deadly diseases, technologies that bring internet access to every corner of the earth, and by making more and more amenities and technologies easily affordable, they steadily increase our general quality of life.
Most Executives Believe in the Business Case for CSR. So Why Don’t They Invest More in It?
Advocates who keep proving that CSR is good for the bottom line are wasting their time.
September 12, 2018
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Summary.
Given companies’ track record in achieving great things, the question is not whether companies can be a force for good. The question is, why do not all executives lead their companies to be a force for good? In other words, why do some executives refrain from leading their companies in socially responsible ways, and what would motivate them to invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR)? The typical way to answer these questions is to invoke the business case for CSR. But a new study shows that many executives already accept the business case for CSR, and in fact, that it’s because of this that they’re so often blind to the very problems that might be remediated through CSR. After all, if solving an issue is a good business opportunity, why aren’t businesses already capitalizing on it? Advocates would have much more impact by focusing on helping executives to take off their blinkers, rather than pouring more energy into building a business case most people already believe.