Meet the Incredible, Unsung Heros of Shared Value Businesses
Profit alone is not enough.
Do you eat almost anything? Or are you one of the picky ones?
I often compare a friend from India who told me about his life growing up as a teenager in an Indian boarding school next to my friend from the USA that grew up in a high-income, well-established, gated neighborhood. Let me tell you - the difference couldn’t be more obvious. When on a road trip, my Indian friend did not really care much about food or anything else. “I am good with anything, Simon. Really.” He has seen very different in his former school days. As he told me how they ate the same thing - day in and out - for years at a time, only allowed to leave the school premises once a month, I formed deep respect. In stark contrast to this, my American friend once made a comment where I had to hold back my bursts of laughter: “Don’t worry Simon, I eat almost anything. There are only a few things I really dislike such as eggs, cucumber, mustard, tomatoes…”. I do not want to continue writing this list to bore you. It wasn’t a short one.
Soup.
Beethoven once made a comment about one dish in particular: soup.
"Only the pure of heart can make good soup" — Beethoven
Do you like soup? I know for some, any dish that does not stick one bit on a fork should not be considered “food” rather than “drink”. And that’s okay.
However, I like soup (okay, most of them).
If you live in the US or Australia, you have heard about the Campell Soup Company. Originally named after the fruit vendor Joseph A. Campell, the company has an impressive time of existence, with its originator founding the company all the way back in 1869.
What has all this to do with soup?
Campells Soup came in my mind because I once bought a can of their soup that ultimately stuck around in my dark corner cabinet for more than two years. I actually never tasted the soup itself. It was only the idea of having two-year-old soup with a now yellow-ish label sitting in my cabinet that wanted me to better not open it. So to be fair, I never gave it a shot.
On the other hand, the company is a good example of a statement from Porter (Kramer & Porter, 2011) and his concept of Shared Value (SV). In essence it explains that in this day and age, companies are not only expected to generate revenue, rather than doing “good deeds” for the community around them alike. Customers have come to expect that a “profit only” direction is simply not acceptable anymore.
Criticized by some (Moczadlo, R 2015), the concept has been backlashed, such as an argument that it is only a slight revision of the Corporate Responsibility (CR) ideas. That might be true, but the essence of both CSR and SV displays that the consumer does bring heightened expectations to companies with this in mind.
The shared value initiative (sharevalue.org) built on Porter's concept lists Campell as one of its members. One of the company's initiatives was the 10-year Campbell’s Healthy Communities program that recently came to an end. For example, Campell (among other initiatives) organized and influenced a higher standard of nutrition in US High Schools in this program. And going by what I personally have seen during my exchange year, I can only say: US High School can be grateful.
Of course, I do not want to stir around the pot, announcing the company to be a significant social partner - at the end of the day, they also need to make profits. And I have not researched the program enough to say anything about its size and impact or if it was more of a marketing initiative. However, I think it shows simply how you can create win-win situations companies need to further facilitate to stay on “the good side” of the customer” and what he has come to expect.
Of course, there are other companies. Many of them have done it longer or better and everything in between. Below I threw together a shortlist from the Shared Value Initiative homepage - maybe you have heard of some? Do you know of any initiatives?
Did you know these companies are actively seeking to create Shared Value? Is it more imagination than reality?
Whatever your opinion, I would love to hear from you - via the comment box below or direct chat.
References
Moczadlo, R. 2015, "CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES - THE EUROPEAN CSR-STRATEGY COMPARED WITH PORTER'S AND KRAMER'S SHARED VALUE APPROACH", Ekonomski Vjesnik, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 243-256.
Kramer, Mark R., and Michael Porter. Creating shared value. Vol. 17. FSG, 2011.
