25、Strategy-&-Society：-The-Link-Between-Competitiv

overnments,activists,andthemediahavebecomeadeptatholdingcompaniestoaccountforthesocialconsequencesoftheiractivities.Myriadorganizationsrankcompaniesontheperformanceoftheircorporatesocialresponsibility(CSR),and,despitesometimesquestionablemethodologies,theserankingsattractconsiderablepublicity.Asaresult,CSRhasemergedasaninescapablepriorityforbusinessleadersineverycountry.Manycompanieshavealreadydonemuchtoimprovethesocialandenviron-mentalconsequencesoftheiractivities,yettheseeffortshavenotbeennearlyasproductiveastheycouldbe–fortworeasons.First,theypitbusinessagainstso-ciety,whenclearlythetwoareinterdependent.Second,theypressurecompaniestothinkofcorporatesocialresponsibilityingenericwaysinsteadofinthewaymostappropriatetoeachfirm’sstrategy.78harvardbusinessreview|hbr.orgbyMichaelE.PorterandMarkR.KramerDOUGFRASERHBRSpotlightMakingaRealDifferenceGTheLinkBetweenCompetitiveAdvantageandCorporateSocialResponsibility&SocietyStrategyYYEELLMMAAGGCCYYAANNBBLLAACCKKThefactis,theprevailingapproachestoCSRaresofragmentedandsodisconnectedfrombusinessandstrat-egyastoobscuremanyofthegreatestopportunitiesforcompaniestobenefitsociety.If,instead,corporationsweretoanalyzetheirprospectsforsocialresponsibilityusingthesameframeworksthatguidetheircorebusi-nesschoices,theywoulddiscoverthatCSRcanbemuchmorethanacost,aconstraint,oracharitabledeed–itcanbeasourceofopportunity,innovation,andcompetitiveadvantage.Inthisarticle,weproposeanewwaytolookatthere-lationshipbetweenbusinessandsocietythatdoesnottreatcorporatesuccessandsocialwelfareasazero-sumgame.Weintroduceaframeworkcompaniescanusetoidentifyalloftheeffects,bothpositiveandnegative,theyhaveonsociety;determinewhichonestoaddress;andsuggesteffectivewaystodoso.Whenlookedatstrategi-cally,corporatesocialresponsibilitycanbecomeasourceoftremendoussocialprogress,asthebusinessappliesitsconsiderableresources,expertise,andinsightstoactiv-itiesthatbenefitsociety.TheEmergenceofCorporateSocialResponsibilityHeightenedcorporateattentiontoCSRhasnotbeenentirelyvoluntary.Manycompaniesawoketoitonlyafterbeingsurprisedbypublicresponsestoissuestheyhadnotpreviouslythoughtwerepartoftheirbusinessresponsibilities.Nike,forexample,facedanextensiveconsumerboycottaftertheNewYorkTimesandothermediaoutletsreportedabusivelaborpracticesatsomeofitsIndonesiansuppliersintheearly1990s.ShellOil’sdecisiontosinktheBrentSpar,anobso-leteoilrig,intheNorthSealedtoGreenpeaceprotestsin1995andtointernationalheadlines.PharmaceuticalcompaniesdiscoveredthattheywereexpectedtorespondtotheAIDSpandemicinAfricaeventhoughitwasfarre-movedfromtheirprimaryproductlinesandmarkets.Fast-foodandpackagedfoodcompaniesarenowbeingheldresponsibleforobesityandpoornutrition.Activistorganizationsofallkinds,bothontherightandtheleft,havegrownmuchmoreaggressiveandeffec-tiveinbringingpublicpressuretobearoncorporations.Activistsmaytargetthemostvisibleorsuccessfulcompa-niesmerelytodrawattentiontoanissue,evenifthosecorporationsactuallyhavehadlittleimpactontheprob-lemathand.Nestlé,forexample,theworld’slargestpur-veyorofbottledwater,hasbecomeamajortargetintheglobaldebateaboutaccesstofreshwater,despitethefactthatNestlé’sbottledwatersalesconsumejust0.0008%oftheworld’sfreshwatersupply.Theinefficiencyofagri-culturalirrigation,whichuses70%oftheworld’ssupplyannually,isafarmorepressingissue,butitoffersnoequallyconvenientmultinationalcorporationtotarget.DebatesaboutCSRhavemovedallthewayintocor-porateboardrooms.In2005,360differentCSR-relatedshareholderresolutionswerefiledonissuesrangingfromlaborconditionstoglobalwarming.Governmentregula-tionincreasinglymandatessocialresponsibilityreport-ing.PendinglegislationintheUK,forexample,wouldre-quireeverypubliclylistedcompanytodiscloseethical,social,andenvironmentalrisksinitsannualreport.Thesepressuresclearlydemonstratetheextenttowhichexter-nalstakeholdersareseekingtoholdcompaniesaccount-ableforsocialissuesandhighlightthepotentiallylargefinancialrisksforanyfirmwhoseconductisdeemedunacceptable.Whilebusinesseshaveawakenedtotheserisks,theyaremuchlessclearonwhattodoaboutthem.Infact,themostcommoncorporateresponsehasbeenneitherstra-tegicnoroperationalbutcosmetic:publicrelationsand80harvardbusinessreview|hbr.orgHBRSpotlightMakingaRealDifferenceMichaelE.PorteristheBishopWilliamLawrenceUniversityProfessoratHarvardUniversity;heisbasedatHarvardBusi-nessSchoolinBoston.HeisafrequentcontributortoHBR,andhismostrecentarticleis“SevenSurprisesforNewCEOs”(October2004).MarkR.Kramer([e-mail])isthemanagingdirectorofFSGSocialImpactAdvisors,aninternationalnonprofitconsultingfirm,andaseniorfellowintheCSRInitiativeatHarvard’sJohnF.KennedySchoolofGovernmentinCambridge,Massachusetts.PorterandKramerarethecofoundersofbothFSGSocialImpactAdvisorsandtheCenterforEffectivePhilanthropy,anonprofitresearchorganization.TheprevailingapproachestoCSRaresodisconnectedfrombusinessastoobscuremanyofthegreatestopportunitiesforcompaniestobenefitsociety.YYEELLMMAAGGCCYYAANNBBLLAACCKKmediacampaigns,thecenterpiecesofwhichareoftenglossyCSRreportsthatshowcasecompanies’socialandenvironm