RT Article
T1 Creating shared value through an inclusive development lens: a case study of a CSV strategy in Ghana's cocoa sector
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 178
IS 2
SP 339
OP 354
A1 Leth, David Ollivier de
A1 Ros-Tonen, Mirjam 1956-
LA English
PB Springer
YR 2022
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1807357570
AB Despite the widespread popularity of the Creating Shared Value (CSV) discourse, its ‘business case’ and ‘win-win’ rhetoric remain problematic. This paper adds an inclusive development perspective to the debate, arguing that analysing CSV strategies through an inclusivity lens contributes to a better operationalisation of societal value; makes tensions and contradictions between economic and societal value explicit and uncovers processes of inclusion, exclusion and adverse inclusion. We illustrate this by analysing Nestlé’s CSV strategy in its cocoa supply chains in Ghana based on content analysis of company documents, interviews with value chain actors and stakeholders, and focus groups with farmers. We ask how Nestlé frames and implements its CSV discourse in practice and how this relates to the social, relational and environmental dimensions of inclusive development. Findings show how the company addresses inclusive development dimensions in its corporate discourse, practices and business operations, and what trade-offs it faces. We then unmask the inherent tension between business objectives and societal interests and explain why the scope, issues addressed and societal impacts of CSV remain constrained. We conclude that CSV can help reduce a company’s impact on some persistent societal issues, but that its contribution to transformational change remains limited because the need to uphold competitive advantages and short-term financial performance narrows its ability to address all inclusivity dimensions. Legislation mandating responsible business conduct and due diligence can reduce this inherent tension by levelling the playing field between companies addressing inclusivity issues vis-à-vis those who do not.
K1 Cocoa
K1 Creating shared value
K1 Ghana
K1 inclusive development
K1 Inclusivity
K1 Nestlé
K1 Aufsatz in Zeitschrift
DO 10.1007/s10551-021-04808-1