Corporate Innovation Strategies

1Foundations of the Societal Strategy Based on Creating Shared Value (CSV)

Existing literature on CSR focuses on two opposing visions that have different consequences.

1.1. The issues at stake in the liberal and contractual conceptions of CSR

The first vision is a radical liberal conception, which is taken up by Levitt (1958) and Friedman (1970) in particular, who consider that the sole social responsibility of a company is to make profit. In this approach, the State is the only political and public actor, while companies, as private, non-political actors, are exempt from exposing their decisions to public scrutiny, or justifying their behavior, if they comply with the regulations in force and the morality of the practice (Friedman 1962, 1970). Companies are rarely seen as agents of societal change, even though, as Kramer and Pfitzer (2017) point out, the correlation between social progress and business success is becoming increasingly evident. The second vision is the instrumental position of CSR, which can be seen in the works of Mitchell et al. (1997), Jensen (2002), and Sundaram and Inkpen (2004). CSR CSV can be called “strategic” because it affects the firm’s position in relation to its competitors and goes far beyond action, to correct or anticipate potential damage to the firm (boycott, etc.). When this strategy is associated with competitive societal innovation, the company can improve its financial and societal performance. Profit maximization is one of the ultimate ...