Creating Shared Value – Building Scalable Competitive Advantage
It’s hard to pick up a newspaper or watch TV, without hearing about the need for inclusive growth. Many business leaders are stressing the need for adoption of a new business model. Understanding the need of the hour, FSG (Social impact Consultants) has created a report titled, ‘Creating Shared Value in India’ that shows various examples of Indian companies that are viewing opportunities and taking a systematic intentional approach to creating economic and social value.
So what is Creating Shared Value (CSV)?
CSV is an intentional, systematic way for companies to create lasting competitive advantage. It entails identifying business constraints that are tied to societal problems, and leveraging the core assets of a business to solve those problems in innovative, sustainable and scalable ways. When companies are able to balance creation of both social and economic value, the social impact grows as the business itself grows, strengthening the cycle of impact and generating lasting competitive advantage.
CSV and CSR
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) often focuses on corporate philanthropy and/or efforts to make businesses more sustainable by mitigating the resources used in operations. It is often supported by a department of talented and dedicated staff, who are not part of daily strategic and operational business decisions. CSR departments play an important role in promoting and contributing to CSV strategies in a company. But CSV must be integrated to a company’s core business to have the most impact.
What is FSG?
FSG is a nonprofit consulting firm specializing in strategy, evaluation and research. Founded in 2000 as Foundation Strategy Group by Mark Kramer and Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, FSG works across sectors worldwide—partnering with foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and governments to develop effective solutions to the world’s most challenging issues.
In India, FSG hopes to contribute to the dialogue, partner with people passionate about creating real change, and share the knowledge and lessons learnt, to improve the effectiveness to a variety of stakeholders.
Read the complete interview with Veronica Borgonovi, one of the four authors of the FSG report believes that India has tremendous potential for CSV, and vice-versa. She says, “India is a country poised to take CSV by the horns and show the rest of the world how a new form of capitalism can create real, and lasting, competitive advantage and social benefit”. In this interview, Veronica, talks about CSV, CSR and the challenges that companies face while adopting it.
Read the complete interview here and to read the full report ‘Creating Shared Value in India’ please click here.