Creating shared value: concept clarifications and a practical framework : a guide to unleash the power of “creating shared value” in practice

Abstract

Due to rising social and environmental pressures, the interest in business concepts that tackle these pressures has rapidly increased over the past decade. Specifically, the concept of Creating Shared Value promises that companies can pursue environmental and social improvements without losing sight of their economic goals. As a result, the concept of Creating Shared Value has gained immense traction over the past 7 years. However, scholars and practitioners have not yet fully agreed on the concept’s clarity and its boundaries towards other concepts like Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Innovation and Stakeholder Management Theory. This unclear situation risks that the potential of the concept CSV remains unreached and executives are unable to implement its principles in practice. To resolve this issue, this study takes a two-fold approach. First, drawing on 121 peer-reviewed articles on Creating Shared Value, I have created a literature review on the topic, which consists of 1) a definition that provides a new perspective on CSV, 2) a clarification of the boundaries between CSV and other close concepts in the field of sustainability and 3) an identification of gaps in the literature on CSV. Secondly, I provide a practical framework for executives that enables them to prepare their companies for implementations of CSV initiatives. The application of this framework raises the acceptance and success rate of such initiatives and will ultimately lead to an alignment of the concept in literature.