Shared Value Africa Initiative Report
Brief about:
Report with Individual Authors (2022)
Written by:
Other researchers:
This is a report carried out to understand how businesses in South Africa and Kenya perceive shared value as a management strategy.
The main problem is that we have these immense challenges at a global scale, and there are gaps between what the government is able to do to support society versus what we actually need to achieve to secure development.
The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that businesses have a role to play with addressing social and ecological challenges and they can do so in a way that generates economic value for them. The point was to show that it is possible to embed shared value business strategies and there are several examples of how this has been done in both our countries (South Africa and Kenya).
Key findings
- The first finding was that there is still a lot of confusion amongst people on how to think about CSV (Creation of Shared Value), sustainability, corporate social investment.
- Secondly, for CSV to work, it needs to be driven by the top management within organisations.What it means
Purpose driven organisations that have implemented a shared value management strategy have a CEO that has been convinced that this is the direction to take.
- Third, people who are driving the implementation of CSR strategies, even if they're not the CEO, it's deeply personal to them.What it means
In fact, some respondents even said that it is a "heart thing". This is not your typical economic theory, i.e. that this is what you do to make money. It has to go deeper than that.
Proposed action
- First step is to read the seminal article on creating shared value by Porter and Kramer (2019)
- Second step is to look at case studies of similar industries to yours that have seen success
Inspire yourself from the successful experiments.
- Step three is to make sure that the relevant stakeholders in your organisation agree with you and want to also implement CSV
They need to be involved in the process of thinking of how you are going to embed this strategy.
- Finally, look for courses and practical resources that can be useful in helping you and teaching you how to implement CSV frameworks
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Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Antoine Germain for preparation assistance
We would like to extend a special thank you to Antoine Germain, for their invaluable contribution in assisting the preparation of this research summary.
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Shared Value Africa Initiative Report
Cite this brief: Wachira, Mumbi. 'Shared Value Africa Initiative Report'. Acume. https://www.acume.org/r/shared-value-africa-initiative-report/
Brief created by: Dr Mumbi Wachira | Year brief made: 2022
Original research:
- T. B., Wachira, M., & et al., Shared Value Africa Initiative Report Shared Value Africa Initiative https://svai.africa/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Shared-Value-Research-Report-June-20201.pdf. – https://svai.africa/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Shared-Value-Research-Report-June-20201.pdf
Research brief:
This is a report carried out to understand how businesses in South Africa and Kenya perceive shared value as a management strategy.
The main problem is that we have these immense challenges at a global scale, and there are gaps between what the government is able to do to support society versus what we actually need to achieve to secure development.
The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that businesses have a role to play with addressing social and ecological challenges and they can do so in a way that generates economic value for them. The point was to show that it is possible to embed shared value business strategies and there are several examples of how this has been done in both our countries (South Africa and Kenya).
Findings:
The first finding was that there is still a lot of confusion amongst people on how to think about CSV (Creation of Shared Value), sustainability, corporate social investment.
Secondly, for CSV to work, it needs to be driven by the top management within organisations.
Purpose driven organisations that have implemented a shared value management strategy have a CEO that has been convinced that this is the direction to take.
Third, people who are driving the implementation of CSR strategies, even if they’re not the CEO, it’s deeply personal to them.
In fact, some respondents even said that it is a “heart thing”. This is not your typical economic theory, i.e. that this is what you do to make money. It has to go deeper than that.
Advice:
First step is to read the seminal article on creating shared value by Porter and Kramer (2019)
Second step is to look at case studies of similar industries to yours that have seen success
- Inspire yourself from the successful experiments.
Step three is to make sure that the relevant stakeholders in your organisation agree with you and want to also implement CSV
- They need to be involved in the process of thinking of how you are going to embed this strategy.
Finally, look for courses and practical resources that can be useful in helping you and teaching you how to implement CSV frameworks