Creating shared value : the case of Nestlé

In the past years, a lot has been said about the role business develops in society. There are opposite views about the position that both business and society should take. In fact, it is a theme that is increasingly popular and there is an increasing discussion around it in the business academic arena. However, one thing is clear: companies have to address societal issues in a proactive way in order to satisfy the increasing demands of their stakeholders. They really have to do good or, at least, appear to. This is the reason why many companies have been pursuing Social Responsibility strategies in order to rebrand its image, trying to create a competitive advantage in an evolving market. The main idea of the present dissertation is to study why and how companies should engage in Social Responsibility strategies in order to create both economic and societal value. The problem statement relies on understanding how a strategic focus on social issues may create a sustainable, long-term view where both economic and social values are created. The present dissertation, written in the form of a case study, aims to present the successful case of Nestlé when developing and implementing its Creating Shared Value strategy. All the steps that Nestlé took since 2006 are analysed to explain why and how did Nestlé successfully change the image of the company while increasing the total pool of value created, which is divided in both economic and social value along its entire value chain