Alves, Ana Filipa Almeida Matias de Vasconcelos

English

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is already reckoned as important for companies, mostly due to public perception and consequently the impact on brand image. However, there has been an increasing tendency towards integrating CSR in companies’ strategy. Strategic CSR occurs when shared value is created, i.e. when both society and companies gain something. For companies, the premise of strategic CSR is gained benefits and it might even become a competitive advantage. Despite all the progress made in medicine the world is still facing important health problems and epidemics, which undermine not only human development but also economic growth and therefore affect businesses in multiple ways. Health should therefore be one of the issues addressed by CSR, particularly strategic CSR. The Global Business Coalition (GBC) is a nonprofit organization that brings businesses to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, building on the private sector’s assets and expertise. As so, for companies GBC represents an investment in CSR, and it also is, or has the potential to be, a source of strategic CSR – aligning business interests with society’s health issues. GBC had been experiencing a consistent growth since its inception in 2001, however with the global financial crisis this tendency changed and GBC started facing important budget constraints. This study goes through the implications of this crisis to the Coalition, trying to understand not only the impact it has had but also what can be done to overcome the current difficulties and what can be expected in the future. The analysis shows that GBC is worth investing in for companies’ future sustainability; its business model is adequate though some small changes are suggested; it can render greater strategic significance for companies if slightly adapted; and its membership basis is expected to grow in the future. The case study also shows that GBC is already preparing to make some changes, in line with what is discussed in the analysis, in order to overcome the constraints posed by the current financial crisis. GBC will soon be expanding its mandate, changing its mission, name, logo and strategy

Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa

The global business coalition : a decade of bold leadership : analyzing strategy and performance for the last decade while peeking into the future for new directions

https://repositorio.ucp.pt/bitstream/10400.14/7850/3/Filipa%20Alves%20MSc%20Thesis%20-%20The%20Global%20Business%20Coalition%20-%20Analyzing%20strategy%20and%20performance%20for%20the%20last%20decade%20while%20peeking%20into%20the%20future%20for%20new%20directions.pdf

The global business coalition : a decade of bold leadership : analyzing strategy and performance for the last decade while peeking into the future for new directions

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Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa