The impact of organisational culture and structure on CSR and the creation of shared value: a case study of the Co-operative Banking Group

There has been a major change in the perception of business and its role in creating value (Porter 2011). Until the recent past traditional capitalism was held up as the answer to all questions of wealth and value creation where value was seen as belonging primarily to shareholders. This perception was reinforced with the rise in interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the adoption of its principles by the majority of large investor owned firms and banks. The global recession and a string of banking scandals has shone a light on this worldview and found it wanting – organisations of all sizes are believed to be prospering at the expense of society. Shared value has been defined as ‘policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company whiles simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates’ (Porter 2011). This view asserts that the standard operating model of businesses consists of an outdated perception of how they create value and indeed of what constitutes value. The short term focus of maximization of both profit and shareholder return has been criticised as unsustainable (Carrol 1979, Handy 2005) and the question of how organisations can create shared value (Porter 2006) is key to the redefinition of what both capitalism and CSR mean in the 21st century and how it might evolve into a system that meets the needs of its stakeholders in the widest sense. Shared value has been defined as ‘policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company whiles simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates’ (Porter 2011).