Corporate social responsibility: Playing to win, or playing not to lose? Doing good by increasing the social benefits of a company’s core activities

Incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the positioning of corporate brands has become widespread. However, CSR initiatives may be suboptimal in their long-term effects if they only focus on reducing the costs that organizations impose on society, or if they are not directly related to the company’s core business. CSR activities focused on minimizing the organization’s societal costs are basically a hygiene factor. They avoid harm but beyond that they are unlikely to produce sustainable benefits for corporate branding. CSR projects that are not directly related to the organization’s core business hamper the optimal use of the organization’s expertise, which represents a lost opportunity for the firm as well as for society. If organizations want to strategically embrace CSR to achieve a sustainable positioning of their corporate brand and long-term positive benefits for society, CSR initiatives should come forth from their core business processes and focus on the benefits the organization can offer to society, creating a win-win scenario for the organization and for society.