Competitive advantage due to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Organizations are becoming more and more aware of their responsibilities towards the society, as can be seen from emerging issues such as the social reporting, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and increased stakeholder dialogue. The research examines whether and in what way CSR can lead to the competitive advantage of organizations. In order to approach this research question, the Resource-Based View Theory has been used. Next to the literature research, a case-study has been done at Peeze, a coffee roaster. The most important finding that came out of the literature and is validated in the case- study, is that an organization has to take CSR as a strategic asset and has to make it explicit throughout the whole organization. Companies must take the whole coffee chain into consideration, from the source and the roasting, all the way to the customer. In conclusion, CSR can lead to competitive advantage. Organizations need to possess the management capabilities to bring technologies and production skills of a company together in competences that give the organization the opportunity to react quickly to the changing environment and possibilities.