Conscious Business in Germany: Assessing the Current Situation and Creating an Outlook for a New Paradigm PDF
Preview Conscious Business in Germany: Assessing the Current Situation and Creating an Outlook for a New Paradigm
CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Series Editors: Samuel O. Idowu · René Schmidpeter Nicolas Josef Stahlhofer Christian Schmidkonz Patricia Kraft Conscious Business in Germany Assessing the Current Situation and Creating an Outlook for a New Paradigm CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Serieseditors SamuelO.Idowu,LondonMetropolitanUniversity,London,UnitedKingdom Rene´ Schmidpeter,CologneBusinessSchool,Germany Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/11565 Nicolas Josef Stahlhofer (cid:129) Christian Schmidkonz (cid:129) Patricia Kraft Conscious Business in Germany Assessing the Current Situation and Creating an Outlook for a New Paradigm NicolasJosefStahlhofer ChristianSchmidkonz NTTDATA MunichBusinessSchool Munich,Germany Munich,Germany PatriciaKraft MunichBusinessSchool Munich,Germany ISSN2196-7075 ISSN2196-7083 (electronic) CSR,Sustainability,Ethics&Governance ISBN978-3-319-69738-3 ISBN978-3-319-69739-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69739-0 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017958031 ©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2018 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinor for anyerrors oromissionsthat may havebeenmade. Thepublisher remainsneutralwith regardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland To Josef Stahlhofer Foreword A world which is constantly shaped by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity asks for wise and responsible leadership. Navigating through this field of tension is anything but easy. Traditional management and leadership models such as linear forecast models increasingly show their weaknesses. Nevertheless, there are also numerous examples of leaders and companies who manage to cope with this environment based on their systemic intelligence, structural agility and theirpursuitofahigherpurpose.Theseorganizationsareledbypurposeratherthan fear which gives them a competitive advantage in terms of actively transforming theirstructurestoexternaldevelopments.Thefoundationoftheirsuccessisbased onacoreprinciple—theyareconsciousofthemselvesandothersandactuponit. When reading the news regarding impactful businesses, many people might come to the conclusion that data-driven and platform-based businesses from the USA and Asia will leave no room for other players in the future. However, Germany is home to hundreds of companies who have been achieving financial successwhileactivelyfosteringpositivechangefortheirstakeholdersatthesame time. “ConsciousbusinessinGermany”portraysfouroftheseexamplesinacompre- hensive way. The companies portrayed are united by a shared belief that their businessmodelcontributestotheelevationofhumanity.Theseorganizationshave managedtobuildaconsciouswayofleadershipaswellasaninclusivestakeholder model aroundtheirbusinesspurpose.Theircorporateculturesaredominatedbya high level of employee inclusion regarding joint decision-making, transparency, trust, flat hierarchies and authentic communication. Establishing such companies does not happen overnight and requires constant support by the management. Hence, the authors discovered each company by conducting interviews with the founders,CEOs and topmanagersofthese four Germany conscious businesses to gainvaluableinsightsoftheirleadershipandculturalapproach. Conscious businesses excel in involving their employees to participate in the companies’ purpose and dynamic culture. This culture is formed by a humanistic conception of man, an open platform for innovative ideas, personal responsibility vii viii Foreword andflathierarchies. Moreover,passion andhappinessareseenasessentialfactors forworkplaceperformanceandemployeewell-beingratherthanasuperficialcatch phraseincompanypresentations.Culturesareformedbyinteractions,attitudesand beliefs, and conscious cultures offer enough room for people to discover the corporatesoulwhilegrowingpersonallyandprofessionally. Understanding customer needs and the underlying motivations and values is a keytaskforeverybusiness.Translatingthisinformationintolong-lastingcustomer satisfaction, retention and sustainable sales in combination with a humanistic approachmightseemcontradictorywhenapplyingatraditionallogicofmanaging business.Thesecompanieshavebeenprovingadifferentrealitybyswitchingtheir mindsfromatrade-offmentalitytoasynergeticmentalityofmatchingstakeholder needsandputtingtheircustomersattheheartoftheiroperations.Inordertoprovide a comprehensive foundation for this aspect, the authors integrate qualitative and quantitativeinformationandthuscreatealineofargument. The portrayed companies use their purpose and humanistic core to guide busi- ness decisions and thus ensure coherence and authenticity among internal and external stakeholders. The barriers of hiding societal-unaccepted actions are con- stantlyrisinghigherduetoagrowingdemandfortransparencyandresponsibility. The business case for conscious businesses as outlined in this book has impli- cationsondifferentdimensions.Forexample,recruitinggenerationyandztalents is easier as these generations are highly attracted by companies that combine purposeandmeaningfulnesswithasuccessfulbusinessmodel.Inaddition,keeping a motivated workforce is strongly influenced by a supportive culture and positive work atmosphere that is a core aspect of conscious businesses. With regard to customeracceptanceandloyalty,brandsthatprovetocombinesustainableproducts and services with customer centricity and quality show higher rates of customer loyaltyandretention. EYworksonbuildingabetterworkingworldbyhelpingcompaniestoembrace changeandtransformationaccordingtointernalandmarketneeds.Hence,wesee purposeandrelatedaspectsasanessentialpartofourportfoliowhichisconstantly growing in importance. In addition, the EY Beacon Institute was founded as a communityofbusinessleaders,boardmembersandacademicstoprovideresearch, insights and advice to inspire and amplify the growing movement of purpose-led businesses. In line with this, EY and I am personally convinced that there is an increasingneedforthedescribedbusinesspractices.Hence,Iamverypleasedthat this book both covers the foundations and outlines how these principles are suc- cessfullylivedbyGermancompanies. The authors succeeded in offering a comprehensive book for everyone who is interestedindiscoveringtheworldofpurpose-ledcompaniesandeducatingoneself concerning the key drivers, the needed mindset and specific corporate actions towardsanewparadigminbusiness. ChairmanoftheManagementBoard HubertBarth EYGermany,Munich,Germany October2017 Preface Thereisnodayinourlifewhichpasseswithoutinteractingwithnumerousproducts andservicesthatareofferedtousbydifferentbusinesses:whenit’sdark,weswitch onthelightandusetheenergyfromaproviderwithoutthinkingaboutthemeansof production.Thesoapandtoothpasteweusehavenotbeencreatedbyusbutbought inoneofthemanydrugstoresnearby.Wepurchaseourclotheswithamoreorless conscious mindset from a well-known brand which had to set up various supply chains to offer them. As all of these daily items cost money, we have “our” bank which enables us to buy things in various ways. Nevertheless, the bank will only provideuswithmonetarymeansthatwehaveearnedthroughourdailyworkatthe company we are employed at. At the end of the day, companies are actively involvedinalmosteverythingwedo. Thereisaconstantpotentialforannoyanceandpleasurewhichisonlypossible through this active engagement. One of the most negative corporate incidents in Germanyduringthepastyearshasbeentheso-calleddieselgate.Technicalmanip- ulations have been consciously tolerated and partly forced by a large number of automotive executives, engineers, and others. Not only have customers been betrayed but also the habitants of countries where the cars were sold in, due to higherthanexpectedpollution.TheGermanautomotiveindustrywouldbealoss- makingbusinessifallharmfulecologicalandeconomicimpactswouldbepricedin. On the contrary, such scandals empower a constantly increasing number of organizations and individuals to do business in a more conscious manner. Doing business is a necessary prerequisite for societal well-being and better living stan- dardsforbillionsofpeople.Yet,thefutureflourishingofmankindrequiresamore conscious approach to business. Implementing this holistic idea of consciousness doesnotonlyhaveanimpactoncustomers,theenvironment,employees,suppliers, investors, partners, competitors, media, and institutions but also on the society at large.MankindisputatthecenterofConsciousBusinesses.Monetarysuccesscan only be created through the collective well-being of the community in which the businessisoperatingandinturnactivelycontributingwithitsactivities. ix x Preface ACEOwhoisonlyconcernedwithkeyperformanceindicatorssuchasrevenue andprofitattheendofaquarteristheembodimentofaCEOofthepastcentury.It is not a great achievement to act upon the “whatever it takes” principle to create profit for a business. Looking at the mere profit does not reflect negative or destructive aspects which were caused on the way to create it. A company which is led in such a way will not be able to persist in the long term and will vanish withoutbeingmissed. A CEO of a Conscious Business is concerned with corporate culture and the matchbetweenperformedactivitiesandcorporatevaluesattheendofaquarter.In addition, he or she focuses on how these values are lived by employees and supported by external stakeholders. From this perspective, customers represent a part of any Conscious Business as they help to cocreate something that is bigger than them. Customers vote with their wallets and thus have the ability to actively shape the direction of companies. The businesses that are portrayed in this book embracethismindsetandoffertheircustomersmultipleopportunitiestobecomea valuablepartoftheirpurpose. FourGermancompaniesfromdifferentindustrieswereselectedforthisbookto present their contribution to the “Conscious Business Movement”: the energy provider Polarstern, the outdoor equipment producer VAUDE, the drug store chain dm drogerie markt, and the GLS Bank embody representatives of the Con- sciousBusinessmovementinGermany.Themovement’soriginliesintheUnited States. Founders such as John Mackey (Whole Foods Market), Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia),orHerbKelleher(SouthwestAirlines)areregardedascharismaticand inspiring personalities who created more than just monetary value with their businesses. All of them have one thing in common. They broke a vast number of businessadministrationprinciples,putmankindandtheenvironmentatthecenter oftheiractions,andhavebeenfinanciallysuccessfulatthesametime.WholeFoods MarketwasacquiredbyAmazoninJune2017for$13.4billion,SouthwestAirlines hasneverexperiencedalossbytheendofthefiscalyearsincetheirfoundationin 1971,andYvonChouinardhasbecomeabillionaireeventhoughheperceivesthe furthercultivationofhiscorporatephilosophyaswaymoreimportant. The future belongs tocompanies that intrinsically apply the principles of Con- sciousBusinesswhichareoutlinedinthisbook.“CorporateSocialResponsibility” (CSR)hasgainedwidespreadacceptanceinthe1990s.CSRpromotestheintegra- tionofsocialandecologicalmattersbesidesthepursuitoffinancialsuccessandcan be seen as a remnant of the past century. The upcoming generations demand for more than just CSR in light of the variety and complexity of global challenges. They demand for conscious and reflected behavior which considers the effects of eachactiontowardthewell-beingofmankind,theenvironment,andthecontribu- tion to a meaningful life. In addition, self-actualization and the return to values which are in line with the nature and lived by millions of people worldwide representessentialdriversintimesofincreasingdigitalization. “Conscious Business in Germany” shows that there are already companies in placethatareledbyfoundersandCEOswhoactuponthe“purposebeforeprofit” paradigm. These businesses serve as a contemporary proof and inspiration for a
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