Giants have much to learn from the minnows when it comes to corporate social responsibility, new statistics suggest.
An analysis of 200 independent assessments of 90 organizations against
the GoodCorporation standard over its first five years has revealed
that those with fewer than 50 employees – half the sample –
outperformed the larger ones on most of the 62 responsible business
measures studied.
This applied particularly to community and environmental performance
and supplier management. A third of the organizations were listed
companies, about half private and the rest non-profit. Three-quarters
were based in the UK, and most of the others were from outside Europe
and the US.
GoodCorporation director Leo Martin said smaller firms were also better
at dealing responsibly with customers and employees. ‘The relative
strength of small companies derives from their commitment and ability
to respond quickly to stakeholder needs,’ he said. Martin suggested
large companies delegate the management of stakeholder relationships to
local teams within a subsidiary rather than keeping the function at
head office. ‘They should be wary of inflexible policy, which we found
to be a source of discontent among staff and customers in particular,’
he said.
The UK-based GoodCorporation, set up in 2001, grades companies on a
five-point scale against its own standard, awarding marks ranging from
fail to commendation. Any organization that has no fail grades receives
a good-performance certificate. During the first five years there was
an 18 per cent fail rate – with large listed companies the most likely
to be found wanting.
