It's All About Balance: Examining the Factors that Drive a Firm's Integrated Social Performance (thesis)

Abstract

This paper examines factors that enable corporations to act authentically on the values of human respect and dignity, thus achieving integrated social performance. Integrated social performance is realized when firms that take responsibility for how their actions affect all stakeholder groups and seek to make positive impacts for their supply chains, employees, and communities. I looked at three factors: leadership diversity, sustainability governance structures, and financial resources. My findings indicate the importance of sustainability governance structures and financial resources for achieving integrated social performance. On the other hand, the results were mixed for leadership diversity. Overall, my findings give more color to the feasibility of upholding the promise of Freeman's original stakeholder theory and suggest concrete steps that will allow corporations to do so.