Global Scan just came out with their Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Public Opinion research findings。 The research “tracks the public’s perception of how well companies perform on CSR relative to their expectations, It examines the changing gap between the average performance of ten industries and the average expectation of ten areas of CSR。” One of their findings is quite compelling：

“While expectations of companies have remained steady, perceptions of corporate performance on CSR has become increasingly negative, suggesting a failure by companies to effectively communicate their CSR efforts。 A growing gap between expectations and perceived industry CSR performance may lead to increased consumer activism and pressure for regulations that force companies to meet public expectations on CSR。”

The term ‘consumer activism’ is one that we can build on regarding building a better world through business。 Our initiative ‘Factivist’ is designed to tap into the hunger for meaning and the desire to make a difference on behalf of citizens。 This research points to the fact that such a desire to make a difference is alive in well in our purchasing and buying decisions。 Imagine a business actually inviting ‘consumer activism’ as part of its value proposition? Imagine this activism being part of their messaging。 Some businesses are already doing it (Patagonia,timberland boots 2010, Timberland,new timberland boots, Seventh Generation,timberland dress boots, etc。)。 This research opens the door to more businesses embracing such a philosophy – a belief and embracing of positive ‘Corporate Activism’。 One thing to change is replacing ‘consumer’ with ‘customer’。 We also need to move away from a consuming mindset to one of mutual exchange,timberland ladies, or ‘commercial citizenship’ or ‘conscious capitalism’。

Globe Scan Performance Gap