The corporate social dimension of the triple bottom line : a sustainable development perspective

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:In the past the social dimension of business has often been neglected and regardedas inferior to issues related to the financial sphere of business. The rise ofsustainable development and a growing awareness regarding the frailty of earth'sresources have placed renewed emphasis on the importance of the corporate socialdimension for sustained business success. Scrutiny of the literature revealed thatnumerous misconceptions regarding the corporate social dimension still prevailedand that the success of sustainable development is often jeopardised by a lack ofimplementation. The triple bottom line (TBL), a concept that embraces corporateeconomic, environmental and social elements, was identified as a most appropriateway of elucidating the corporate social dimension and for operationalisingsustainable development, as it provides several philosophic and implementationprinciples and guidelines.The objective of this study was to contribute to an improved understanding of thecorporate social dimension and its implementation as one of the three parts of theTBL, within the perspective of sustainable development. To achieve this objective itwas considered fundamental to analyse the importance and development of thecorporate social dimension, the concepts and terminology related to the socialdimension, and the current status of the corporate social dimension in both a SouthAfrican as well as a global context. The positive aspects and limitations of extantapproaches were subsequently delineated. Another important prerequisite forachieving the objective of the study was the clarification of the importance, meaningand implications of sustainable development, and the TBL approach as anoperationalisation method. The development, three drnensions, importance andbenefits of the TBL approach were analysed and several fundamental principles andcompulsory guidelines were identified as vital conditions (e.g. a stakeholderapproach, leadership support and involvement, equal consideration of all theelements of the TBL, etc.) for apt TBL adoption and sustained business success.An analysis of the relevance of sustainable development and TBL principles andguidelines for the corporate social dimension, and the interrelation between business,government and the social dimension, contributed towards an improvedunderstanding of the social dimension of the corporate triple bottom line and itsimplementation within the perspective of sustainable development, thereby facilitatingthe achievement of the objective of the study.The most salient conclusions of the study focused on the importance of addressingthe corporate social dimension in an integrated manner within the perspective ofsustainable development and by means of the TBL approach, despite the seeminglyelusive nature of the social dimension and numerous debates and viewpointsregarding it.Based on the conclusions of the study a number of recommendations were maderegarding the process of leveraging the context-specific and dynamic nature ofcorporate social definitions and viewpoints, the advancement of business application,and the advancement of theory.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University