I don’t know if what I’ve been seeing lately is some sort of personally biased observation or it is an actual trend that is occurring, but nevertheless, I am interested in what I see as the shift from Shareholder Accountability to Stakeholder Responsibility and how this fits into the Consumer Generated Content (CGC) trend.
It’s always helpful when using loaded, ambiguous terms to start off with some context and definition. It seems that as time has progressed (especially recently), that many corporations are starting to shift from solely pleasing their shareholders to taking a more holistic, stake-holder centric point of view. This larger point of view is more encompassing and takes into account supplier/developer relationships, community impact, and environmental impact when making decisions. I think we have started to see the beginning of such a trend emerging. For example, this innovative company, B Corporation, independently verifies companies allowing them to become B Corporations (see the website for more detail) – essentially, granting such a designation to companies meeting comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
The contemporary consumer seems to be demanding to know the impact of business on the environment, where and how things are supplied/manufactured, and the meme of creating change through purchasing “better” is starting to spread. The confluence of these trends can be seen, for example, by the growth of the organic market, both food and otherwise. Organic food sales are anticipated to increase an average of 18 percent each year from 2007 to 2010 while organic non-food sales grew 26 percent in 2006. Any recent trip to the supermarket can tell you that organic foods are significantly more expensive than their non-organic counterparts (same goes for clothing made from non-organic fibers). The growth of the relatively more expensive organic market during a time of rampant food inflation and depressed consumer spending in general certainly says something.
What does this all mean for the seemingly unrelated world of consumer generated content? If consumers creating content are also attempting to create change through purchasing, it isn’t hard to do the math from there. I think, ultimately, that companies who embrace this connection will see themselves portrayed in a more favorable light on non-traditional media outlets like the ubiquitous blogosphere and YouTube, whereas companies who deny such a connection exists will become increasingly critiqued through these mediums and will be (negatively) compared to their more holistic competitors. Only time will tell, a lot of this is my opinion and a bit subjective, but that is how I see it.
-Mike
