Responsible Management Abroad – Scanning the Information Landscape

Project context

German businesses are very international. They also show a high level of commitment to societal issues and act as ‘corporate citizens’. However, most of the corporate citizenship activities take place on the local level or in Germany. The Bertelsmann Foundation, together with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, planned to build an information platform on responsible management abroad. This study preceded the project to determine whether there was a demand for such a platform, and if so, what was expected of it.

Project objective

The study checked the current demand and supply of information for German businesses on responsible management abroad. More concretely, it asked

• Supply: What information services in the area of external trade and CSR do already exist? What kind of information is available there? What questions remain unanswered?
• Demand: Which German businesses have activities abroad and where? How important is CSR for German companies? Where do they get information on responsible management abroad today? What kind of information services do they miss?

This demand and supply analysis should provide the basis to determine the need for an internet platform on CSR abroad and to outline its content and functionalities.

Project output

While there are a host of information services on external trade and a number of others on CSR, little information is available about CSR abroad. Interviews with CSR managers revealed a need for specific information on the national level on regulatory frameworks, potential broker or partner organizations, relevant social and environmental issues and so forth. Managers also value the opportunity to learn from experiences of other companies and build networks of practitioners. Consequently, an internet platform on CSR abroad should focus on country-specific information as well as case studies on existing projects.