Title: Corporate social reporting: The Hershey Company's Corporate Social Responsibility Report: a case study

Authors: David M. Setley; Bindu Vyas; Norma Menis-Croxall

Addresses: Department of Business and Economics, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA 17003, USA ' McGowan School of Business, King's College, 133 N. River Street, Wilkes Barre, PA 18711, USA ' Deceased; formerly of: The Hershey Company, 100 Crystal A Drive, Hershey, PA 17033, USA

Abstract: On 13 September 2010, in honour of the birthday of founder Milton S. Hershey, The Hershey Company published its first ever Corporate Social Responsibility Report based on the 2009 performance of the firm regarding financial, environmental and social metrics. Although the report confirmed the established beliefs of management in regard to The Hershey Company's social responsibility, potential threats and new opportunities were also discovered. The report focused on four key business environments; the marketplace, the natural environment, the workplace, and the community. The report was centred on the mission and values of The Hershey Company. This study attempts to demonstrate the importance of social responsibility reporting in the global business environment of the 21st century. The brand recognition, size and global significance of The Hershey Company offers a good structure for other firms to model in the reporting of corporate social responsibility.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; social entrepreneurship; innovation; Hershey Company; stakeholders perspective; global business environment; corporate social reporting; financial metrics; environmental metrics; social metrics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEI.2012.051476

International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2012 Vol.1 No.4, pp.392 - 403

Published online: 29 Nov 2014 *

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