General Electric (GE) Stakeholders, Corporate Social Responsibility, ESG

General Electric Company (doing business as GE Aerospace) satisfies the interests of stakeholders through a corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy that capitalizes on aerospace business competitive advantages for the benefit of communities and individuals, shareholders, employees, customers, and the environment. Considering Archie B. Carroll’s model of CSR, General Electric’s corporate social responsibility strategy must respond to the demands of stakeholders, who are individuals or groups that significantly influence and are affected by the aerospace business. In this case of GE, the CSR and ESG strategy prioritizes stakeholder groups based on the company’s strategic direction and industry leadership. General Electric considers aerospace industry stakeholders in designing its corporate citizenship and sustainability programs. In addition, initiatives for community development address GE stakeholders’ interests in the impact of the multinational business.

General Electric Company’s corporate social responsibility programs deal with the most significant issues facing the business. For example, the company considers corporate social responsibilities pertaining to sustainability, ecological impact, and green business ethics in avionics and aircraft engine design. In addition, GE applies information from stakeholders to inform and guide its corporate citizenship initiatives. This strategic ESG and CSR approach is based on management goals linked to General Electric’s corporate vision and corporate mission, which highlight global business leadership.

General Electric’s Stakeholder Groups, Initiatives for CSR & ESG

General Electric has a multi-pronged strategy to fulfill its corporate social responsibilities. In this strategy, the company focuses on three aspects of its business: social, environmental, and governance. These aspects represent the stakeholders considered in GE’s corporate citizenship and sustainability programs. General Electric Company groups its stakeholders and related CSR and ESG objectives as follows:

1. Social (employees, customers, and communities)
2. Environmental (natural environment and resources)
3. Governance (investors and government)

Social (Employees, Customers, and Communities). General Electric’s CSR and ESG strategy prioritizes the social impact of its multinational business. This social aspect covers the interests of various stakeholders in the aerospace business, with consideration for human rights, health, and employment. For example, General Electric addresses the employment and health concerns of employees, the reliability and safety interests of customers, and the human rights and economic interests of communities. The GE Aerospace Foundation facilitates ESG and CSR programs for satisfying the interests of communities. Social interests are significant because the corresponding stakeholders affect the GE brand image, employee performance, and the satisfaction of customers, including airlines, like Southwest. General Electric’s corporate citizenship programs are based on prevailing corporate social responsibility principles on social development.

These CSR and ESG initiatives for stakeholders’ social interests support General Electric’s generic strategy for competitive advantage and strategies for intensive growth. The aerospace company maintains strategic alignment with the social aspect of its corporate social responsibility and ESG strategy. This alignment is achieved through support from General Electric’s business culture (company culture). For example, the company’s HR management programs for its work culture promote health, human rights, and fair employment principles. Consequently, human resources enable the success of GE’s corporate social responsibility programs in markets for aircraft engines, avionics, and related software services. Moreover, these CSR and ESG programs build human resource capabilities that help address competitors, like Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, and the strong rivalry indicated in the Five Forces analysis of General Electric Company.

Environmental (Natural Environment and Resources). Stakeholders’ environmental concerns and interests are included in General Electric’s approach to its corporate social responsibilities. These interests are significant because they impact brand and corporate image, as well as the company’s access to the input materials needed in its multinational business. General Electric satisfies these interests through an ESG and CSR strategy that identifies and uses the environmental concerns of stakeholders, such as concerns on business sustainability and resource management. This CSR and ESG strategy enhances resource productivity and minimizes the environmental impact of GE and its customers.

Technological advancement and the ecological industry trends discussed in the PESTLE/PESTEL analysis of General Electric Company are also addressed in the company’s corporate citizenship approach. GE has CSR and ESG programs for sustainable aerospace business. Considering their effects on operations, such corporate social responsibility initiatives affect General Electric’s operations management, including supply chain management. In addition, corporate social responsibilities for environmental interests influence General Electric Company’s marketing mix (4P). For instance, product design and promotion consider the environmental expectations of target customers.

Governance (Investors and Government). The third aspect of General Electric’s corporate social responsibility strategy involves business governance and relations with governments. The stakeholders addressed in this CSR and ESG aspect are governments and the investors of the global aerospace business. Governance is significant because it determines General Electric’s leadership and management practices. For example, governance for satisfying investors’ interests determine GE’s strategic management initiatives for improving its finances in relation to sustainability.

The divisions of General Electric’s company structure (business structure) include offices for managing programs for CSR, ESG, and corporate citizenship. In addition, GE’s competitive advantages benefit from the satisfaction of corporate social responsibilities to investors and governments. For example, corporate citizenship through effective governance contributes to stronger financial performance, higher economies of scale, and other competencies identified in the SWOT analysis of General Electric Company. Also, GE’s CSR and ESG strategy for these stakeholders involves sustainability programs that strengthen the brand image for market penetration.

Summary & Recommendations – GE’s CSR & ESG Performance in Addressing Stakeholders’ Interests

Summary. General Electric Company’s corporate social responsibilities are strategically addressed through a three-pronged approach that considers the social, environmental, and governance interests of stakeholders in the multinational business. This approach covers the most pressing issues in GE’s business, based on prevailing corporate citizenship principles. General Electric’s strategies, programs, organizational structure and culture, and other areas of business are developed, accordingly, in ways that satisfy the most notable of stakeholders’ interests.

Recommendations. Potential issues in General Electric’s corporate social responsibility strategy may arise in terms of execution. For example, the company may face challenges in assessing the impact and significance of its sustainability initiatives in communities. In addition, GE may experience difficulties in managing stakeholders’ expectations and response to its ESG and CSR programs. Moreover, different markets impose different challenges in General Electric’s corporate social responsibility strategy implementation. For instance, the company’s sustainability challenges in turbojet engine design differ between the European market and the Asian market. Based on these issues pertaining to corporate social responsibility, the following are recommendations for General Electric Company’s CSR and ESG programs:

1. Ensure the involvement of stakeholders’ representatives to provide information on the significance and impact of GE’s CSR and ESG initiatives.
2. Include information on corporate social responsibility programs in General Electric’s marketing campaigns to inform and align stakeholders’ expectations.
3. Establish continuously evolving general guidelines and industry-specific guidelines for GE’s corporate social responsibility program development and implementation.

References

• Florea, E. C. B. (2024, November). The Importance of Governance and Audit Committee in ESG Reporting Within the Aerospace Industry. In European Conference on Management Leadership and Governance (Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 641-648).
• GE Aerospace Philanthropy.
• GE Aerospace Sustainability Reporting.
• General Electric Company Form 10-K.
• Jayachandran, A., John, J., Thomas, A. S., & Smiju, I. S. (2024). Evolution of CSR and ESG Concepts in the Frame of Sustainability: Insights from Thematic Evolution Across Nations. In ESG Frameworks for Sustainable Business Practices (pp. 1-30). IGI Global.
• Stoelhorst, J. W., & Vishwanathan, P. (2024). Beyond primacy: A stakeholder theory of corporate governance. Academy of Management Review, 49(1), 107-134.