Intel Corporation employs its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy to support its business. In Archie Carroll’s theory of corporate social responsibility, business organizations are responsible for addressing their social impacts on stakeholders. These stakeholders include individuals, groups, or organizations that the business influences. Corporate responsibility is important to companies because of the effects of stakeholders on business performance, through such factors as customer perception and brand loyalty. In the case of Intel, corporate responsibilities are addressed through a variety of initiatives or programs. In part, the company fulfills its corporate citizenship through the Intel Foundation. The Intel Foundation serves as the primary body through which the company reaches out to some stakeholders and implements corporate social responsibility programs to satisfy stakeholders’ interests. As a leading firm in the semiconductor industry, Intel needs to ensure the satisfaction of these interests. A positive relationship with stakeholders optimizes the company’s business performance by supporting brand awareness and customer loyalty. Intel responds to social and market factors to adjust its corporate social responsibility strategy to ensure the CSR strategy’s long-term effectiveness in supporting business performance.
Stakeholders impose significant pressure on Intel to satisfy leadership expectations, not just in financial performance, but also in other aspects of the business. For example, the company experiences such pressure in terms of sustainability to address business impact on communities. Intel needs to consider these facets of its semiconductor business for a comprehensive and successful corporate social responsibility strategy.
Intel’s Stakeholder Groups & CSR Initiatives
Stakeholder groups have different interests and concerns that have varying effects on Intel’s organization, market performance, and financial stability. For example, one stakeholder group’s demands may be more important to the company’s CSR strategy than the demands of other stakeholder groups. This condition is so because stakeholders have disparate effects on Intel, especially in terms of revenues and financial performance, as well as brand image, consumer perception and product competitiveness. As such, the company’s corporate citizenship approach tends to emphasize programs and initiatives for the stakeholders that have the most significant business impact. Intel’s corporate social responsibility strategy prioritizes the main stakeholder groups of the business in the following manner:
- Customers (Top Priority)
- Investors
- Employees
- Suppliers
- Communities
Customers. Intel’s corporate social responsibility strategy gives the highest priority to customers. This stakeholder group is interested in the quality and price of the company’s products. Customers are significant because they affect Intel’s revenues and profits and, thus, financial performance. To address such interests, the company has a product stewardship goal that involves higher energy efficiency in products. This goal aligns with Intel’s mission statement and vision statement. For example, microprocessors with higher energy efficiency satisfy customers’ interests regarding better products to address the cost of energy consumption and concerns regarding battery charging. Also, as an initiative in its corporate responsibility efforts, Intel Corporation continues to improve the sustainability and environmental impact of its products. This initiative satisfies the stakeholder group’s concerns about the environmental friendliness of the products. Thus, Intel’s corporate social responsibility strategy supports the fulfillment of corporate citizenship by satisfying the interests of customers as the most important stakeholders of the business.
Investors. Investors are significant stakeholders considered in Intel’s corporate social responsibility strategy because they influence the availability of capital for and the value of the semiconductor business. The main interest of these stakeholders is the growth and profitability of the company. This interest is partly satisfied through the premium pricing strategy in Intel’s marketing mix or 4Ps. For example, the company’s high prices ensure correspondingly high profits that benefit investors. However, there are corporate responsibility issues linked to the company’s dependence on its alliance with Microsoft. Intel’s growth and profitability are significantly dependent on the sales of Windows systems. In this regard, the company needs to improve its corporate social responsibility activities to address this concern linked to the interests of investors as the second most prioritized stakeholder group.
Employees. Intel Corporation values employees as a major stakeholder group in its corporate social responsibility strategy. Employees are important because they directly affect organizational performance, such as in terms of productivity. As stakeholders of the semiconductor business, employees’ interests include job stability, career development, and competitive compensation. These interests are addressed through Intel’s human resource programs. For example, the company has HR programs that support skills development and leadership training for career development. In addition, as a major technology firm, Intel offers one of the most competitive compensation packages in the semiconductor industry. Furthermore, to support employee performance enhancement, the corporate social responsibility strategy involves suitable training programs for high quality output, as included in Intel’s organizational culture. These efforts reveal the company’s efforts to integrate the needs of these stakeholders into the considerations for a comprehensive corporate social responsibility strategy.
Suppliers. Supply chain conditions determine Intel’s business capacity. Changes in suppliers’ productivity can significantly affect the company’s production capacity. Thus, Intel’s corporate social responsibility strategy must consider suppliers as a major stakeholder group. These stakeholders are interested in profitable and growing business with the company. Intel addresses this interest by auditing and supporting enhancements in suppliers’ activities. For example, the company conducts on-site audits of its biggest suppliers for the corporate citizenship purpose of developing a more sustainable and more socially responsible supply chain. Through these audits, Intel’s corporate responsibility efforts extend to suppliers and help them improve their CSR standing and corporate image. This effect supports suppliers’ growth while the company grows. Moreover, Intel’s operations management strategy facilitates supply chain efficiency that helps streamline suppliers’ activities. These initiatives in Intel’s corporate social responsibility strategy simultaneously support the company’s growth and the stakeholder group’s growth.
Communities. Intel Corporation includes communities in its corporate social responsibility strategy. As stakeholders, communities are significant because they affect corporate image and consumer perception. The interests of these stakeholders include Intel’s business sustainability and corporate support for community development. The company satisfies these interests through the Intel Foundation and a variety of corporate citizenship programs. For example, the Foundation gives grants for organizations and programs that support community diversity, gender-equal leadership development, and skills development among disadvantaged youth. Also, Intel has programs expanding Internet accessibility around the world. In addition, the company’s sustainability efforts minimize negative impact of the business on communities. These programs and activities show that Intel’s corporate social responsibility strategy effectively includes the interests of communities as a stakeholder group.
Intel Corporation’s CSR Performance in Addressing Stakeholders’ Interests, Recommendations
Considering its corporate social responsibility strategy, Intel addresses most of the interests and concerns of the stakeholder groups identified in this analysis. However, the company can improve its CSR performance through additional initiatives or programs, especially for the interests of investors. As noted in this analysis, Intel is highly dependent on Microsoft Windows systems. This dependence is one of the company’s weaknesses (Read: SWOT Analysis of Intel Corporation). It creates a barrier to rapid business growth and expansion, making it difficult for the company to exploit opportunities in the rapidly growing mobile device market, among other markets.
A recommendation is that Intel should develop new mutually beneficial alliances and agreements with firms other than Microsoft. This action can reduce the risks associated with the dependence on Windows systems. In addition, business diversification is recommended for Intel to further improve market risk minimization efforts. For example, the company can enter new industries through business creation or acquisition outside the semiconductor industry. These steps can improve Intel’s corporate social responsibility status, while supporting business growth and resilience.
References
- Carroll, A.B., Brown, J., Buchholtz, A. (2017). Business and Society: Ethics, Sustainability and Stakeholder Management. Cengage Learning.
- Carroll, A.B., Lipartito, K.J., Post, J.E., & Werhane, P.H. (2012). Corporate Responsibility: The American Experience. Cambridge University Press.
- Ditlev-Simonsen, C. D., & Wenstop, F. (2013). How stakeholders view stakeholders as CSR motivators. Social Responsibility Journal, 9(1), 137-147.
- Intel Corporation – Goal Summary.
- Intel Corporation Form 10-K.
- Intel Foundation.
- Jobs at Intel.
- Miles, M. P., Munilla, L. S., & Darroch, J. (2006). The role of strategic conversations with stakeholders in the formation of corporate social responsibility strategy. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(2), 195-205.
- Peloza, J., & Shang, J. (2011). How can corporate social responsibility activities create value for stakeholders? A systematic review. Journal of the academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 117-135.
- Werther Jr., W. B., & Chandler, D. (2010). Strategic corporate social responsibility: Stakeholders in a global environment. Sage Publications.