Betapharm: Be Different or Die

This case explores one company’s strategic approach to Corporate Responsibility activities against a backdrop of changing dynamics in their domestic market and sector.

It aims to show in particular how Betapharm attempted to leverage the strong personal values of its CEO into a comparative advantage over its rivals through a comprehensive Corporate Responsibility strategy.

This case provides a good basis for examining how companies can approach the mainstreaming of Corporate Responsibility. In effect the case aims to evidence that CSR can be embedded throughout an organisation and its culture, illustrating how this was achieved at Betapharm and how CSR evolved from a notion to a department and finally to an overall shared culture, positioning and comparative advantage. Given the nature of the company’s activities, it is appropriate for use in Strategy, Marketing, Organisational Behaviour, and Corporate Responsibility-based courses.