The Creation of Inclusive Value at Korean Firms

With globalization and technological advances, the global economy has grown tremendously, but the benefits have not been equitably distributed. Economic growth’s lack of inclusiveness has resulted in worsened inequality of income, wealth and opportunity, excluding many from the benefits of growth. In recent years efforts to solve the social side effects caused by inequality have led to the birth of inclusive growth as a concept. Inclusive growth is a growth theory that highlights equal opportunity for each member of the society to participate in economic activities, both to ameliorate inequality and promote economic growth. The key to the inclusive growth defined by the international community is that it gives equal opportunities to all the members of society. This means that it embraces the vulnerable: those in the low-income bracket, children, the elderly and the disabled. Until recently, vulnerable people have been regarded as objects of charity or aid in international discussions and domestic policy. As a result, rather than being part of economic activities, the vulnerable were generally perceived to be passive actors and recipients of welfare. The term vulnerable group generally refers to a class of people exposed to social risk, but its definition may vary depending on the context in which it is being discussed. The international community regards the poor, women, and children of developing countries as vulnerable, especially those who are unable to maintain a basic livelihood due to various economic, social and cultural factors. It can also refer to those who are affected (or are likely to be affected ) by climate change, or those people ill-served by educational and/or medical services. This study seeks to first define and then identify corporate activities that are creating inclusive value, and in particular ways in which companies incorporate vulnerable groups into their core business. For the purposes of this study, inclusive value-creating activities are all types of corporate activities that enhance the inclusiveness of corporate and society by allowing the vulnerable to actively engage in the corporate core business value chain as an active entity.