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Doing well by doing good—case study: ‘Fair & Lovely’ whitening cream

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  • Aneel Karnani

Abstract

According to the ‘doing well by doing good’ proposition, firms have a corporate social responsibility to achieve some larger social goals, and can do so without a financial sacrifice. This research note empirically examines this proposition by studying in depth the case of ‘Fair & Lovely,’ a skin whitening cream marketed by Unilever in many countries in Asia and Africa, and, in particular, India. Fair & Lovely is indeed doing well; it is a profitable and fast‐growing brand. It is, however, not doing good, and I demonstrate its negative implications for public welfare. I conclude with thoughts on how to reconcile this divergence between private profits and public welfare. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Aneel Karnani, 2007. "Doing well by doing good—case study: ‘Fair & Lovely’ whitening cream," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(13), pages 1351-1357, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:stratm:v:28:y:2007:i:13:p:1351-1357
    DOI: 10.1002/smj.645
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    Cited by:

    1. Ernst Verwaal & Martin Klein & Jefferson Falce, 2022. "Business Model Involvement, Adaptive Capacity, and the Triple Bottom Line at the Base of the Pyramid," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 607-621, December.
    2. Alan Singer, 2010. "Integrating Ethics and Strategy: A Pragmatic Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(4), pages 479-491, April.
    3. Musteen, Martina & Rhyne, Lawrence & Zheng, Congcong, 2013. "Asset or constraint: Corporate reputation and MNCs’ involvement in the least developed countries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 321-328.
    4. Volkert Jürgen, 2009. "Unternehmen als Agenten der Armutsüberwindung und Entwicklung. Ihr Beitrag aus Sicht von Ordoliberalismus und Capability-Ansatz / Corporate potentials to fight poverty and foster human development. Or," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 60(1), pages 389-414, January.
    5. Debmalya Mukherjee & Saumyaranjan Sahoo & Satish Kumar, 2023. "Two Decades of International Business and International Management Scholarship on Africa: A Review and Future Directions," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(6), pages 863-909, December.
    6. Aneel Karnani & Brent McFerran & Anirban Mukhopadhyay, 2016. "The Obesity Crisis as Market Failure: An Analysis of Systemic Causes and Corrective Mechanisms," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(3), pages 445-470.
    7. Lisa Jones Christensen & Enno Siemsen & Sridhar Balasubramanian, 2015. "Consumer behavior change at the base of the pyramid: Bridging the gap between for-profit and social responsibility strategies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 307-317, February.
    8. Abdelnour, Samer & Branzei, Oana, 2010. "Fuel-efficient stoves for Darfur: The social construction of subsistence marketplaces in post-conflict settings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 617-629, June.
    9. Bruton, Garry D. & Ketchen, David J. & Ireland, R. Duane, 2013. "Entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 683-689.
    10. Wenbin Sun & Shanji Yao & Rahul Govind, 2019. "Reexamining Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Value: The Inverted-U-Shaped Relationship and the Moderation of Marketing Capability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 1001-1017, December.
    11. John Luiz & Callum Stewart, 2014. "Corruption, South African Multinational Enterprises and Institutions in Africa," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 383-398, October.
    12. De Beule, Filip & Klein, Martin & Verwaal, Ernst, 2020. "Institutional quality and inclusive strategies at the base of the pyramid," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    13. Shuchita Sharmin & Niaz Ahmed Khan & Ataur Rahman Belal, 2014. "Corporate Community Involvement In Bangladesh: An Empirical Study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(1), pages 41-51, January.

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