Can Creating Shared Value (CSV) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) Collaborate for a Better World? Insights from East Asia

Little is known regarding how and to what extent the emerging concept of creating shared value (CSV) can be integrated into unique Asian market dynamics. In this paper, we conduct a comparative content analysis of 240 sustainability reports on Japan, Korea, and China, spanning the period of 2012–2105. We find that CSV in Asia is a discrepant phenomenon with little theoretical and empirical support. Each country has a disorderly approach toward CSV mainly because of unique cultural and institutional contexts. More substantively, in Korea, CSV—although in decline—is seen as a popular alternative to philanthropy, while the Japanese remain cautious. In China, there is little interest in CSV. Thus, there is a possibility of CSV disappearing altogether because of scant theoretical and empirical support. To address this gap, we propose a “CSV–SDGs Collaborative Model of East Asia” (where SDGs refer to sustainable development goals). This model could contribute to early-stage CSV–SDGs collaboration for sustainable development in Asia.