• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • Devex Impact
    • News
    • News: mHealth Summit

    Shared value not required for corporate commitment to social good

    Shared value has become a buzzword for private sector involvement in development — but is it essential for corporate social responsibility? Johnson & Johnson says no, and explains why in an exclusive interview with Devex Impact.

    By Adva Saldinger // 10 December 2013
    Patrick McCrummen, director of communication for worldwide corporate contributions at Johnson & Johnson. The pharmaceutical giant doesn't "subscribe to the Porter idea of shared value." Photo by: personal collection

    The shared value concept has sparked active debate since the term was initially coined by strategy guru Michael Porter, and there have been enduring debates about whether it was the next defining trend in corporate engagement in social good.

    Critics argue the idea of shared value may not really be an improvement at all, and question how businesses can cope with the potential trade-offs between profit and social good.

    But there are certainly some companies that don’t believe their good works have to be tied to a profit motive — one of them, apparently, is Johnson & Johnson.

    In an interview with Devex Impact at the mHealth Summit, Patrick McCrummen, director of communication for worldwide corporate contributions at the pharmaceutical giant, said it doesn’t “subscribe to the Porter idea of shared value.”

    Johnson & Johnson made in 2010 a $200 million commitment to work on global maternal and child health, and is now about halfway to its goal of reaching 120 million women a year by 2015, with programs that provide mothers health information through mobile phones — thus making childbirth safer — and treat children at risk for intestinal worms.

    McCrummen explained that Johnson & Johnson was built on a credo focused on medical professionals, parents and employees, and this work is an extension of those early values. As a result, he said the company chooses programs and countries to support based on need and not whether they present a business opportunity or the company operates there.

    “We see that there are millions of women and children around the world that need help and can’t get it and as a responsibility we have to find innovative solutions that take advantage of our unique skills that we can bring to the table, in addition to our dollars and deliver solutions to those people that otherwise would have no access,” McCrummen noted.

    Being a good corporate citizen, he concluded, can help build trust in the brand.

    Join Devex, the largest online community for international development, to network with peers, discover talent and forge new partnerships — it’s free. Then sign up for the Devex Impact newsletter to receive cutting-edge news and analysis every month on the intersection of business and development.

      Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

      About the author

      • Adva Saldinger

        Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal

        Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.

      Search for articles

      Related Jobs

      • New Business Consultant
        Banyan Global
        Washington, DC, District of Columbia, United States
      • Senior Investment Officer (Transport) (Based in Beijing, China)
        Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
        Worldwide
      • Deputy Head - Partnerships
        Tetra Tech
        Australia
      • See more

      Most Read

      • 1
        Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
      • 2
        FCDO's top development contractors in 2024/25
      • 3
        Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
      • 4
        Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
      • 5
        How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs

      Trending

      Financing for Development Conference

      The Trump Effect

      Newsletters

      Related Stories

      Devex NewswireDevex Newswire: Philanthropy’s MacKenzie Scott-spurred rethink

      Devex Newswire: Philanthropy’s MacKenzie Scott-spurred rethink

      Devex InvestedDevex Invested: The art of the new deal as US retreats from foreign aid

      Devex Invested: The art of the new deal as US retreats from foreign aid

      Devex NewswireDevex Newswire: The latest on the US foreign aid crisis

      Devex Newswire: The latest on the US foreign aid crisis

      The Trump EffectUS aid tracker: Following Trump’s cuts to international development

      US aid tracker: Following Trump’s cuts to international development

      • News
      • Jobs
      • Funding
      • Talent
      • Events

      Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

      A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Post a job
      • Careers at Devex
      • Contact us
      © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement