University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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into its strategic as well as operational management” (Seebacher et al. 2006: 10). To
this aim a set of indicators was devised to enable the enterprise to measure its current
CSR performance itself. The Austrian CSR Quality Seal focuses at the opposite end
of an enterprises CSR process. It does not aim at integrating CSR into an SME, but
rather at measuring CSR performance in an independent, accredited process. The seal
is endorsed upon positive auditing and aims at communicating excellent CSR
performance to internal and external stakeholders in order to add to differentiating
from the competitors thus fostering customer acquisition and loyalty.
Comparing the Application Scope of the two Concepts
BLISS is designed to foster implementation of CSR within an enterprise, thus it is an
enabler concept. It combines a bottom-up and a top-down approach: First, the
management must be convinced of and willing to introduce CSR and to provide the
implementation process with resources and positive commitment. Involving the
employees into the CSR implementation process at a very early stage strengthens the
consciousness of CSR and the willingness of the employees to implement it within
the enterprise. As BLISS is a voluntary concept without any legal obligation the
concept itself and the indicators can easily be adapted to the enterprise’s
requirements.
The Austrian CSR Quality Seal is suited for enterprises which have engaged in CSR
over longer period of time and gathered experiences as to how to perform CSR. It
serves as a visibility signals towards market partners and all sorts of stakeholders and
as a competitive edge over other organisations (e.g. along the supply chain, esp. with
productive enterprises, Gelbmann 2008a). As the CSR Quality Seal is officialized, it
is not possible to adjust the indicators to the applicant’s requirements, as every
applicant must be able to meet the same preconditions. Still, the quality guidelines
highlight the fact that only indicators applicable in the special context of an
enterprise have to be included in the audit (ÖQA 2007).
Comparing the Resources needed by the two Concepts
The comparison of the resources needed includes time expenditure, expense and
requested human resources. Beforehand it must be clarified that BLISS as a concept
for implementing CSR ties up more resources than would a CSR Quality Seal. Still a
direct comparison is improper in this context, as obtaining a CSR quality label takes
a full implementation of CSR throughout the enterprise for granted. In the initial
phase BLISS ties up especially temporal and human resources, as at least one
associate has to be exclusively assigned to the implementation, and the interviews
and workshops tie up additional time. After BLISS has been fully implemented, the
amount of resources needed decreases, and BLISS does not cause any major cost
than the CSR Quality Seal.