Peter Gomez

More than ever, firms need to know how they impact on society, our values and our ways of living. In a world of high uncertainty, it is necessary to develop a sense of what really makes an organization valueable to the people. In research, the notion of Public Value addresses this type of value creation. It is about a firm's contribution to the common good as perceived by the people.

Carroll shaped the corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourse into a four-dimensional pyramid framework, which was later adapted to corporate citizenship and sustainability approaches. The four layers of the pyramid— structured from foundation to apex as economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic (or discretionary) responsibilities—drew considerable managerial attention. An important criticism of the economic foundation of the Carroll pyramid concerns the identification and ordering of the four dimensions, which are inadequately justified theoretically. The authors of this article propose an alternative approach that builds on the public value concept, which integrates a microfoundation of psychological research into basic human needs. Drawing on their Swiss Dialogue process, the authors argue that a four-dimensional pyramid does have heuristic value for managers. The advantage of this alternative pyramid logic is that it may be contingently adapted to different cultural contexts, because it allows adaptive internal reordering.

Public administrations are required by law to contribute to society, thus obliged to shape the common good. What value they have to society is uncovered by their public value. This chapter provides an approach to public value management that is relevant for organizations, NGOs, and governmental institutions, in order to systematically investigate their contributions to society. Previous work on public value serves as a good starting point, providing significant public value perspectives. We follow this by a conceptual delineation of the public value concept according to Timo Meynhardt, who roots the notion of value in psychological needs theory and thereby links public value directly to a conditio humana. As cases in point, we identify and discuss two management tools, the Public Value Scorecard (PVSC) and the Public Value Atlas. We conclude with a short reflection on how public value can advance public sector management.

An organization's contribution to the wider public can be seen in different ways. Self-reported data from Switzerland and Germany indicate that top managers vary considerably concerning their awareness of various multiple realities. We explain this phenomenon by drawing on the notion of cognitive style, using the metaphor of hedgehogs and foxes. It is argued that research should move from a focus on moral awareness to value awareness in a very broad sense.