Planning, Founding, and Developing a Business on CSR Principles - The Case of ArmedAngels

Start-up companies enjoy the possibility to be and do things "right" right from the start, i.e. consider ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the outset. This investigation aims to identify the critical factors in planning, founding, and developing a company based on CSR principles. A guideline for start-ups and other companies is developed by conducting case study research illustrating the foundation and growth of the German apparel company ArmedAngels. To facilitate the analysis, the 7-S approach of business is combined with the principles of CSR. The investigation reveals that start-ups based on values may just be as successful as their conventional counterparts and is thus highly relevant to researchers in the field of sustainable business development and social entrepreneurship.