Friedman Doctrine Vs Csr

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In fact, being socially responsible would give me the freedom to market and sell Epipen at $608. I would not need to make any changes to my existing successful product under current social and governmental pressure. This will allow me to target the brand conscious customers and who are willing to pay $608. In fact, by removing the rebates and discounts on Epipen, I would make Epipen a desired product. And, the donations of many Epipens to the school would help attract the customers who like to associate with the corporations with the philanthropic mission. This in turn will create brand differentiation and brand loyalty.

The plan to focus solely on profit with no regards to the CSR can backfire as happened with Mylan. When Mylan kept increasing the Epipen’s price despite the customer protests, they had to face the backlash from the customers. This resulted in bad publicity for the company. The customers were angry and were desperate for an alternative solution. Mylan was at the risk of losing a huge share of its customers even without an existing viable competing product. The threat of competition has increased many folds because the actions of Mylan had created an opportunity for someone with better brand image and lower cost to meet the unmet needs of the dissatisfied customers. As a result, their stock value dropped in August. And, The sole focus on profits completely backfired.

The socially responsible initiatives may slightly impact the short term profitability. However, in the long term, these initiatives will help build brand and customer loyalty. Therefore, a firm should focus on both profitability and socially responsible initiatives for long term success.