Hayleys case study wins award

An international case study featuring Sri Lanka's Hayleys Group has been adjudged the best in the Corporate Social Responsibility category at the 2009 Case Writing Competition of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD).

This is the top award in the five main European Awards categories at EFMD's annual competition, which also recognises case studies in the areas of Entrepreneurship, Family Business, Finance and Banking and Supply Chain Management.

Produced by INSEAD, founded in 1957 and one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools, the case study examines how the Hayleys Group has sought to align corporate responsibility with sustainable business initiatives. It is now reading and discussion material for students reading for Masters degrees in Business Administration (MBAs) from INSEAD which has alumni in more than 160 countries.

Winning the EFMD award means that the case study and the Hayleys Group will receive even wider international attention than initially anticipated, Hayleys Chairman Mohan Pandithage said. This is particularly valuable for Sri Lanka's corporate sector, as it highlights to a global audience that there are Sri Lankan companies that merit attention and even emulation. He acknowledged that while the quality of the case study was attributable to its content, credit for the thought-provoking presentation was due to the two INSEAD academics who visited Sri Lanka and conducted an in-depth study of the Hayleys Group's CSR practices and business strategies.

Comprising five different cases, the study examined the business values and organisational culture of Hayleys PLC, the holding company of the diversified conglomerate; the social and environmental accountability practices of Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills; the eco-tourism strategy of Hayleys; Jetwing Hotels; the Firstlight supply chain initiative of Dipped Products PLC (DPL); and the Ethical Tea initiative of Kelani Valley Plantations and its marketing associate Mabroc Teas.

The series examine how the four chosen Hayleys operating companies sought to integrate corporate responsibility, sustainability

initiatives and business strategy to achieve their respective goals.

The case study was written by Mark Lee Hunter, Adjunct Professor and Luk Van Wassenhove, Professor of Operations Management, the Henry Ford Chaired Professor of Manufacturing and Academic Director of the INSEAD Social Innovation Centre, who spent time in Sri Lanka for their field research and interviews.

A multinational conglomerate whose Sri Lankan origins date back to 1878, Hayleys PLC has been thrice adjudged the country's best corporate citizen. Rated a Business-to-Business (B2B) Superbrand among Sri Lanka's diversified conglomerates, the Group employs more than 33,000 people, and accounts for 2.3 percent of Sri Lanka's export income.