Sustainability Metrics in Controlling: How Corporate Digital Responsibility Becomes Measurable

Abstract

Digitalization is leading to profound changes in business models, companies, and entire industries. In light of these changes, the traditional understanding of corporate responsibility is increasingly being challenged. This is primarily due to the new, far-reaching, and partly unpredictable effects arising from the use of digital technologies by companies. Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) addresses these effects by extending corporate responsibility to areas such as data protection, digital diversity, and cybersecurity. Nevertheless, linking CDR with economic success remains a major challenge for companies. Controlling can make a significant contribution in this regard if performance in CDR-specific areas of responsibility can be measured through appropriate sustainability metrics. Against this backdrop, this thesis examines existing sustainability controlling instruments and metrics for CDR-specific performance measurement based on a literature review. Building on these findings, a CDR Balanced Scorecard is developed that illustrates cause-and-effect relationships between CDR and economic success and demonstrates a strategic management approach for steering CDR-specific areas of responsibility.

Keywords: corporate digital responsibility; sustainability performance measurement; sustainability balanced scorecard; sustainability metrics