CASE 13
Whole Foods Strive to Be an Ethical Corporate
Citizen
CASE NOTES FOR INSTRUCTORS
This Whole Foods case examines how Whole Foods has applied a set of core values to create strong
relationships with a variety of stakeholders. Whole Foods has adopted a stakeholder orientation. While it
considers consumers to be the most important stakeholder, the firm also considers other primary
stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, and shareholders as well as secondary stakeholders such as the
environment and special-interest groups.
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. How has a commitment to corporate values contributed to Whole Foods’s success?
The commitment that Whole Foods has to their values has allowed it to succeed because it gives them a
2. Describe how Whole Foods’s adoption of a stakeholder orientation has influenced the way it operates.
In terms of their customers, Whole Foods creates a welcoming environment with friendly staff where
people feel comfortable spending time after shopping. They are given free samples and are offered a
variety of high quality products at different price points to choose from. Whole Foods has also instilled
trust with their customers by having high standards for the quality of their products. These standards
3. What are some ways that Whole Foods might have neglected certain stakeholders in the past?
They neglected stakeholders in some of their acquisitions. When acquiring some of the smaller grocery
stores in the neighborhoods they were entering, they did not always adequately consider their impact on
the community and thus created some unnecessary tension. They also created tension in the acquisition of
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES