Cooperative, community‐spiritedandcommercial: social sustainability at Bendigo Bank

Using a case study approach, this article examines how an Australian bank supports and invests in social sustainability using a community development approach. Bendigo Bank's community engagement model (CEM) is consistent with a stakeholder perspective of the firm. The CEM is a hybrid model drawing on commercial principles, such as the for‐profit shareholder‐ownership structure, and community development values, such as trust, loyalty, integrity, volunteerism, cooperation and community spirit. The CEM contributes to community development by retaining local capital through a revenue‐share arrangement, which is used to invest in further community enhancement initiatives. The success of Bendigo Bank's CEM indicates that the ‘collaborative commerce’ model could be used as a design guideline for other organizations seeking to improve their social sustainability.