Social enterprise

They’re a reminder that mastery, membership, and meaning are the best motivators.

This post is part of a three-week series exploring the re-invention of the social infrastructure of cities, published in partnership with the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. Last week, the NAACP released a report with a blunt, but sadly accurate, title — Misplaced Priorities. I could not help but think about this title in […]

If you are the leader of a large organization (or only of yourself) who cares about improving the world, here’s a question you should consider: How will you participate in the global solution networks that are increasingly managing to address the world’s problems? A global solution network is a group of independent parties that have […]

Companies should to monitor progress in delivering both social benefits and business value. Here’s how Coca-Cola did it.

A king had a trusted monkey that was trained to wield a sword. As the king’s bodyguard, the monkey would go to any length to protect him. One day, while the king was sleeping, a fly started pestering him. The monkey tried to shoo the fly away but it always came back. Frustrated, the monkey […]

Jim Gilmore and Joe Pine are the authors of Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want In 2008, companies will abandon their much-hyped reliance on those Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that seem focused more on getting social and political activists off their backs or drawing in customers than on doing any real good. Watch in 2008 for […]

Google AI practitioners argue that partnerships with social scientists and community members can deepen understanding of complex problems and lead to...

You can't establish credibility without building trust, but trust takes time to develop. What can you do if you don't have time on your side?

No one wants their doctor using Wikipedia.

The Gulf oil spill looks like it might be capped. U.S. financial regulation is underway, plugging holes of another kind, which won't allow sub-prime mortgage...

Corporations are facing growing pressure--from investors, advocacy groups, politicians, and even business leaders themselves--to reduce greenhouse gas...

Most businesspeople will serve on the board of a nonprofit organization at some point. But the governance of nonprofits can differ dramatically from the governance of businesses. Even the best intentions can prove disastrous when new board members fail to understand that their traditional business experience can carry them only so far.

Social entrepreneurs need grit, courage, and commitment.

Crunching numbers is only half the battle.

Markets are emerging for social problems. Consider these numbers: $158 billion = size of the low-income health care market $332 billion = size of the low-income housing market $2.90 trillion = size of the low-income global food market And there are other unformed markets that cut across income levels: For example, what’s the size of […]

A sample of pilot programs from around the world.

One is rarer than the other.

Your best bet may be to invest in the inexperienced woman, instead of the experienced man.

The story of how one organization envisioned a future transformed.

A closer look at the social pressures that dissuade job candidates from negotiating for more money.

Ariel Fristoe co-founded the Out of Hand Theater ensemble (OOH) in Atlanta in 2001. OOH began as a traditional theater nonprofit, which Ariel and her...

SK Group was one of the largest companies South Korea. A family-run conglomerate consisting of around 120 subsidiaries and employing more than 100,000,...

In June 2021, Kim T. Folsom, the founder and CEO of revenue-based financing firm Founders First Capital Partners (FFCP), must decide whether to issue...

Gone Rural employs 750 women in rural communities across Swaziland to produce handwoven baskets and other hand-crafted items. The women are mostly grandmothers...

In Fall 2017, Tommy Hilfiger launched Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive, a line of adaptive and inclusive fashion apparel intended to make dressing easier. Now,...

The case presents the challenges confronting BrightSource, a company building a commercial-scale concentrated solar power plant in California in 2013:...

Flourish's co-founders met in a UC Berkeley Haas MBA course and - motivated by financial adversity in their own families - aimed to make saving money...

In June 2020, Steven Zwane, founder and chairperson of the Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development (YLED) program, based in Johannesberg, South...

The case analyzes the evolution of the business model of the Spanish multinational Konecta, which, since its origin, was dedicated to providing Contact...

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Seoul, South Korea. It highlights South Korea's economic development in the decades...

What would prompt an elected official to take on what appears to be a moral cause with little immediate political benefit? That is the implicit political...

The Beijing Stars and Rain Education Institute for Autism (Stars and Rain) was established in 1993 as the first private non-profit organization to provide...

The case is a narration of the 20-year journey of the All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology (AISECT), a social enterprise offering...

In February 2020, a social geographer at the University of Victoria was approached by one of the co-founders and managing partners of Raven Indigenous...

Starting in 2001, Inditex's Sustainability Department promoted with the Group's business units a unique chain that remained largely unknown to the general...

Friends of the Children was founded by Duncan Campbell in 1991. Campbell grew up in extremely challenging circumstances and wanted to use his good fortune...

This case describes the journey that led to the creation of Saaf Sehatmand Services (SSS), a business founded by leaders from five consumer goods companies...

Pi was a large family office pioneering the concept of 100% portfolio impact investing. Tasked with preserving capital, generating moderate returns and...

Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with 'education as a benefit.'...

Teaching Note for 3214

Ariel Fristoe co-founded the Out of Hand Theater ensemble (OOH) in Atlanta in 2001. OOH began as a traditional theater nonprofit, which Ariel and her...

Teaching Note for Case W25492

They’re a reminder that mastery, membership, and meaning are the best motivators.

This post is part of a three-week series exploring the re-invention of the social infrastructure of cities, published in partnership with the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. Last week, the NAACP released a report with a blunt, but sadly accurate, title — Misplaced Priorities. I could not help but think about this title in […]

If you are the leader of a large organization (or only of yourself) who cares about improving the world, here’s a question you should consider: How will you participate in the global solution networks that are increasingly managing to address the world’s problems? A global solution network is a group of independent parties that have […]

Companies should to monitor progress in delivering both social benefits and business value. Here’s how Coca-Cola did it.

A king had a trusted monkey that was trained to wield a sword. As the king’s bodyguard, the monkey would go to any length to protect him. One day, while the king was sleeping, a fly started pestering him. The monkey tried to shoo the fly away but it always came back. Frustrated, the monkey […]

Jim Gilmore and Joe Pine are the authors of Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want In 2008, companies will abandon their much-hyped reliance on those Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that seem focused more on getting social and political activists off their backs or drawing in customers than on doing any real good. Watch in 2008 for […]

SK Group was one of the largest companies South Korea. A family-run conglomerate consisting of around 120 subsidiaries and employing more than 100,000,...