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Creating Shared Value
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleThe capitalist system is under siege. Recently business has been criticized as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems. Companies... -
The Case for Investing in Digital Public Infrastructure
Business and society Digital ArticleHow businesses and governments can work together to build digital foundations that benefit everyone. -
The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleMost companies feel compelled to give to charity. Few have figured out how to do it well. -
Innovating by Making the World a Better Place
Innovation Digital ArticleMaggie Brenneke, director of the Skoll Social Enterprise Program at SustainAbility. When businesses consider their social and environmental bottom lines, they identify new opportunities to innovate. Some of those opportunities can be surprising! -
How Low and Middle-Income Countries Are Innovating to Combat Covid
Global Business Digital ArticleSeven lessons for innovators everywhere. -
A Bretton Woods for the 21st Century
Sustainable business practices Magazine ArticleIf 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 […] -
Don’t Assume the Shoe Fits
Corporate social responsibility Magazine ArticleMost 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. -
Teaching Sales
Social enterprise Magazine ArticleGreat sales professionals are scarce and getting scarcer. Why aren’t universities working harder to create more? -
Look to Government—Yes, Government—for New Social Innovations
Government Digital ArticleA sample of pilot programs from around the world. -
Why Today’s Startups Pursue Both Ideas and Ideals
Corporate social responsibility Big IdeaPurpose can provide strategic and operational advantages. -
A Fast Track to Building Trust
Management VideoYou 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? -
Give Impact Investing Time and Space to Develop
Organizational Development Digital ArticleRealizing the full potential of this evolving sector requires three things. -
3 Ways Social Entrepreneurs Can Solve Their Talent Problem
Social enterprise Digital ArticleIt’s the only challenge that gets harder as they scale. -
Accounting for Climate Change
Accounting Magazine ArticleThe first rigorous approach to ESG reporting -
The Elements of an Effective Cause Marketing Campaign
Sales and marketing Digital ArticleStop thinking “public service announcement.” -
When Social Enterprise Demands Mega Scale
Social enterprise Digital ArticleBuilding consensus for an audacious climate change solution will require a proof-of-concept pilot. -
Can You Help Solve These Social Entrepreneurs’ Challenges?
Social enterprise Digital ArticleEditors’ note: A few weeks ago, HBR asked members of the Poptech Social Innovation Fellows to tell us their management challenges in running socially minded businesses. Our goal in doing so was to expose these challenges to you — the HBR.org community — with the hopes that the community could assist these challenges via conversations […] -
Innovating for Shared Value
Corporate social responsibility Magazine ArticleCompanies that deliver both social benefit and business value rely on five mutually reinforcing elements. -
Making #GivingTuesday a Movement
Corporate social responsibility Digital ArticleIt was a great new idea last holiday season. Can we turn it into a tradition? -
The Noncorporate Organization
Economics Digital ArticleBefore the dotcom boom, one never heard the question “what’s your business model?” Asking it would have marked you as dim. A few standard models had been around for a hundred years or so: extractive businesses and agriculture, manufacturing operations, service businesses, media companies, and financial intermediaries, each accommodating a few variations like franchising, piecework, […]
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Should Your Nonprofit Charge Its Beneficiaries?
Nonprofit organizations Magazine ArticleNominal fees can help organizations have a greater impact. -
OpenAI’s Failed Experiment in Governance
Corporate governance Digital ArticleIn mixing the for-profit and nonprofit models, OpenAI hoped for the best of both worlds. Instead, it got the worst. -
How Tony’s Chocolonely Created a Purpose-Driven (and Profitable) Supply Chain
Human rights Digital ArticleA case study of the popular Dutch chocolate company. -
Research: Why Employees Accept Lower Pay at Mission-Oriented Companies
Compensation and benefits Digital ArticleA closer look at the social pressures that dissuade job candidates from negotiating for more money. -
A Fast Track to Building Trust
Management VideoYou 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? -
The Case for Investing in Digital Public Infrastructure
Business and society Digital ArticleHow businesses and governments can work together to build digital foundations that benefit everyone. -
Should Your Start-up Be For-Profit or Nonprofit?
Nonprofit organizations Magazine ArticleA guide for social entrepreneurs -
Moving the Needle on Sustainability
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleMany sustainability initiatives focus on improving the sustainability of products and operations in legacy or adjacent markets or on achieving sustainability... -
Why Sharing Economic Growth with the Community Is Good Business
Social and global issues Digital ArticleMutually beneficial partnerships can both drive profit and alleviate poverty. -
What Happens When a Company (Like Patagonia) Transfers Ownership to a Nonprofit?
Corporate governance Digital ArticleThis form of ownership may be new in the U.S., but it’s relatively common in Europe. -
How Business Coalitions Can Have a Strong Local Impact
Business and society Digital ArticleBest practices based on an analysis of more than 40 regional initiatives. -
Accounting for Climate Change
Accounting Magazine ArticleThe first rigorous approach to ESG reporting -
The Net Positive Manifesto
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleBoth practically and morally, corporate leaders can no longer sit on the sidelines of major societal shifts or treat human and planetary issues as "someone... -
How NGOs Can Help More People with DIY Solutions
Business and society Digital ArticleIn certain cases, offering unfinished products to aid recipients can lead to better results — and help make the most of limited resources. -
How Low and Middle-Income Countries Are Innovating to Combat Covid
Global Business Digital ArticleSeven lessons for innovators everywhere. -
Getting Serious About Stakeholder Capitalism
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleBusiness can't thrive in an environment of unhealthy employees, customers, and communities, an at-risk planet, and a fractured society. To transition... -
Why Today’s Startups Pursue Both Ideas and Ideals
Corporate social responsibility Big IdeaPurpose can provide strategic and operational advantages. -
Power Sharing Can Change Corporations for the Better
Global Business Big IdeaStrategies for ensuring stakeholder voices are heard and ESG goals are met. -
A New Way to Scale Social Enterprise
Social enterprise Digital ArticleA new type of security, called “mission equity,” caps investor returns so the company’s financial success can help fuel its mission. -
Companies Can - and Should - Help Employees Pay Student Loans
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleLessons from PwC's paydown program.
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Manan Publishing: Raising Funds for Not-for-profit
Management Case Study8.95View Details Subir Shukla, the Principal Coordinator in Ignus Pahal, was involved in improving education for marginalized children. After working for many years at... -
Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with 'education as a benefit.'... -
Cost Plus Drugs
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details In September 2022, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company CEO Alex Oshmyansky considered the future of the company. Cost Plus Drugs was a retailer for more... -
No Longer Left on the Shelf: How Savour! Made Yet-to-be-Sold F&B Products an Attractive Proposition
Management Case Study8.95View Details Singapore-based tech social enterprise Savour! seeks to make procurement smoother and more productive by linking up suppliers like merchants with less... -
Wes Hall and the BlackNorth Initiative
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details Wes Hall founded Kingsdale Advisors and built it into one of Canada's leading shareholder services and advisory firms. Influenced by the Black Lives Matter... -
Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
Runaway climate change and rampant inequality are ravaging the world and costing a fortune. Who will help lead us to a better future? Business. These... -
AstraZeneca (China): Promoting Social Innovation with Holistic Disease Management Solutions Throughout the Patient Journey
Management Case Study8.95View Details He increased the sales of products such as Pulmicort RespulesTM after their patents expired, generating significant social benefits by making medical... -
Carbon Footprints: Methods and Calculations
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details Describes methods to calculate the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions) of an organization's operations and supply chain, and a product or service.... -
Dealing with a Changing Environment: Fundacion Peruana para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details At a time, in the early 1980s, when Peru is wracked by leftist terrorism and hampered by weak central government, the Foundation for the Protection of... -
Monitoring and Evaluation for the Novartis Access Initiative
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case StudyThis case is located within the multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis, as key managers decide what kind of monitoring and evaluation to implement... -
Big Chocolate: Child Slavery in the Cocoa Industry
Management Case Study8.95View Details Dick Marty was a Swiss Parliamentarian and former state prosecutor. In 2015, Marty led the Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice (SCCJ), an alliance of... -
Desi Hangover: Circular Transition of a Conscious Fashion Brand
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details Desi Hangover, an Indian company empowering artisans to manufacture handcrafted leather footwear, was a finalist at Lakmé Fashion Week in 2020 in the... -
EyeControl: Inspiring Communication
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details Eye-controlled communication device startup EyeControl was founded in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2016 by cofounders with a shared personal connection to locked-in... -
Prime Coalition: Estimating Climate Impact
Management Case Study8.95View Details A case on CRANE, a tool to help investors and green technology companies estimate the future climate impact of new technologies and products, called emissions... -
Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World
Innovation & Leadership Case Study15.05View Details Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader... -
The Slingshot: Improving Water Access
Sales & Marketing Case Study14.00View Details In 2012, over 750 million people around the globe lacked access to safe drinking water. Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, sought to bring fresh water... -
Konecta: Strategic Transformations in a Digital Era
Management Case Study8.95View Details The case analyzes the evolution of the business model of the Spanish multinational Konecta, which, since its origin, was dedicated to providing Contact... -
Evaluating the Social Value of Impact Investments: Vox Capital and Magnamed
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details Vox Capital was a pioneer as an impact investment company in Brazil, with the purpose of creating a world where businesses can generate positive social... -
InterfaceRAISE: Sustainability Consulting
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details InterfaceRAISE is a sustainability management consulting firm created to leverage the capabilities of its parent company Interface Inc., a carpet manufacturer...
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Creating Shared Value
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleThe capitalist system is under siege. Recently business has been criticized as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems. Companies... -
The Case for Investing in Digital Public Infrastructure
Business and society Digital ArticleHow businesses and governments can work together to build digital foundations that benefit everyone. -
The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleMost companies feel compelled to give to charity. Few have figured out how to do it well. -
ESG at WeChat Pay to Support SMEs, Teaching Note
Management Digital ArticleTeaching note for case HK1361. -
Manan Publishing: Raising Funds for Not-for-profit
Management Case Study8.95View Details Subir Shukla, the Principal Coordinator in Ignus Pahal, was involved in improving education for marginalized children. After working for many years at... -
Innovating by Making the World a Better Place
Innovation Digital ArticleMaggie Brenneke, director of the Skoll Social Enterprise Program at SustainAbility. When businesses consider their social and environmental bottom lines, they identify new opportunities to innovate. Some of those opportunities can be surprising! -
Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with 'education as a benefit.'... -
How Low and Middle-Income Countries Are Innovating to Combat Covid
Global Business Digital ArticleSeven lessons for innovators everywhere. -
A Bretton Woods for the 21st Century
Sustainable business practices Magazine ArticleIf 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 […] -
Cost Plus Drugs
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details In September 2022, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company CEO Alex Oshmyansky considered the future of the company. Cost Plus Drugs was a retailer for more...