Social enterprise

The story of how one organization envisioned a future transformed.

(Editor's note: This post is part of a six-week blog series on how leadership might look in the future. The conversations generated by these posts will...

For visionary CEOs in the for-profit finance sector, a giant business opportunity is emerging: connecting entrepreneurs and their organizations with the resources they need to create lasting social change. Since the late 1980s, the citizen sector has taken off and experienced rapid growth in terms of productivity and impact. The financial industry has not kept […]

The industry giant is creating shared value with African businesses, paving the way for others in the process.

As Afghan-U.S. relations continue to deteriorate, it's hard to imagine that the two nations can find political common ground. But the language of business...

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 […]

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

"Mission" for nonprofits is the same as "profits" for private sector companies. In the private sector, corporations achieve their goals by carefully designing...

Editor’s note: This post is one in an occasional series on Vijay Govindarajan’s and Christian Sarkar’s idea to create a scalable housing solution for the world’s poor. Each post will examine the challenge from a different perspective, including design, technology, urban planning and more. Today, Bob Freling examines the energy challenge. The $300 House: The […]

Realizing the full potential of this evolving sector requires three things.

They're taking multiple routes to social good.

Take a cue from venture capital and increase the appetite for taking chances.

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 […]

The headline in yesterday’s New York Times business section was instantly exciting: “Kleiner Perkins and Partners Create $250 Million ‘Social’ Fund.” Another progressive venture fund, this one driven by social justice rather than environmental issues? Fantastic! But reading the full article on the New York Times blog dispelled my enthusiasm: Hoping to capitalize on the […]

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.

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

Maggie 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!

It wasn’t too long ago that corporations were the villains — polluting the environment, exploiting workers, and consuming energy and other resources without concern for long term consequences to the planet. However over the past few years many companies have transformed themselves from bad guys into champions of social change and ecological consciousness. For example, […]

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 […]

Zhang Yue, founder and chairman of Broad Group, had developed a series of innovative products aimed at solving China's environmental problems. Broad Group's...

Derrick and Desmon Lewis were both successful professionals in the consulting and banking industries. They were born and raised in The Bronx, New York...

Corporate foundations represent a distinctive avenue for companies to channel their resources into social initiatives, often straying from their core...

The case discusses the challenges faced by Rikin Gandhi, the chief executive officer (CEO) of a nonprofit organisation, Digital Green (DG), as he experimented...

Starting as a modest 20-bed hospital, Aravind had grown into a 1,400-bed hospital complex by 1992. It had by then screened 3.65 million patients and performed...

Dick Marty was a Swiss Parliamentarian and former state prosecutor. In 2015, Marty led the Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice (SCCJ), an alliance of...

In October 2020, just a year after founding their company Meaningful Gigs, founders Ronnie Kwesi Coleman and Stephanie Nachemja-Burton prepared for a...

The case describes how Coffee Commune, a China-based social enterprise founded by a German entrepreneur named Eric Baden, had been trying to reach a balance...

"What does a workplace utopia look like to you?" This is the question Dr. Ella F. Washington asks company leaders, and often she hears about an ideal...

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

The series of Janet Ames cases follow a fictional alumna of Harvard Business School into her consulting career in Boston. Over the series of cases, Ames...

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...

The series of Janet Ames cases follow a fictional alumna of Harvard Business School into her consulting career in Boston. Over the series of cases, Ames...

Stichting Het Potentieel Pakken (HPP) was launched to solve a systemic problem in the Dutch Labor Market: gender inequity that was leading to a large...

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...

This note provides background on the complex issues regarding the supply and consumption of water and how this natural resource is at increasing risk,...

Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader...

This case follows the development of Daddy Lab, a Chinese social enterprise founded in 2015 by Wenfeng Wei. With extensive experience in product safety...

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

Subir Shukla, the Principal Coordinator in Ignus Pahal, was involved in improving education for marginalized children. After working for many years at...

The story of how one organization envisioned a future transformed.

(Editor's note: This post is part of a six-week blog series on how leadership might look in the future. The conversations generated by these posts will...

For visionary CEOs in the for-profit finance sector, a giant business opportunity is emerging: connecting entrepreneurs and their organizations with the resources they need to create lasting social change. Since the late 1980s, the citizen sector has taken off and experienced rapid growth in terms of productivity and impact. The financial industry has not kept […]

The industry giant is creating shared value with African businesses, paving the way for others in the process.

As Afghan-U.S. relations continue to deteriorate, it's hard to imagine that the two nations can find political common ground. But the language of business...

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 […]

Zhang Yue, founder and chairman of Broad Group, had developed a series of innovative products aimed at solving China's environmental problems. Broad Group's...

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

"Mission" for nonprofits is the same as "profits" for private sector companies. In the private sector, corporations achieve their goals by carefully designing...

Derrick and Desmon Lewis were both successful professionals in the consulting and banking industries. They were born and raised in The Bronx, New York...