Social Enterprise
Social Enterprise
HBS pioneered the concept of “social enterprise” with the founding of its Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI) in 1993. Under the early leadership of James Austin on the importance of collaborative relationships to the success of nonprofits and Allen Grossman and V. Kasturi “Kash” Rangan on new directions in nonprofit strategy, we adopted a problem-focused approach toward understanding the challenges associated with driving sustained, high-impact social change. Current research focuses on leadership of socially mission-driven organizations; the role of business leaders and corporate citizenship in driving social change; business models that address poverty; management of high-performing K-12 public school districts; and financing models for the non-profit sector.
Initiatives & Projects
The Social Enterprise Initiative, Business & Environment Initiative, and Health Care Initiative apply innovative business practices and managerial disciplines to drive sustained, high-impact social change.
Social EnterpriseBusiness & EnvironmentHealth CareRecent Publications
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Bringing Systematic Investment to Philanthropy
- July 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Disclosing Downstream Emissions
- July–August 2024 |
- Article |
- Harvard Business Review
Certain companies, however, are accountable for disclosing downstream emissions generated by consumers’ use of their products. Three principles govern accountability: (1) Downstream accountability is limited to companies whose products are directly used by end customers. (2) Accountability for B2C companies is limited to cases where a reasonable causal link exists between product-design decisions and the downstream emissions generated by consumers. (3) Companies are accountable for disclosing emissions produced per unit of use, not for total emissions.
This article presents the principles and explains how and to what standards of reliability the companies should disclose downstream emissions.
Shell's Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition
- May 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Together for Sustainability
- May 2024 (Revised June 2024) |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Selfish Corporations
- May 2024 |
- Article |
- Review of Economic Studies
New Belgium Brewing and Climate Change
- April 2024 (Revised June 2024) |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Market Dynamics and Moral Dilemmas: Novo Nordisk’s Weight-Loss Drugs
- April 2024 (Revised May 2024) |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Negotiating the Gift of Life (A)
- March 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
From 'BIG' Ideas to Sustainable Impact at ICL Group (A)
- March 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Croitoru spent three years refining the program, expanding its reach from 3,500 to all 12,500 ICL employees in four new languages. To push the program forward, he anticipated two challenges ahead—continuing to scale BIG company-wide while combining technology with the human infrastructure needed to optimize the program’s success, and fostering more breakthrough, "extra-corerestrial" (beyond the core business) ideas within BIG.
Best Practices for Family Philanthropy
- March 12, 2024 |
- Editorial |
- Family Capital