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How a New Generation of Business Leaders Views Philanthropy
Social responsibility Digital ArticleThey’re taking multiple routes to social good. -
The Elements of an Effective Cause Marketing Campaign
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleStop thinking “public service announcement.” -
The Founder of TOMS on Reimagining the Company's Mission
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleIn the fall of 2012 the author decided he needed to do some soul searching. The start-up he'd founded six years earlier had grown into a global company... -
Nonprofits Can’t Keep Ignoring Talent Development
Talent management Digital ArticleIt’s causing a costly game of musical chairs. -
How to Use Stretch Assignments to Support Social Good
Career planning Digital ArticleAdvance your career and give back at the same time. -
An Online Medical Database Is Reducing Diagnostic Errors
Knowledge management Digital ArticleNo one wants their doctor using Wikipedia. -
How Social Entrepreneurs Make Change Happen
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThe story of how one organization envisioned a future transformed. -
The Two Essential Entrepreneurial Types
Innovation Digital ArticleOne is rarer than the other. -
What We’ve Learned About Fighting Ebola
Public-Private partnerships Digital ArticleAddressing the WHO’s lack of innovation. -
Life's Work: Ken Burns
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleThe noted documentarian on waning attention spans and why business leaders should study history. -
Two Keys to Sustainable Social Enterprise
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleSocial entrepreneurship has emerged over the past several decades as a way to identify and bring about potentially transformative societal improvements.... -
The Traits of Socially Innovative Companies
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThey adopt a triple-bottom-line strategy that focuses on profits, people, and the planet. -
Case Study: Should an Emerging-Market Incubator Help U.S. Businesses?
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleA nonprofit struggles to define its mission. -
Case Study: Should an Emerging-Market Incubator Help U.S. Businesses?
Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleA nonprofit struggles to define its mission. -
Case Study: Should an Emerging-Market Incubator Help U.S. Businesses?
Non-profit Magazine ArticleA nonprofit that supports emerging-market entrepreneurs considers expanding to the U.S. -
Reaching the Rich World's Poorest Consumers
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleAlmost 120 million people in the European Union are classified as at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Although many companies offer low-cost products... -
Bringing an Entrepreneurial Mindset to the World’s Failing Systems
Social enterprise Digital ArticleFrom the financial crisis to the environment. -
3 Ways Businesses Are Addressing Inequality in Emerging Markets
Sustainability Digital ArticleIt’s not just the government’s job. -
An Approach to Ending Poverty That Works
Social enterprise Digital ArticleIt’s not that expensive. -
A Lean Startup Approach to International Development
Social enterprise Digital ArticleLarge-scale planning isn’t the answer.
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Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility (HBR Bestseller)
Strategy & Execution HBR BestsellerGovernments, activists, and the media have become adept at holding companies to account for the social consequences of their actions. In response, corporate... -
The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy
Public relations Magazine ArticleMost companies feel compelled to give to charity. Few have figured out how to do it well. -
Recycling for Profit: The New Green Business Frontier
Currency Magazine ArticleHow companies can turn building demand for recycled products into a competitive advantage. -
Should Your Business Be Nonprofit or For-Profit?
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThe right model for social impact is both. -
Why China Can't Innovate
Global Business Magazine ArticleChina has no lack of entrepreneurs, market demand, or wealth, but can the country succeed in its quest to become the world's innovation leader? For nearly... -
Why Do We Keep Choosing Ineffective Urban Interventions?
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThis 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 […] -
How Social Innovation Is Helping Homeless Veterans
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThis nonprofit uses creative approaches to success – and you can too. -
Good Cause, Good Business
Social enterprise Magazine ArticleA pioneer of cause-related marketing explains how to make it pay off—for the company and for the charity. -
The Social Franchise Model Works in Times of Uncertainty
Social enterprise Digital ArticleHow to battle unemployment at scale in the Middle East. -
Bringing an Entrepreneurial Mindset to the World’s Failing Systems
Social enterprise Digital ArticleFrom the financial crisis to the environment. -
The Rise of Social Entrepreneurship in B-Schools in Three Charts
Business education Digital ArticleThe numbers suggest new MBAs aren’t just in it for the money. -
The $300 House: The Design Challenge
Social enterprise Digital ArticleEditor’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, Bill Gross looks at the design challenge. The $300 House: […] -
A New Approach to Funding Social Enterprises
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleAn increasing number of social entrepreneurs and investors are realizing that social enterprises of all sorts, including many organizations regarded as... -
Case Study: Should an Emerging-Market Incubator Help U.S. Businesses?
Non-profit Magazine ArticleA nonprofit that supports emerging-market entrepreneurs considers expanding to the U.S. -
Leadership Yoga: Innovation Advantages from Seeing Disadvantage
Innovation Digital ArticleHave you noticed the tectonic plates starting to shift? Values and social purpose are creeping back into the business strategy conversation. Big societal problems are the next innovation frontier, and the best companies are practicing what I call “leadership yoga” — flipping the organization upside down to have their eyes to the ground to see […] -
How Nonprofits Prove Their Worth
Social enterprise Digital ArticleThe best evaluations of nonprofits are balanced and thorough. -
Cities Are the Answer. What Was the Question?
Sustainability Digital ArticleThis 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. If you care about energy efficiency, the welfare of our senior citizens, equitable transportation services, jobs, or combating climate change, cities are the answer. Consider senior care. […] -
Surefire Predictions and Why Doomsayers are Wrong
Economy Digital ArticleDeath and taxes aren’t the only sure things in life. -
Effective Oversight: A Guide for Nonprofit Directors
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleMore than ever, the public is looking to the nonprofit sector to address the pressing social problems that are hobbling the United States. As a result,... -
New Landscape for Nonprofits
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleIn this article, William P. Ryan, a Cambridge-based consultant to foundations and nonprofit organizations, examines how nonprofits need to adapt to the...
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IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95Traces the history of IKEA's response to a TV report that its Indian carpet suppliers were using child labor. Describes IKEA's growth, including the importance... -
Shouldice Hospital Ltd.
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95Various proposals are set forth for expanding the capacity of the hospital. In assessing them, serious consideration has to be given to the culture of... -
Thurgood Marshall High School
Organizational Development Case Study8.95Presents the problem facing a newly appointed high-school principal. Raises issues about interpersonal and group behavior including lack of open conflict... -
The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time
Technology & Operations Case Study14.00Describes the Mumbai-based Dabbawala organization, which achieves very high service performance (6 Sigma equivalent or better) with a low-cost and very... -
Shouldice Hospital Ltd. (Abridged)
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95A hospital specializing in hernia operations is considering whether and how to expand the reach of its services. -
Harlem Children's Zone: Driving Performance with Measurement and Evaluation
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone, wanted his organization to grow dramatically to reach thousands of poor and underserved children in... -
Boston Fights Drugs (A): Designing Communications Research
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95Describes in detail the research mounted by five individuals with a $20,000 budget to combat drug abuse among Boston's school-going population. Using... -
Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: In Service for Sight
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95Starting 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... -
Boston Fights Drugs (B): Converting Research to Action
Sales & Marketing Case Study5.00... -
MediaTek: From Feature Phones to Smartphones
Technology & Operations Case Study14.00MediaTek was the third largest fabless semiconductor company in the world, and was the second largest supplier of the silicon microchips that powered... -
Salesforce.com: Creating a Blue Ocean in the B2B Space
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95The case describes a series of blue ocean strategic moves made by Salesforce.com in the CRM application market. In particular, the case addresses the... -
Narayana Hrudayalaya Heart Hospital: Cardiac Care for the Poor (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study12.00Describes the mission, vision, and strategy of a team of entrepreneurs headed by a charismatic heart surgeon who founded a heart hospital in Bangalore,... -
EILEEN FISHER: Repositioning the Brand
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95Well-established fashion brand Eileen Fisher has traditionally appealed to older women. However, to drive growth, Eileen Fisher's management team wants... -
d.light Design: Marketing Channel Strategies in India
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95This case looks at a new start-up company, d.light Design, as it was seeking to go to market in India with its solar-powered LED lamps in 2009. Sam Goldman,... -
ITC eChoupal Initiative
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95Soybean farmers in India have traditionally sold their product through ineffective and frequently dishonest physical marketplaces (mandi). Farmers are... -
Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95Acumen Fund is a global venture capital firm with a dual purpose: it looks for a return on its investments, and it also seeks entrepreneurial solutions... -
Monique Leroux: Leading Change at Desjardins
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95Monique Leroux led a major transformation, overcoming resistance, at a large Canadian financial cooperative based in Quebec that competed with top Canadian... -
Omidyar Network: Pioneering Impact Investment
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95Omidyar Network, having deployed over $500 million in ways ranging from donations to commercial equity capital, must decide whether to back Anudip, an... -
NYPD New
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95Police Commissioner Bratten and his staff have led a process designed to create a results-oriented police department from one that previously emphasized... -
The Langer Lab: Commercializing Science
Technology & Operations Case Study8.95Professor Robert Langer's laboratory at MIT is the source of an unusually large number of published papers, patents, and technology licenses to start-up...