The World with B Corporations: Visions of Change
Degree Name
MS in Management
Abstract
This paper explores the history of the Corporate Social Responsibility movement of the past 30 years leading up to the emergence of the B Sector, a proposed fourth sector (in addition to the for-profit, governmental, and non-profit) of the economy comprised of B or Benefit Corporations: businesses that meet minimum standards with respect to social and environmental responsibility and overtly contribute to society through their activity. The founders of B Corporation and their nonprofit B Lab suggest that this sector will have a presence of “20,000 B Corporations, a $40 billion market presence, and one powerful voice.” This paper asks: What are the specific systemic changes the founders and key stakeholders of B Corporation seek to achieve by leveraging the collective power of this new sector of business? The data to answer this question was gathered through face-to-face and email interviews of seven key stakeholders from the B Corporation movement. Each subject was asked a series of five questions. The responses to these questions were transcribed and coded for relevant text, repeating ideas and themes. This paper suggests that B Corporation stakeholders seek the following systemic changes: reform of existing capital markets and/or the creation of new ones to serve emerging B Corporations; and government policy regarding social and environmental issues as they relate to businesses in general and B Corporations in particular. The data collected also recommends that B Lab should revisit its public communication to more clearly articulate its intentions to engage in these two areas. It also suggests that B Lab should address certain issues with the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), one of its most important stakeholder groups, to prevent future obstacles to the growth of the B Corporation sector.
Disciplines
Business and Corporate Communications | Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics | Politics and Social Change
Recommended Citation
Smith, John, "The World with B Corporations: Visions of Change" (2008). Capstone Collection. 2257.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2257