It’s not a secret that companies want to enter emerging markets and cater to the new and exploding middle class in countries such as India and China. It’s also nothing new to hear about the development of sub-market products to increase access to new technology and ideas. Case in point, the $100 laptop per child (it’s now actually $200). Business and innovation target markets from the top-down and the bottom-up. As a result, the line between business and social value is becoming hazier. ...

Campbell has introduced a new strategy to advance its goal of supporting American agriculture.  They have set a goal of growing over 1 billion tomatoes across the country.  How are they going to do that?  By sending seeds to people who want them. ...

Education.  Math and science.  K-12.  All are common targets of corporate philanthropy.  So, in a world where corporations want to differentiate themselves through social impact, why do so many resort to the same traditional strategies? National Instruments (NI) is bucking the trend.  They have teamed up to deliver the Lego League World Festival, a team competition of student-designed Lego robots.  Each team has an NI mentor (boosting employee engagement) and uses NI products and software (building awareness among future decision-makers). ...

In their recent contribution to the Harvard Business Review, Doing Well By Doing Good? Don’t Count on It, Joshua Margolis and Hillary Anger Elfenbein rekindle the venerable debate on the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and financial performance. Since its inception, CSR has struggled to build legitimacy against forces pressing corporate social and environmental strategies to demonstrate a direct, causal relationship with stock performance. ...

Historically, investors pursuing socially responsible investment (SRI) strategies have been forced to choose among imperfect investment solutions.  An evaluation of current investment products which incorporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria reveals some seeming contradictions.  Are SRI funds truly meeting the needs of socially conscious investors by excluding Starbucks – a company respected by many for its sustainable supply chain practices and strong employee relations – because the company licensed its brand to promote an alcohol product?  Should CSR ranking ...

According to Grant Thornton’s 15th Survey of U.S. Business Leaders, 77% of executives say that corporate responsibility will have a major impact on their business strategies over the next few years, and 76% agree it can enhance a company’s profitability. Read the survey report, Corporate responsibility: Burden or opportunity?, conducted in partnership with BusinessWeek Research Services, to find out how business leaders are answering such questions as: ...

 A study produced this month shows 82% of the largest global companies produce social responsibility reports, but the reports lack comparable quantitative measures. The study was led by 3 financial management firms: WestLB AG, Walden Asset Management, and Trillium Asset Management. ...