Doing Good Better: Limitations of Firm-Led Social Impact Efforts and Solutions Moving Forward (session 2102)
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
2:30pm-4pm PDT
SCC Skagit-3
There has been growing scholarly interest in the role and responsibility of firms in addressing societal problems. Prior work has shown that there can exist an economic case for firms' pursuit of social objectives and that firms possess capabilities that make them better suited to address certain societal issues compared to other organizational forms. However, even though companies are increasingly tackling societal grand challenges, corporate involvement in addressing social problems does not necessarily achieve the desired social outcomes. Realities like tensions between stakeholders of different power or tradeoffs between the pursuit of financial and social objectives can lead to social-oriented efforts that are temporary or that are decoupled from on-the-ground impacts. This symposium takes the position that there is great potential for for-profit firms to further social goals. However, we also posit that there is still much to learn about how companies can do good better. We focus on firms operating in weak institutional contexts, which create problems of economic and human development while also making it more difficult for companies to address them. Through their presentations, our scholars characterize firm-level efforts to address social problems in low- and middle-income economies, theorize the mechanisms for why firms' efforts do not necessarily achieve desired social outcomes, and ascertain strategies for the improvement of firms' participation in creating better outcomes, from the perspectives of both managers and policymakers.
Discussant: Ruth Aguilera, Northeastern University
Sustaining Product-and Operation-Level Integration of Social Objectives in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Case-Based Analysis of Facilitating Access to Medicine
- Tobias Bünder*; Hertie School of Governance
- Nikolas Rathert*; Tilburg U.
- Johanna Mair; Hertie School of Governance
Rags to Riches? Entrepreneurs' Social Classes, Resourceful Time Allocation, and Venture Performance
- Eric Y.-F. Zhao*; Indiana U., Bloomington
- Jianhua Ge; Renmin University of China
- Joanna Li; Indiana U., Bloomington
- Fan Yang; Renmin University of China
How Electoral Contests Impact Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from India
- Aline Gatignon*; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania
- Christiane Bode; Imperial College Business School
How Firms can Bring Efficiency and Innovation in the Provision of Public Goods
- Luis Ballesteros*; Boston U. Questrom School of Business
Symposium organizer: Diana Jue-Rajasingh, University of Michigan
Hosted by: STR/SIM/PNP
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Diana Jue-Rajasingh
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor MI
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