Social Sector as Beta Site for Business Innovation

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Table of Contents

Summary of the Article
Critical Evaluation
Personal Opinion
The Contribution of the Article
Recommendation to Improve Research
Works Cited

Summary of the Article

The article by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, “From Spare Change to Real Change: The Social Sector as Beta Site for Business Innovation,” describes the role of private-public partnership in promoting profitable and sustainable innovations in various sectors. Kanter argues that a partnership between the public interest and the private enterprise forms a new paradigm for it determines profitability and sustainability of innovations (124). The article identifies the problem of the study as the lack of private-public partnership in the development of innovations, which have meaningful and lasting impacts on social challenges that communities and individuals face. The analysis of the way companies undertake corporate social responsibility shows that they do not consider social factors. Kanter explains that although public schools in America have participated in over 200,000 business partnerships, substantial changes have not occurred because corporate social responsibility focuses on superficial changes and does not engage actively in effecting changes. In essence, changes brought about by traditional corporate social responsibility constitute a spare change. Thus, the article suggests that America needs corporate social innovation to attain a real change that is institutionalized, replicable, sustainable, and influential.

In demonstrating the essence of real change, the article employed previous research and case studies, which support corporate social responsibility. The article entitled “Why America Needs Corporate Social Innovation” argues that corporate philanthropy does not address fundamental challenges in the education system because it does not address root problems, covers only a limited scope, and provides spare resources (Kanter 124). In this view, corporate social innovation is necessary to ensure that corporate philanthropy has a considerable impact on the education system. In 1991, Bell Atlantic employed corporate social innovation in promoting technology by not only installing computers in schools but also donating other computers for students and teachers to use while at home.

Subsequently, in 1994, IBM revolutionized an educational program in more than 21 states and 4 countries because it created tools and applications that enabled interaction of teachers, students, and parents while improving the performance of learners. Moreover, in 1991, Marriot created a welfare-to-work program, which trains welfare recipients in over 13 cities in the United States and employs them to gain independence. In 1990, Bank Boston initiated First Community Bank to provide financial services that target minorities, and it has demonstrated a great success. Based on these case studies, the article states that a clear business agenda, commitment, investment, user community basis, links to community organizations, and sustainability are key characteristics of effective private-public partnerships.

Critical Evaluation

The problem statement of the article is clear since it argues that traditional corporate social responsibility is no longer effective in bringing about changes in communities as it overlooks social factors. Kanter argues that companies provide superficial volunteer activities and do not participate in ensuring successful implementation (123). In this view, the lack of corporate social innovation has reduced the impact of corporate social responsibility on communities. Although the article does not ask an explicit question, the apparent question is that what are the characteristics of private-public partnerships that ensure profitability and sustainability of volunteer activities.

The research fits with other articles examining the role of social innovation in corporate social responsibility. Cajaiba-Santana asserts that social innovation plays a central role in corporate social responsibility because it is a driver for social change (45). In their application of the public-private partnership model, Yang et al. established that it boosts social capital, enhances management, and ensures sustainability (1065). Im et al. argue that the involvement of employees in corporate social responsibility is beneficial because it improves job satisfaction and commitment, resulting in sustainable performance (4). As the article fits well with recent studies, it does not miss important information regarding social innovation and corporate social responsibility.

Further analysis of the article shows that the problem of corporate social responsibility matches the methodology of the case study. Ardalan avers that case study methodology provides valid and reliable findings because it presents practical information about activities, achievements, and challenges (56). In this view, the article applied case studies in demonstrating how Bell Atlantic, Bank Boston, Marriot, and IBM have applied corporate social innovation to driving social changes in their respective niches. In the analysis of the case studies, the article presented the findings in a consistent and clear manner. Its content is structured into headings to guide readers and promote understanding. Since the article provided a comprehensive analysis of cases, it did not overlook any important data. The article did not indicate any form of limitation to the findings of characterizing effective private-public partnerships. It presented deep research as the findings are logical and properly supported. Moreover, the article presented valid and reliable findings which lacked fallacies.

Personal Opinion

I agree with the research findings that corporate social innovation is essential for organizations to improve their impact on corporate social responsibility. Traditional corporate social responsibility is not effective because it ignores deep-rooted social factors and does not participate actively in volunteer activities. From the case studies, it is apparent that Bell Atlantic, Bank Boston, Marriot, and IBM have made significant social changes in their respective markets for they have designed and employed social innovation in their corporate social responsibility. Hence, understanding social dynamics of the target market or population is integral in the design and implementation of programs, which cause sustainable and profitable social changes.

The Contribution of the Article

The article presents novel findings that have the potential of shaping the way companies undertake their corporate social responsibility. The case studies presented show that Bell Atlantic, Bank Boston, Marriot, and IBM have made significant social changes, which are worthy of emulation. The findings challenge organizations that merely consider a donation the end of corporate social responsibility. As the article outlines the characteristics of successful business partnerships, it contributes to the body of knowledge regarding corporate social responsibility and social innovation. Thus, the article would enable modern organizations to achieve social innovation by formulating a clear business agenda, committing to partnerships, investing in volunteer activities, incorporating communities, linking to community organizations, and boosting sustainability.

Recommendation to Improve Research

As the study identifies characteristics that ensure a private-public partnership, future research should attempt to define the process that enables organizations to achieve robust social innovation. Organizations require the process of creating sustainable and profitable business partnerships so that they can replicate without any uncertainties. Additionally, since the article describes a social realm as a learning laboratory, future research should consider defining aspects of corporate social responsibility which do not entail dumping of resources. Westley explains that the development of social innovations requires the use of a definite framework (46). The existence of an elaborate framework would enable differentiation of corporate social responsibility and corporate social innovation, as demonstrated by case studies.

Works Cited

Ardalan, Kavous. Case Method and Pluralist Economics: Philosophy, Methodology, and Practice. Springer, 2018.

Cajaiba-Santana, Giovany. “Social Innovation: Moving the Field Forward. A Conceptual Framework.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 82, no. 1, 2014, pp. 42–51.

Im, Seunghee, et al. “Employees’ Participation in Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Person-CSR Fit.” Sustainability, vol. 9, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1-9.

Kanter, Rosabeth. “From Spare Change to Real Change. The Social Sector as Beta Site for Business Innovation.” Harvard Business Review, vol. 77, no. 3, 1999, pp. 121-132.

Westley, Frances, et al. The Evolution of Social Innovation: Building Resilience Through Transitions. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.

Yang, Tong, et al. “Application of the Public-Private Partnership Model to Urban Sewage Treatment.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 142, 2017, pp. 1065-1074.

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