Lecture

New Business Models: CSR Driven Innovations

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In course

MGT-408: Transitions, sustainability and technology policy

This course addresses the issue of designing innovation strategies and technology policies to support transitions towards sustainable development goals. ...

Description

This lecture explores the evolution of business models towards social responsibility, emphasizing the shift from profit-maximization to a dual-bottom line approach. It discusses the emergence of hybrid organizations, the strategic importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the adoption of business methods by non-profits. The framework presented delves into the trade-offs between financial gains and social impacts, highlighting the need for innovative models that balance these objectives. Case studies such as low-cost heart surgery in India and initiatives by companies like Patagonia and The Body Shop illustrate these trade-offs. The lecture also examines how investors can optimize their strategies by combining charitable and corporate investments, aiming for an optimal balance between social and financial outcomes.

Instructor

Dominique Foray

1 - Current occupations and activities I am Full Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and hold the Chair of Economics and Management of Innovation (CEMI). I am a member of the Swiss Council for Science (SWR); chairman of the Advisory Board of the Swiss Economic Research Institute (KOF); and a foreign member of the Center of Capitalism and Society (Columbia University, New York). From 2007 to 2015, I served as a member of the Swiss National Research Council (Division IV - Large Scale Programs) From 2013 to 2016, I was a member of the Expert Commission for Research and Innovation of Germany (E-FI) and a member of the Expert Group for the National Report on Research and Innovation (SBFI, Switzerland). From 2008 to 2011, I served as chairman of the expert group Knowledge for Growth; a group of prominent economists created to advise Commissioner J. Potocnik (European Commission, DG research). This is during this service as member of this Group that I developed the concept of smart specialisation (together with P.A.David and B.Hall) that is now a key policy mechanism of the EU (cohesion policy). My expertise includes the economics of innovation and knowledge and the economic policy implications of the new knowledge-based economy. I have presented many opening speeches and key note address in academic and policy conferences on these topics. I have written numerous academic papers as well as two books and have edited several books and special issues in these fields. Among these books,I like to highlight : Technology and the Wealth of Nations (Pinter, 1992) ed.with C.Freeman; Unemployment and Growth in the Knowledge-based Economy (OECD, 1996), ed. with B.A.Lundvall; Knowledge economies and societies (a special issue of the International Social Science Journal, Basil Blackwell, 2002, with editions in French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabs, Russian); The Economics of knowledge (MIT press, 2004, paperback in 2006) with editions in France, Italy, Korea, China, Greece, Syria and Algeria The New Economics of Technology Policy(Edward Elgar)2009, ed.; . Smart specialisation : opportunities and challenges for regional innovation policy(Routledge, 2015) Since 2017, I regularly contribute to the Swiss Science Council blog: https://blog.wissenschaftsrat.ch/ 2 Education, previous appointments and academic positions - I received my Ph.D. in economics in 1984 and my "habilitation à diriger des recherches" in 1992 from the University Lumière of Lyon. - In 1985, I joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) as a Research Fellow in economics. - In 1990, I joined the Ecole Centrale de Paris as professor of economics, and taught in the program ingénieur économiste. - In 1993, I was nominated as Research Director at CNRS and joined the Institut pour le Management de la Recherche et de l'Innovation (IMRI) of the University of Paris-Dauphine. - In 2001-2004, I worked as a Principal Analyst at the Center for Education, Research and Innovation of OECD (Paris). - I joined the EPFL as Professeur Ordinaire in 2004. 3 - Honours and awards Best young economist award - City of Lyon (France)1986 Outstanding research in 1995 (médaille du CNRS)(France) Futuris award in 2012 for his work on smart specialisation Best paper award, EJIM, 2014 Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Cluj Napoca, 2017 I was also elected as Research Fellow at ICER (International Center for Economic Research) in Turin, at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin and at IIASA in Laxenburg; and I was Invited Professor at the Universities of Santiago de Compostela, Torino and Padova. 4 - Consulting activities I have done consulting work for the UNESCO, the OECD, WIPO, UNCTAD, UN/ECE, the European Commission, the Swiss Government and other public organisations. I am currently strongly involved into the "smart specialisation" debate in Europe, giving talks and providing advices in many countries and regions in Europe.

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Strategic management

In the field of management, strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by an organization's managers on behalf of stakeholders, based on consideration of resources and an assessment of the internal and external environments in which the organization operates. Strategic management provides overall direction to an enterprise and involves specifying the organization's objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve those objectives, and then allocating resources to implement the plans.

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in, with, or supporting professional service volunteering through pro bono programs, community development, administering monetary grants to non-profit organizations for the public benefit, or to conduct ethically oriented business and investment practices.

Strategic planning

Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to attain strategic goals. Furthermore, it may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.

Business model

A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value, in economic, social, cultural or other contexts. The process of business model construction and modification is also called business model innovation and forms a part of business strategy. In theory and practice, the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of an organization or business, including purpose, business process, target customers, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, sourcing, trading practices, and operational processes and policies including culture.

Social responsibility

Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to maintain; a balance between the economy and the ecosystem one lives within. A trade-off might perhaps exist between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment.

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