Leveraging corporate social innovation by hybrid organizations: A strategic perspective from B Corps in Latin America
• This study shows hybrid organizations’ potential to drive transformative change via CSI. • Transformative change needs transactional, iterative, and systemic strategic CSI orientations. • We outline a 3-stage framework for motivating, catalyzing, and advocating transformative change. • We show six CSI strategies: Influencer, Enhancer, Facilitator, Builder, Steward, and Activist. Corporate Social Innovation (CSI) has been built upon evidence from traditional profit-seeking organizations, mainly Multinational Corporations (MNCs); however, there is limited understanding of how hybrid organizations implement CSI. Hybrid organizations mix profit and non-profit logic and hold the potential to pursue transformative change. This study explores the business strategies that enable hybrid organizations to engage in CSI for transformative impact. Focusing on B Corps, sustainability-oriented hybrids that address profit, people, and planetary issues, we conducted a multiple case study of twenty-one B Corps across Latin America. We describe how B Corps leverage CSI through transactional , iterative , and systemic strategic orientations across six business strategies. Our study provides a three-stage framework for implementing transformational change, offering insights into theory and practice, and addressing the growing demand for businesses to tackle Grand Challenges. Future research directions are also suggested.
Authors
- Marcelo Dionisio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6346-2307)
- Sabrina Tabares (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2969-7097)
- Vinit Parida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3255-414X)
Institutions
- Luleå University of Technology (SE)
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- University of Vaasa (FI)
- Universidad EAFIT (CO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Business Research
- Published
- 2024-09-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114945
- Citations
- 16
- Primary Topic
- Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.82