In 2006, Western Union spun-off from its former parent, First Data Corporation and began the process of defining itself as a standalone organization. Part of that effort was the creation of a strategic corporate social responsibility program called Our World, Our Family. The case tracks Western...

How does organizations’ embeddedness in social and cultural communities influence their behavior? And how has this changed with recent communication technology advances and globalization trends? In this introductory chapter to Research in the Sociology of Organization’s volume on Communities...

In 2009, Whole Foods stands at a crossroads. Their incredible growth over the past 25 years has vaulted them into the ranks of the largest US supermarkets and they have arguably led to the widespread acceptance of natural and organic foods in the United States. Yet more recently, Whole Foods has...

Public Architecture is a non-profit architecture company dedicated to creating social and professional change through design for the public good. Public has focused on three strategies to create change: 1) promoting the design community's commitment to pro bono work 2) inspiring action through...

Salesforce.com recently implemented an innovative social enterprise business model whereby the Salesforce.com Foundation funds its operations and grant budget by selling discounted Salesforce.com software licenses to nonprofits and education clients. The case recounts the development and initial...

"A thoroughly researched assessment of how China's economic success continues to be shaped by the communist ideology of Chairman Mao It was long assumed that as China embraced open markets and private enterprise, its state-controlled economy would fall by the wayside, that free markets would...

We present a model of how institutional pressures at the community level shape corporate social action within the metropolitan area in which firms are headquartered. We define corporate social action as behaviors and practices that extend beyond immediate profit maximization goals and are...

Goldman Sachs' five-year, $100 million philanthropic initiative to provide practical business and management education to 10,000 women around the globe recently celebrated its first anniversary and over 1,200 women were either enrolled in, or graduated from sponsored certificate programs. The...

Three pressing challenges (equity split, extent of commitment to social responsibility, and product discoloration) confront VeeV, the world's first alcoholic beverage infused with acai berries. Brothers Courtney and Carter Reum founded VeeV in 2007 and the firm has experienced rapid growth since...