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Issue

Summer 2009

Volume 7, Number 3

The summer 2009 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review highlights the rising tide of public feeling that too many organizations operate unethically and dishonestly. The last decade has produced numerous examples of egregious ethical and moral misconduct in the business, government, and nonprofit sectors. In “Ethics and Nonprofits,” authors Deborah L. Rhode and Amanda K. Packe unpack common ethical issues and misconduct, and suggest ways nonprofits can institutionalize ethical values in all aspects of an organization’s culture.

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Features

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Nonprofits

Mission-Driven Governance

By Raymond Fisman, Rakesh Khurana, & Edward Martenson 1

The prevailing governance model is fundamentally adversarial, pitting board members in a never-ending struggle with executives. This model does little to advance the organization’s goals.

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Nonprofits

Ethics and Nonprofits

By Deborah L. Rhode & Amanda K. Packel 30

Unethical behavior remains a persistent problem in nonprofits and for-profits alike. To help organizations solve that problem, the authors examine the factors that influence moral conduct, the ethical issues that arise specifically in charitable organizations, and the best ways to promote ethical behavior within organizations.

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Social Innovations

Platforms for Collaboration

By Satish Nambisan

Some of the brightest ideas for social change grow in the spaces between organizations and sectors. Yet few organizations have systems that make collaboration happen. To foster innovation, organizations need to develop places where they can come together and work creatively—that is, platforms for collaboration. In this article, a management expert identifies three kinds of collaboration platforms—exploration, experimentation, and execution—and then outlines what organizations can do to put these platforms to work for them.

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Social Innovations

The Hidden Costs of Cause Marketing

By Angela M. Eikenberry 18

From pink ribbons to Product Red, cause marketing adroitly serves two masters, earning profits for corporations while raising funds for charities. Yet the short-term benefits of cause marketing—also known as consumption philanthropy—belie its long-term costs. These hidden costs include individualizing solutions to collective problems; replacing virtuous action with mindless buying; and hiding how markets create many social problems in the first place. Consumption philanthropy is therefore unsuited to create real social change.

What’s Next

Social Innovations

Hedge Funds for Good

By Suzie Boss 1

Uhuru Capital Management manages a conventional fund of hedge funds, but with an attention to social values.

Field Report

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Social Innovations

The Parent of Invention

By Aaron Dalton

RAMP nurtures local inventors in India, Peru, and Indonesia.

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Nonprofits

Art Mimics Art

By Suzie Boss

Manchester Bidwell Corporation replicates by adapting general strategies to local cultures.

Case Study

Viewpoint

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Social Innovations

Social Entrepreneurship Revisited

By Paul C. Light 25

Social entrepreneurship is one of the most alluring terms on the problem-solving landscape today. The question is not whether social entrepreneurship is a term in
good currency, but what it actually means.

Research

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Social Innovations

Think Passionate

By Alana Conner

Investors screen for entrepreneurial passion when making funding decisions.

Nonprofits

The Volunteer Boom

By Alana Conner

Nonprofits will soon have more volunteers than they can handle.

Philanthropy

When Swag Backfires

By Alana Conner 1

When donor gifts are public, social approbation is reward enough.

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Global Issues

At a Loss for Ethics

By Alana Conner

Studies show that individuals are more susceptible to corrupt behavior when trying to avoid a loss.

Book Reviews

MARKET REBELS: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations Hayagreeva Rao
Review
Social Innovations

Unleash the Hordes

Review By Carl Schramm 1

Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations by Havagreeva Rao

STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY: A Business Manifesto Adam Werbach
Review
Business

Greening the Corporation

Review By Amory Lovins

Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto by Adam Werbach

DEAD AID: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa Dambisa Moyo
Review
Social Innovations

Just Say “No”

Review By Jane Wales 18

Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo

Q&A

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Social Innovations

Q & A: Judith Rodin

By Eric Nee 2

The Rockefeller Foundation is staying at the forefront of new and big ideas, funding new innovation processes like crowdsourcing and collaborative competitions.

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