Review
Articles P6540
Social Innovations
Think Passionate
Investors screen for entrepreneurial passion when making funding decisions.
Global Issues
The Violent Death of Benevolence
Research supports violent media's negative impact on civility.
Philanthropy
Tweets for Change
Tweeters come together for spontaneous gatherings of like-minded philanthropists.
Nonprofits
Art Mimics Art
Manchester Bidwell Corporation replicates by adapting general strategies to local cultures.
Social Innovations
The Hidden Costs of Cause Marketing
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.
Social Innovations
Platforms for Collaboration
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.