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Special issue Harvard BiGS-CoBS Magazine

COMPANIES & PURPOSE: Purpose-driven business and its imprint on employees, profit, society, and planet

Welcome to the very special issue magazine co-published by The Harvard Business School Institute for Business in Global Society and the Council on Business & Society: COMPANIES & PURPOSE: Purpose-driven business and its imprint on employees, profit, society, and planet

A Special Issue Harvard BiGS-Council on Business & Society magazine: COMPANIES & PURPOSE - Purpose-driven business and its imprint on employees, profit, society, and planet. Section 1 highlights include exploring the role that business plays in solving social problems, how companies can manage the dual mandate of profit and purpose, the purpose ecosystem and how private actors and stakeholders help companies reach the SDGs, and finally business for good – an update on the shifting landscape since the 2019 pledge by 181 US CEOs

Special Harvard Institute for Business in Global Society - Council on Business & Society issue:

Companies & Purpose

Welcome to the very special issue magazine co-published by The Harvard Business School Institute for Business in Global Society and the Council on Business & Society:

COMPANIES & PURPOSE: Purpose-driven business and its imprint on employees, profit, society, and planet

In this second collaboration, Harvard BiGS & CoBS offer you 106 pages of insights and 24 articles from globally recognised faculty and prominent business leaders from around the world to propose a truly global and also regional perspective on the ever-important issue of purpose and its impact on corporate value, employee motivation, society, and planet.

This special issue kicks off with an introductory Editorial by Prof. Debora Spar, Senior Associate Dean, Business and Global Society at Harvard Business School, and Adrian Zicari, Academic Director of the CoBS, and professor of Accounting at ESSEC Business School.

Three sections follow: Companies & the changing landscape, Leading by example – purposeful businesses, and Global Perspectives on Companies & Purpose.

Section 1 highlights include exploring the role that business plays in solving social problems, how companies can manage the dual mandate of profit and purpose, the purpose ecosystem and how private actors and stakeholders help companies reach the SDGs, and finally business for good – an update on the shifting landscape since the 2019 pledge by 181 US CEOs

Section 2 includes a focus on the increasing interest in company ownership and how it brings wealth to the wider base, the strategic nature of integrity in corporate governance and purpose, caregiving and companies – how it boosts corporate value and workforce motivation, and corporate business coopetition as a strategy for building a better world.

Section 3 explores the bigger picture and features, among other super insights, innovations from the global south that combine profit and purpose, the move beyond the business case for equality, reframing sustainability as purpose, and a focus on Latin American CEOs and responsible leadership that impacts business and society.

So, as this seemingly exceptional year of change, complexity and challenge moves on, we hope you enjoy this special issue co-developed by two of the world’s most influential actors in responsible business at the crossroads of society and planet. We’d be delighted to hear from you – your feedback, comments and ideas – and please feel free to join in the debate either by contacting us through this website, or through the contact details on page 2 of this magazine.

Kind regards,

The Harvard BiGS-CoBS Editorial Team

Global Voice Magazine #32
Message in a Bottle: Giant steps are what it takes

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Contributing authors Global Voice magazine #32

The Special Summer Issue: Global Voice #32

Message in a Bottle: Giant steps are what it takes

Welcome to this very special summer issue of the Council on Business & Society’s Global Voice magazine #32 – Message in a Bottle: Giant steps are what it takes.

This issue brings together the outstanding articles from the winning, runner-up and finalist students who took part in the CoBS Student CSR Article Competition, as well as faculty research-based insights from the CoBS schools.

“Giant steps are what it takes” – indeed a message that runs throughout the 3 sections included in this 209-page magazine.

CSR, Leadership, and Purpose tackles the ever-important – and perhaps in these present and complex times – even more important issue of addressing the need for business to have greater purpose than simply profit. In the end run, not only does a wider purpose inspire employee commitment and wellbeing, it has a positive impact on the health of our planet and, as research reveals, corporate value and increased profit. In this section too, students tackle how politicians can learn from business leaders to ensure stability, positive direction, and benefit for society in today’s unsure times. And finally, diversity and inclusion comes under the spotlight – criticized and challenged by some, seen as an essential ingredient in modern business and society by others.

Section 2 – Business, Trade Conflict, and Sustainability – dives into geopolitics and the trade wars marking 2025, to analyse the impact of these on global sustainability initiatives. Here, sustainability is seen as a tool to encourage an ethical and fair strategy for business, society and planet rather than a hindrance to business growth. Linked to this, what are companies doing to take inspiration from nature, innovate, and reverse the decline in biodiversity? The articles featured in this section reveal much more than we might think!

The final section Ethical AI, Business, and Society compares the dimensions of technology as threat or saviour for many aspects of our current and future world. How should we ethically manage data and analytics in terms of employee performance? How do we protect employees and society while using AI to help solve our problems? What darker side to AI and data does research reveal? And how can humankind ultimately work with tech to positively impact the common good and the environment? There is light ahead, it seems – though responsible and ethical frameworks for this human-machine relationship are urgently required.

We invite you to download this special issue for your summer reading, reflection, and learning – and also join in the debate by visiting our blog CoBS Insights and leaving your comments. May you have a splendid, peaceful and positive summer ahead!

White Paper
Reimagining Responsible Leadership Education in a Complex and Changing World

A Special Issue White Paper

Reimagining Responsible Leadership Education in a Complex and Changing World

The CoBS, GRLI, and GBSN are delighted to publish this white paper – the fruit of a co-development workshop at Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa. Other partners and key players – UN PRME and the Harvard Business School Institute for Business in Global Society – have been invited to share their thoughts.

In addition, with the aim of making this publication a “living document” for the wider benefit, we invite all those working in higherEd and with an interest and commitment to business, social and environmental impact to send us their comments and input for future versions of the white paper.

Discover and download the White Paper, its 4 sections for reflection and with recommendations.

Reimagining Responsible Leadership Education.png

Click the cover to download

White Paper: Empowering Students through Practical Leadership and Sustainable Curriculum Design

White paper: Developing Leaders and Community with a Global Mindset

White paper: Technology and Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges

White paper: Measuring Impact: How do we know we are creating responsible leaders?

Global Voice Magazine

The Council on Business & Society's quarterly and special issue magazine. The publication features research-based and opinion-piece articles made readable for the student, practitioner and instructor on business and society, management and leadership, sustainability, entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, CSR, green finance and social and environmental reporting.

Download by clicking on the front covers.

Download the Global Voice #32 vSpecial Summer 2025 issue

Global Voice #31, magazine, Management, Leadership, performance, remote working, accounting, popular culture, HRM practice in BRICS, marketing, business models, ethics & compliance, Brazil, Kenya, social entrepreneurs, humanitarian operations, philanthropy, human unpredictability, team management, SDGs, ESG, net zero, youth with disabilities, job market, tech, tea workers, Assam, cost of living crisis, free sustainability learning content, CSR, business, society, sustainability, green finance, carbon emissions

Harvard BiGS and CoBS Special Issue Magazine - Climate Change: Strategies for advancing the green transition. Harvard Business School, Council on Business & Society, ESSEC, FGV-EAESP, Fudan School of Management, IE Business School, Keio Business School, Monash Business School, Smith School of Business, Stellenbosch Business School, Trinity Business School, Warwick Business School, sustainability, sustainable development, renewable energies, ESG, CSR

Global Voice magazine #30, 155 pages on leadership and CSR, business, society, and planet from faculty and students, magazine, Global Voice, reading, knowledge, leader, leadership, management, CSR, business, planet, society, CEO pay, future generations, short-termism, AI, future of work, conscious business, carbon footprint, sustainability, AI and ethics, recruitment, tech, recruitment process, interviews, politics, political, polarization, USA, China, democracy, apps, compliance, Japanese, companies, workplace, Japan, boards of directors, governance, CSiR

Council on Business & Society, Global Voice magazine #29, sufficiency, sustainability, CSR, carbon emissions, management, leadership, team management, knowledge transfer, employee motivation, gender-based violence in Kenya, circular economy, entrepreneurship, integrity, corporate strategy, NGOs, green tech, tech4good, smallholder certification, common good, climate action, social impact, research, sustainable clothing, marketing, responsible management education, Yin-Yang, China

Global Voice magazine, Triple Bottom Line, John Elkington, People, Planet, profit, leadership, management, CSR, ESG, sustainability, sustainable business, CSV, people analytics, HR analytics, employee engagement, boredom, CMO, marketing, marketing strategy, marketing budget, leader integrity, employee creativity, business ethics, impact investing, accounting, rice, global supply chains, political donations, child rights, human rights, Kenya, inheritances, intergenerational collaboration, ageism, diversity, inclusion, Japanese ethics, Japanese management, Japanese CSR, Council on Business & Society,

Council on Business & Society Global Voice Magazine #27, September 2023, Solidarity fintech, social currency, cryptocurrency, CSR, ESG, sustainability, management, leadership, business, society, workplace psychology, cartoon, global minimum tax, corporate tax, emotional value, social value, enterprise, AI, climate change, climate action, triple capital accounting, sustainable clothing, ESSEC Business School, FGV-EAESP, School of management Fudan, IE Business School, Keio Business School, Olin Business School, Smith School of Business, Monash Business School, Stellenbosch Business School, Warwick Business School

Global Voice magazine #26, Prof. Adrian Zicari, Academic Director of the CoBS, follows with an inspiring analogy of travel, exploration, and the learning journey that all of us might undertake during our lives. 30 faculty and student contributors appear in the 2 sections of this issue: Business & Society and Leadership, Management & Sustainability. The Business & Society section largely debates the launch of the new version of ChatGPT. From threat to integrity and critical thinking, to a welcome revolution to trigger change in education, and a means to paradoxically restore the art of rhetoric and composition in higher education studies, students from 5 continents get to grips with AI and what it means for them. Business schools are also a focus, with both a critical standpoint and a positive perspective on how they can create opportunity and contribute to reducing divides in society. Leadership, Management & Sustainability tackles research-based issues on linking CEO pay to ESG

Council on Business & Society magazine Global Voice #24. 117 pages, 33 faculty and CEO contributors, insights on leadership, team performance, sustainability transition, business decisions, education, the project economy, sustainable farming and generational capital

Council on Business & Society Global Voice magazine #21

Covering current hot topics and lasting major issues – the climate crisis, women at work, leadership in the 21st century, the future of CSR, inclusivity and disability employment, social impact, philanthropy, conscious business, and mentorship among others – Global Voice magazine offers you the unique international and multicultural expertise of the Council on Business & Society faculty and guests.

This Global Voice special 10 Years Anniversary Faculty and Student issue #18 is: 186 pages, 28 articles – faculty research-based and student winners and finalists from the 2021 CoBS CSR article competition, 8 Faculty ‘Top Reads’ articles (receiving most views and reads) from the last 5 years, From 34 contributors, An Editorial co-authored by Prof. Adrian Zicari, Executive Director of the Council on Business & Society and Prof. Mette Morsing, Head of UN PRME, A centre-spread timeline showing key moments and achievements in the Council’s 10 years of existence, And a special 10 Years’ Anniversary position statement from the Deans of the Council��’s schools.

Council on Business & Society Global Voice magazine #17, CSR, buildbackbetter, women leaders, 4 ways to fight child labor, sustainability, greentech, climate change, management, nature-based solutions, social enterprise, intergenerational collaboration, social reporting, environmental reporting, social reporting, supply chain governance, agile supply chain governance, ethics, ethics & compliance.

Global Voice magazine #16 Council on Bus

Global Voice magazine issue 15, September 2020

Global Voice magazine #14 front cover.PN

CSR, leadership, social enterprise, management, philanthropy, diversity, gender equity, healthcare, sustainability, ethics, industrial relations, healthcare, responsible innovation, CSR reporting, employee wellbeing, Council on Business & Society, Global Voice magazine, ESSEC Business School, ESSEC Asia-Pacific, FGV-EAESP, Trinity College Dublin Business School, IE Business School, Keio Business School, Warwick Business School, School of Management Fudan University, Tom Gamble, Global Voice magazine #13

Faculty, student competition, CSR, leadership, sustainability, artificial intellience, uman resource management, ethics, philanthropy, diversity, migration

Council on Business & Society Global Voice focus on Europe, CSR, leadership, social enterprise, sustainability, management, finance, philosophy, politics, Brexit

A special focPAC.PNGs from the Council on Business & Society members ESSEC Asia-Pacific, School f Mangement Fudan, Keio Business School

Council on Business & Socety Global Voice magazine: research for th common good

The Council on Business & Society Global Voice magazine, CSR, leadership, responsible leadership, diversity, inclusion, diversity & inclusion, social accounting, environmental reporting, CSR reporting, management, sustainability, gender equity, sustainable supply chains, greentech, green finance, sustainable development, ethics, ethical supply chain, governance, CSR governance, social enterprise, SocEnt, philanthropy, corporate giving.

A special edition on Brazil: business, opportunities and entrepreneurship

CoBS Research Pods

The CoBS Research Pod series – condensed learning capsules inspired from internationally published research in the fields of CSR, management, leadership, HR, team and project management, finance, CSR reporting, social enterprise, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and sustainable business practices.

For managers, entrepreneurs, leaders, instructors and those with an interest in research with an impact. Ramp up your knowledge, improve your teams, gain in leadership, reshape your business or give your teaching, training or coaching a new dynamic.

Leadership and Governance

10 ways to be an enlightened leader post-pandemic

Boards of governance and corporate social repsonsibility

How can companies implement ethical, clear, fair downsizing?

Integrity: A blueprint for making it strategic, a CoBS Research Pod based on the work of Prof. Daniel Malan, Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin. Related research: The Rise and Role of the Chief Integrity Officer: Leadership imperatives in an ESG-driven world, World Economic Forum White Paper 2022.

3 Steps to Build an Inclusive Workplace for People with Disabilities: People with disabilities have the skills. They have the qualifications. They also have the support of national, regional, and international legislation providing frameworks and guidelines for promoting their employment. Yet, results have failed to live up to the expectations and needs of the disabled community. Dr. Armand Bam, University of Stellenbosch Business School, and Prof. Linda Ronnie, UCT School of Management Studies, shed light on the reasons why and offer a practical blueprint for effective disability inclusion strategy.

10 tips for implementing effective disab

Prof. Tanusree Jain, Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, shares her research on how to set up and implement agile sustainability governance for your supply chain.

Ethical leadership and the influence of Confucius

How leaders can create fun in the workplace: Prof. David Allen, Warwick Business School, looks into the benefits of fun in a working environment, how to create the right factors that lead to it, and how to ensure that fun doesn’t prevent a drop in performance and professionalism.

Revolutionising HR with Analytics and Big Data

Striking the Right Chord: Leadership insights from jazz legends How can business leaders and entrepreneurs learn from the jazz masters? Andy Lockett, Dean of Warwick Business School and Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, together with Deniz Ucbasaran, Professor of Entrepreneurship, offer practical research on leadership – with a difference.

Management and Teams

Equally or equitably? How should managers treate their team members?

Team excellence. Council on business & Society CoBS Research Pods: Condensed research capsules with a practical action-oriented dimension for managers, leaders, practitioners

How can organisations cater for the expectations of their new generations of employees and foster spirituality and higher purpose? CSR; Buddhism in the workplace; employee wellness; employee wellbeing; HR strategies; workplace management; corporate purpose; spirituality and work; KPIs; how Millennials approach work.

5 Ways to Curb Abusive Management Behaviour in the Workplace. Research suggests that managers’ negative behaviours not only have detrimental effects on employees’ physical and mental health, but also on the purse strings of firms, the state and the tax payer. According to the stats, absenteeism, reduced productivity, and health care costs resulting from abusive management behaviour amounts to an estimated USD $200–350 billion in the USA, USD $64.8–66.1 billion in the UK, and USD $232 billion in Japan. So how can firms help their staff – their corporate heroes – and improve on managers’ behaviours while eliminating the cost to firms and society on the way? Prof. and Deputy Dean Aarti Ramaswami, ESSEC Business School Asia-Pacific, draws on her research with Prof. Vesa Peltokorpi of Saitama University to explore how the impact of abusive management on employees’ well-being can be tamed.

A CoBS Research Pod featuring Warwick professor Marianna Fotaki on whistleblowing procedures

How Can Companies Train Employees to Be More Proactive? Employees who take a proactive approach at work benefit themselves and the organisation. Prof. Karoline Strauss, ESSEC Business School, with research on how to achieve it.

Prof. He Peng, School of Management Fudan University, draws on his research to explore why and when employees hide knowledge and proposes 9 strategies to transform knowledge hiding into knowledge sharing that benefits both staff and the company alike.

As organizations face uncertainty and rapid change; encouraging a proactive workforce that takes initiative; anticipates changes; contributes to innovation and competitive advantage is critical. But attempting to bring about change in an organisation requires effort; cognitive skills; and commitment. It comes at a cost for employees in terms of stress and strain that can sap their personal resources as outcomes of their efforts are uncertain; because of potential resistance and conflict with others; because of the need to manage one’s emotions while trying to stay on course; or because difficult decisions have to be made.; So how can companies and organisations encourage proactivity while effectively ensuring the wellbeing and performance of their employees?

Improving the effectivenes of surgical teams: What can vertical or flat-hierarchy in hospital teams teach us? Why does why surgical team failure and patient death paradoxically lead to more effective surgical teams? And how does Prof. Yufei Huang’s research give an incredible 18 minutes, 37 seconds in saved time in the operating room – enough for any high-risk team to make critical decisions and save more lives.

Ethics & Compliance Management in Firms: How to make it effective: Download the CoBS Research Pod Learning objective: Explore the adopt-implement choice in ethics & compliance management and transfer best practice to your company in order to implement a solid and effective ethics and compliance management system.

How to recognise emotions and use Emotional Intelligence to boost service performance. Download the CoBS Research Pod. Learning objectives: Identify the benefits of cognitive ability and positive emotions on the service employee-customer relationship. Plan and implement a strategy for boosting employee service performance within your organisation.

Yoi-Shigoto: The Japanese concept of employee engagement and CSR

Professor He Peng, School of Management Fudan University, How leader integrity can make employee voice stronger

Creating a Positive and Nurturing Environment for Women at Work While many businesses have made considerable progress on diversity, others remain bastions of masculinity. Prof.-Dr. Dulini Fernando, Warwick Business School, puts the spotlight on the barriers that women face in the corporate world and shares the key areas in which managers can help to change that.

Rituals: The secret to effective knowledge transfer - a CoBS Research Pod

Business and Society

How to set up purposeful business in tough environments

How Financial Markets Can Push for CSR. Download the CoBS Research Pod Learning objective: Understand developments in Socially Responsible Investing and use a guideline framework for selecting which green or ethical investment to invest in.

Crowdfunding and win-win giving: Crowdfunding: Win-win giving. Understand how crowdfunding works and find the right approach for entrepreneurs to pitch their innovations and for donators to place their funding using a win-win approach; Philanthropy; corporate giving; crowdfunding; win-win giving; donator strategies; seed funding; entrepreneur; entrepreneurship; start-ups; business ideas; innovation; hybrid giving; hybrid crowdfunding; Arthur Gautier; Tom Gamble; Council on Business & Society; ESSEC Philanthropy Chair; ESSEC Together;

How Purpose Beyond Profit Can Reboot and Reignite Business Schools. Learning objective: Understand the interests and motivations at hand for young people wishing to undertake studies at business schools and the stereotypes surrounding business school education. Learn about the moral self-awareness (MSA) model. And implement a series of strategies and initiatives to transform perceptions and instil higher purpose into your higher education institution.

Anne-Claire Pache Professor, Public and Private Policy Department at ESSEC Business School, Chaired Professor in Philanthropy and co-founder of the ESSEC Social Entrepreneurship Chair, shares her expertise on setting effective objectives and strategy for your corporate giving.

COVID-19 has upended business as usual for higher educational institutions (HEIs) with campuses switching to remote learning almost overnight and universities grappling with grave financial pressure. Vibhas Sukhwani and Rajib Shaw of Keio University, together with Takako Izumi of Tohoku University and Akhilesh Surjan of Charles Darwin University, reveal how HEIs can stay nimble in the face of continuous change by drawing lessons from the pandemic.

How nonprofits can reinvent themselves after mission success: Prof. Sheila M. Cannon, Trinity Business School, draws on her research to provide a framework for nonprofits to gain a second life and new meaning.

Evaluating the Social Impact of Your AI Strategy: As the wonders and perils of artificial intelligence begin to permeate our lives, Luciano Oviedo, Founder and CEO of tech start-up Tempugo WAITX, and Professor Sotirios Paroutis of Warwick Business School share the why, what, and how of their Social Impact Strategy Analysis (SISA) strategy tool – a flexible tool for emerging technology innovators and users to investigate social impact at a number of levels, from individual communities to the society.

Implementing Social Technology: A CoBS Research Pod. Western ideas of development are one of the main sources of social and economic inequalities in non-industrialized countries. In this light, Professors Marlei Pozzebon and Isleide Arruda Fontenelle, FGV-EAESP, provide a 6-step model for checking and implementing social technology that is beneficial, relevant, and sustainable.

CoBS Online Masterclasses

The Council on Business & Society regularly broadcasts online masterclasses on major issues impacting business and society featuring leading faculty, practitioners and special guests. Join the debate!

Click to watch the masterclasses

Students! How do you see the world in 2050? An Online Masterclass. Have a voice on how you see the future of business, society and planet. Join Profs. Xavier Pavie, ESSEC Asia-Pacific, Adrian Zicari, Council on Business & Society, stakeholder pollster OPPi and students from ESSEC, School of Management Fudan University, IE Business School, and Trinity Business School.

The future and purpose of business education: A debate with Adrian Zicari, Tanusree Jain and Head of UN PRME Mette Morsing

CoBS online masterclass series: From profit maximization to Value Optimization: Accounting for socio-economic and environmental impact

What are the implications for business, society and politics in a post-COVID-19 world?

CSR Expertise: Basic competences and knowledge. A Presentation by Ethel Bonnet-Laverge Head of Sustainability for the Courchevel region & committee member for the 2023 Alpine Ski World Championships

Video: Social enterprise - challenges and opportunities in a new world context

Books

The Routledge-CoBS Focus on Responsible Business book series featuring research insights, key takeaways, food for thought section and micro-cases for Master's+ students, instructors, and practitioners.

The Routledge and COBS Focus on Responsible Business series provides international and multicultural perspectives on responsible leadership and business practices in line with the UN SDGs.

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Power and corporate responsibility: Power and Corporate Responsibility explores the concept of corporate responsibility and offers a systematic discussion by referring to the following dimensions: understanding responsibility, taking responsibility, governing responsibility, managing responsibility, investing in responsibility, reporting on responsibility and regulating responsibility.

The Employee and the Post-Pandemic Workplace Towards a New, Enlightened Working Environment. The UN Sustainable Development Goals, an increasing interest in Environmental, Social and Governance factors, and the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have triggered a massive change in how companies and employees view their relationship, the role and meaning of work, and how to adapt to new environments and ways of working. This book covers a key topic for companies and management practice – that of how to create and foster a committed workforce in a post-pandemic era that has seen a radical change in working environments, approaches and employee understanding of her/his career and work-life balance.

Promise, Pitfalls, and Potential of Social Entrepreneurship Positive Change Unleashed

Employee Meaning and Wellbeing The Responsible Organisation Edited By Adrián Zicari, Tom Gamble

Our downloads

The CoBS regularly offers downloads of its knowledge output for all those interested in the fields of responsible leadership, CSR, ESG, sustainability and sustainable business practices.

Our latest publication and knowledge bank page

Special issue Harvard BiGS-CoBS Magazine COMPANIES & PURPOSE: Purpose-driven business and its imprint on employees, profit, society, and planet

Global Voice Magazine #32 Message in a Bottle: Giant steps are what it takes

White Paper Reimagining Responsible Leadership Education in a Complex and Changing World

Global Voice Magazine

CoBS Research Pods

CoBS Online Masterclasses

Books

Special issue Harvard BiGS-CoBS Magazine

COMPANIES & PURPOSE: Purpose-driven business and its imprint on employees, profit, society, and planet

Global Voice Magazine #32
Message in a Bottle: Giant steps are what it takes

White Paper
Reimagining Responsible Leadership Education in a Complex and Changing World