Social Innovation, Inc. Hardback - 2010 - 1st Edition

Social Innovation, Inc. declares a new era, one in which companies profit from driving social change. Leading corporations like GE, Wellpoint, Travelers, and Walmart are transforming social responsibility into social innovation and revolutionizing the way we think about the role of business in society. Their breakthrough strategies are producing unprecedented business results by solving social problems. To seize these burgeoning opportunities, Jason Saul, founder of Mission Measurement, shows companies exactly how to develop a new generation of business strategies.

Social innovation differs from traditional corporate philanthropy and social responsibility in four fundamental ways. Social innovations 1) are primarily designed to produce business value, 2) leverage the machinery of the business to solve social problems, 3) are scalable and sustainable, and 4) often address market failures. Based on four years of research measuring the social strategies of some of America's leading corporations, including Kraft, Starbucks, and Levi Strauss, this book reveals the five successful paths to social innovation:

• Create revenues through submarketproducts and services

• Enter new markets through backdoorchannels

• Build emotional bonds with customers

• Develop new pipelines for talent

• Influence policy through reverse lobbying

Social Innovation, Inc. is about making social change work for the business, and in turn, staying relevant in the new economy. With compelling case studies, fresh thinking, and step-by-step guidance, Social Innovation, Inc. shows exactly how to create--and sustain--economic value through positive social change.