groupelephant.com: Going 'Beyond Corporate Purpose'

by Flavio Feferman, Matthew Bujnicki, Stacey Chin, Travis Dziubla, Ashley Lohmann
15 Feb 2016

The groupelephant.com (formerly EPI-USE) case focuses on CEO Jonathan Tager as he grapples with implementing and sustaining his company's recently launched Beyond Corporate Purpose: Elephants, Rhinos & People ('ERP') program. In what is more than just a Corporate Social Responsibility ('CSR') program but rather a hybrid business model, Tager is contemplating how to measure and convey the program's expected impact on elephant and rhino poaching, as well as on poverty alleviation in South Africa. The case study highlights the difficulty of planning in embarking on programs of this nature as well as CSR programs in general. It also addresses topics such as hybrid (blended) business models, the 'theory of change' underlying CSR strategy, and the challenges involved in defining and measuring impact. The case explores organizational challenges and tensions related to adopting a business model that is no longer solely for-profit, including whether companies have a responsibility to actively engage in advocacy and devote significant resources to social and environmental (conservation) objectives or whether such efforts violate the fiduciary responsibility that CEOs have to shareholders.

Learning Objectives

Details

Pub Date: Feb 15, 2016

Revision Date: Jul 1, 2016

Discipline: Social Enterprise

Subjects: Computer software, Corporate social entrepreneurship, Environmental activism, Developing countries, Emerging markets, Environmental protection, Business models, Social responsibility

Product #: B5851-PDF-ENG

Geography: South Africa

Length: 15 page(s)