Jack of All Trades or Master of One: Specialization vs. Generalization in Business Models for Social Impact

Funded Research Proposal

We examine the assumptions that underlie our understanding of profit maximizing firms and test whether product/service scope has different implications for social impact creation. This has both theoretical and practical implications for business model innovation that aims to deliver both financial and social value.Read More

Doing Good for (Maybe) Nothing: How Reward Uncertainty Shapes Observer Responses to Prosocial Behavior

Published Research

Consumers are often skeptical of social innovation (e.g., CSR), thinking that firms undertake such innovations to increase profit rather than to “do the right thing.” How can firms convey the social and monetary benefits of investing in social innovations to consumers and stakeholders to best improve their brand image?Read More

Innovating Finance for Social Impact

Funded Research Proposal

The need for impact measurement harmonization is a common refrain among impact investors. However, instituting standards and common frameworks requires an awareness of the constraints under which impact investors operate in their day-to-day work.Read More

The Importance of Social Entrepreneurship in National Systems of Innovation — An Introduction

Published Research

This special issue links “National Systems of Innovation” with “Social Entrepreneurship” to showcase how social entrepreneurship enables the diffusion of new technologies to make a social impact and engender “creative destruction” through the value generating activities of economic actors ranging from individuals, micro-enterprises to large organizations. Read More

Creating the Innovation Ecosystem for Renewable Energy via Social Entrepreneurship: Insights from India

Published Research

This paper examines how social entrepreneurship, at both the firm and institutional levels, fosters innovation and economic development. It draws on concepts from national innovation systems (NIS), complexity, ecosystems, and social entrepreneurship research to develop a framework for forming innovation ecosystems via social entrepreneurship. Read More

Progressive Business: Where Turning a Profit and Saving the Planet Collide

If I had a nickel for every time I forgot to recycle, I would approach Richard Branson status. But even Branson himself, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, has taken the initiative to promote more responsible behavior when it comes to our planet, a move that Wharton-sponsored research says couldRead More

Innovating Via Emergent Technology and Distributed Organization: A Case of Biofuel Production in India

Published Research

This paper uses complex systems theory to develop a conceptual model that suggests how development can be catalyzed by leveraging innovation in both technology and social organization to solve socioeconomic problems for developing country populations.Read More