Vision, Mission, and Enlightened Capitalism

By Ivan Salinas, MBA, HBS Class of ’21

As one of the final projects for the class, students reflected on the major topics related to the stages of the Founder’s Journey and did a deeper dive into a topic that resonated with them. Ivan Salinas examined enlightened capitalism or the search to address social problems primarily by business practices. Salinas explores the decision a founder must make regarding the vision and mission of their company and how enlightened capitalism may be a key consideration to take into account in order to achieve better business results and a more socially impactful outcome.  To substantiate his perspective, he incorporates distinct literature on the topic, including The Enlightened Capitalists by James O’Toole, research articles, and lessons from cases such as Boxed and Careem. Salinas believes that leaders who seek to make a difference in the world have an obligation to think beyond the bottom line of a P&L. He demonstrates that not only is it the right thing to do, but it is also good business.

Works Cited

• Nielsen Global Corporate Social Responsibility Report https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/global-corporate-social-responsibility-report-june-2014.pdf
• How corporate social responsibility boosts firm financial performance: The mediating role of corporate image and customer satisfaction. Ali, HY, Danish, RQ, Asrar‐ul‐Haq, M. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1781
• Obtaining Intangible and Tangible Benefits from Corporate Social Responsibility. Chong, W.N., Tan, G. (2010) International Review of Business Research Papers. 6, (4), 360-371. https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/2939/
• Corporate Social Responsibility and the Benefits of Employee Trust: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective. Hansen, S.D., Dunford, B.B., Boss, A.D. et al. Corporate Social Responsibility and the Benefits of Employee Trust: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective. J Bus Ethics 102, 29–45 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0903-0
• The Enlightened Capitalists: Cautionary Tales of Business Pioneers Who Tried To Do Well by Doing Good by J. O’ Toole (2019)
• Start Something That Matters, Blake Mycoskie (2011)