Better World Books Case Study
Better World Books: Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line
Background: Better World Books Better World Books (BWB) was founded in 2002 as a B corporation, meaning it targets successful performance in three fundamental areas: financial, social, and environmental endeavors. BWB has grown successfully since its creation as a small, socially motivated firm to one of the larger, more successful corporations of its kind. Despite the impressive and inspiring performance and growth through creative expansions, BWB acknowledges the changing conditions of the used book marketplace and is pleased to outline a brief review of current strategy and recommendations for supporting operations moving forward. BWB Current Vision: Better World Books collects and sells books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. BWB is a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic, and environmental value for all our stakeholders (www.betterworldbooks.com). Criticisms of the current vision statement have been expressed as follows: BWB relies on the generosity of donors for its primary product, which seems to contradict the concept of “self-sustaining.” Either additional clarification about what “self-sustaining” means to BWB or a different descriptor should be included in the vision statement. The nature of BWB’s work demands a vision that is motivating, forward-looking, and broad enough to incorporate contributions from its employees and business partners. BWB Current Mission Statement: Better World Books is a global bookstore that harnesses the power of capitalism to bring literacy and opportunity to people around the world (www.betterworldbooks.com). Criticisms of the current mission statement have been expressed as follows: The term ‘bookstore’ is associated with the sale of new books, often in terms of today’s major book retailers, such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It is suggested that BWB put more emphasis on its
Background: Better World Books Better World Books (BWB) was founded in 2002 as a B corporation, meaning it targets successful performance in three fundamental areas: financial, social, and environmental endeavors. BWB has grown successfully since its creation as a small, socially motivated firm to one of the larger, more successful corporations of its kind. Despite the impressive and inspiring performance and growth through creative expansions, BWB acknowledges the changing conditions of the used book marketplace and is pleased to outline a brief review of current strategy and recommendations for supporting operations moving forward. BWB Current Vision: Better World Books collects and sells books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. BWB is a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic, and environmental value for all our stakeholders (www.betterworldbooks.com). Criticisms of the current vision statement have been expressed as follows: BWB relies on the generosity of donors for its primary product, which seems to contradict the concept of “self-sustaining.” Either additional clarification about what “self-sustaining” means to BWB or a different descriptor should be included in the vision statement. The nature of BWB’s work demands a vision that is motivating, forward-looking, and broad enough to incorporate contributions from its employees and business partners. BWB Current Mission Statement: Better World Books is a global bookstore that harnesses the power of capitalism to bring literacy and opportunity to people around the world (www.betterworldbooks.com). Criticisms of the current mission statement have been expressed as follows: The term ‘bookstore’ is associated with the sale of new books, often in terms of today’s major book retailers, such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It is suggested that BWB put more emphasis on its
References: Ifeanyi, K. (2009, March 9). Better World 's books talk back. In CNN Money. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/27/smallbusiness/books_that_talk_back.fsb/index.htm Lencioni, P. (2012). Make your values mean something. Harvard Business Review, (July), 113-117. Rainie, L., Zickuhr, K., Purcell, K., Madden, M., & Brenner, J. (2012, April 5). The rise of e-reading. In Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/files/legacy-pdf/The%20rise%20of%20e-reading%204.5.12.pdf Recycle Your eBooks Here for a Cleaner, Greener Tomorrow! Read more: http://www.free-ebooks.net/recycle#ixzz2LBeUegiu. (2013). In Free-eBooks.net. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.free-ebooks.net/recycle Rothaermel, F. T. (2013). Strategic Management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Rothaermel, F. T., Arthaud-Day, M. L., & Grigoriou, K. (2013). Better World Books: Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line. In Strategic Management (pp. C18-C31). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Pew Internet Project. (2012). The Rise of e-reading. Washington D.C.: Pew Research Center.