Charting the Emergence of Certified B Corporations

Posted on by

An article I co-authored with Ke Cao (a Ph.D. student at the University of Alberta) and Matthew Grimes (Indiana University), was published as the lead chapter of Volume 19 in the Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth series. Edited by Andrew C. Corbett (Babson University) and Jerome A. Katz (Saint Louis University), the theme of the volume is Hybrid Ventures.

Citation: Cao, K., Gehman, J. & Grimes, M.G. 2017. Standing Out and Fitting In: Charting the Emergence of Certified B Corporations by Industry and Region. In A.C. Corbett & J.A. Katz (Eds.), Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth: Hybrid Ventures. 19: 1-38.

Abstract: To fulfill their economic and social missions, it is imperative yet challenging for hybrid ventures to demonstrate legitimacy (fitting in) while simultaneously projecting distinctiveness (standing out). One important means for doing so is by adopting and promoting the recent B Corporation certification. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of the emergence of this certification, we argue that when it comes to promoting their businesses, hybrid ventures should not adopt a one size fits all approach. Rather, their promotion strategies need to be adapted to their specific contexts. We theorize and develop a typology of certification promotion strategies for hybrid ventures based on the relative prevalence of other hybrid ventures in the same regions and industries. We conclude by articulating why the B Corporation movement is a rich and underexplored context for scholarship on hybrid ventures, and highlight several promising future research directions.

Peer Reviewed Research on Certified B Corporations and Benefit Corporations

Posted on by

Below is a brief presentation I made today at the 2017 Global B Corp Academic Community Roundtable at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management. The Roundtable was held on October 4-5 in parallel with the 2017 B Corp Champions Retreat.

Positively Deviant Social Entrepreneurs

Posted on by

Today I presented the latest version of our research on woman-owned businesses and sustainability certifications at the 2017 Global B Corp Academic Community Roundtable. The paper is co-authored with Matthew G. Grimes (Indiana University) and Ke Cao (University of Alberta) and has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Business Venturing as part of a special issue on “Enterprise Before and Beyond Benefit: A Transdisciplinary Research Agenda for Prosocial Organizing.” The special issue is being edited by Oana Branzei (Ivey Business School), Ed Gamble (Montana State University), Peter Moroz (University of Regina), and Simon Parker (Ivey Business School).
Continue reading →

Q&A on the ONE Emerging Scholar Award

Posted on by

In August, at the 2017 annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, I received the ONE Emerging Scholar Award from the Organizations and the Natural Environment Divison of the Academy of Management. Today, in its Fall Newsletter, the ONE Division Published a nice Q&A with me, which I have excerpted below.
Continue reading →

CBC Reports on Hinton’s Geothermal Energy Project

Posted on by

Today, CBC featured a story about the work being done in Hinton related to geothermal energy. The story quotes Jonathan Banks, who leads the University of Alberta’s Future Energy Systems Geothermal Energy research team.  As part of the research, Lianne Lefsrud, John Parkins and I are working on “Socio-­Economic Roadmaps to Commercial Geothermal Energy Production in Western Canada.”

Organization Studies Editorial Board

Posted on by

Today, I was invited to join the Organization Studies Editorial Review Board. The current Editors-in-Chief are Trish Reay (University of Alberta) and Daniel Hjorth (Copenhagen Business School). I have been reviewing for the journal since June 2010. Organization Studies is the official journal of the European Group for Organization Studies. According to Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2017) Organization Studies had a 2016 Impact Factor of 3.107, ranking it #39 out of 194 journals in management. A list of my other editorial positions is available here.

2017-2018 CPA Alberta Board of Directors

Posted on by

Today, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta held its Annual General Meeting. Afterwards, the newly elected members of the board of directors joined us for the first time. The board is comprised of 12 directors: 9 elected by CPA Alberta members and 3 public members appointed by the Government of Alberta. This marks the start of my third year on this board, after being appointed as a public member on July 1, 2015. I previously served on the board of the ICAA from 2014 to 2015.

Continue reading →

New Public-Private Research Partnership Press Release

Posted on by

This morning, we issued a joint press release related to our 7-year, $2.5 million Innovating for Sustainability research project. The press release describes one phase of our work, a collaborative public-private partnership involving researchers at the Ivey Business School, University of Alberta, and the University of Quebec at Montreal, as well as six industry partners led by Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), three COSIA member companies (Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Suncor, and Cenovus), Alberta Innovates and Natural Resources Canada.

Continue reading →