The Nobel Peace Prize winner and bestselling author shows how entrepreneurial spirit and business smarts can be harnessed to create sustainable businesses that can solve the world's biggest problems. Muhammad Yunus, the practical visionary who pioneered microcredit and, with his Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, has developed a new dimension for capitalism which he calls "social business." The social business model has been adopted by corporations, entrepreneurs, and social activists across the globe. Its goal is to create self-supporting, viable commercial enterprises that generate economic growth as they produce goods and services to fulfill human needs. In Building Social Business, Yunus shows how social business can be put into practice and explains why it holds the potential to redeem the failed promise of free-market enterprise.

This compilation offers students a comprehensive overview of the field of social entrepreneurship. Leading European researchers and lecturers such as Ann-Kristin Achleitner, Markus Beckmann, Heather Cameron, Pascal Dey, Andreas Heinecke, Benjamin Huybrechts, Alex Nicholls, Johanna Mair, Susan Müller and Chris Steyaert have contributed to this textbook.

The author describes his vision for an innovative business model that would combine the power of free markets with a quest for a more humane, egalitarian world that could help alleviate world poverty, inequality, and other social problems.

A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and bestselling author of Banker to the Poor offers his vision of an emerging new economic system that can save humankind and the planet Muhammad Yunus, who created microcredit, invented social business, and earned a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in alleviating poverty, is one of today's most trenchant social critics. Now he declares it's time to admit that the capitalist engine is broken -- that in its current form it inevitably leads to rampant inequality, massive unemployment, and environmental destruction. We need a new economic system that unleashes altruism as a creative force just as powerful as self-interest. Is this a pipe dream? Not at all. In the last decade, thousands of people and organizations have already embraced Yunus's vision of a new form of capitalism, launching innovative social businesses designed to serve human needs rather than accumulate wealth. They are bringing solar energy to millions of homes in Bangladesh; turning thousands of unemployed young people into entrepreneurs through equity investments; financing female-owned businesses in cities across the United States; bringing mobility, shelter, and other services to the rural poor in France; and creating a global support network to help young entrepreneurs launch their start-ups. In A World of Three Zeros, Yunus describes the new civilization emerging from the economic experiments his work has helped to inspire. He explains how global companies like McCain, Renault, Essilor, and Danone got involved with this new economic model through their own social action groups, describes the ingenious new financial tools now funding social businesses, and sketches the legal and regulatory changes needed to jumpstart the next wave of socially driven innovations. And he invites young people, business and political leaders, and ordinary citizens to join the movement and help create the better world we all dream of.

Social media is now the dominant online activity and drives more website traffic than online search. The implications for businesses are as profound as the rise of Google 15 years ago. Amidst the demands of running a business, it can be alluring to fully delegate "digital" to the digital team. But in today's wired environment, digital is actually everyone's job. Company leaders and professionals must seek to personally grasp the tectonic changes arising from the always-connected customer, and then rethink traditional business models, business practices, and even their own job responsibilities and careers accordingly. In The Social Business Imperative, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and renowned thought leader Clara Shih identifies powerful new opportunities created by social media across the entire customer lifecycle. As described in the book's foreword, written by Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz, this guide is a must-read for all professionals. From boards of directors, CEOs, and Chief Marketing Officers to to front-line sales managers, recruiters, IT, and compliance directors, no role is untouched by the social, mobile, digital transformation. This book explains how to adapt and thrive in this brilliant new world order by understanding the transformation taking place not only in one's own department but across the customer journey. Only with this broader understanding can functional leaders collaborate on delivering a cohesive experience spanning previous organizational silos. Going far beyond her global bestseller The Facebook Era, Shih offers unprecedented insights into why and how traditional organizations must re-imagine their existing business processes to capture “the digital last mile” across social, mobile messaging apps, Internet of Everything, and the collaborative economy. Drawing on her immense experience helping Fortune 500 companies operationalize digital transformation to drive measurable uplift in sales and loyalty, Shih also presents powerful new case studies spanning multiple industries and companies from Wells Fargo to Warby Parker. “A book worth reading, a voice worth listening to, from a leader of real consequence. A clarion call on the promise and potential of social channels to transform business.” —Walter Robb, Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market “This is a must-read for any business leader who wants to thrive in this time of disruptive change.” —Chip Bergh, President & CEO, Levi Strauss & Co. "Whether you're a global brand, small local business, or individual who wants to turn your passion into a livelihood, this book simply and clearly articulates how to channel the power of social media to delight audiences and grow your business." —Marne Levine, COO of Instagram “Almost overnight, social media has transformed business and the way we as companies interact with our customers. In a way, social media has become part of everyone’s job. Clara's book gets right to the heart of the matter and gets us thinking critically about what could be next on this roller coaster ride.” —Robin Hayes, President and CEO, JetBlue “The power of Clara’s book is it highlights not only social media practices but fundamental business practices and how company leaders need to entirely rethink customer engagement models. The implications for every business, regardless of industry or geography, of today’s social, connected consumer cannot be overstated. This book provides a powerful vision and compelling call to action for company leaders everywhere.” —Ted Mathas, Chairman and CEO, New York Life

This book introduces students and others to the discipline of social entrepreneurship, which encourages the creation of enterprises that are socially inclusive yet economically and ecologically sustainable. In each chapter there is a mix of case studies about internationally well-known enterprises and other more local enterprises which are totally new. The book leads its readers to understand and appreciate entrepreneurial issues and to engage themselves in community-based activities. Social Enterprise helps readers to: analyze and articulate the blend of social, environmental and economic values which is present in all kinds of enterprise understand the issues involved in translating good intentions with multiple goals into focused, sustainable and practical actions propose alternative social enterprise management strategies based on their own analysis of case studies of entrepreneurial endeavors that are perceived to be ‘social’ The authors take a pragmatic yet critical approach, and this book should be core or recommended reading for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise modules at advanced undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA levels.

The Business of Good From Main Street to Wall Street, today's social entrepreneurs are rebooting capitalism, challenging the charity industrial complex, and disrupting business models. Haber envelops the reader in the foundation of social entrepreneurship, from Benjamin Franklin to what he calls The Great Convergence, the turn-of-the-millennium zeitgeist shift which provided the fuel for social entrepreneurship’s surge to the forefront of business. Haber shares the stories of inspiring young people that are disrupting established norms and changing the world. This is a must read book for Millennials, business executives, nonprofits, doers, and dreamers: The Business of Good brings a much-needed fresh and innovative look at social entrepreneurship.