#20—Chris Marquis: Incorporating ESG and B Corp Strategies Into Your Company

Chris Marquis is the Samuel C. Johnson Professor in Sustainable Global Enterprise and Professor of Management at the Cornell University Johnson College of Business. Prior to joining Cornell, he worked for 10 years at Harvard Business School and has held visiting positions at Harvard Kennedy School, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, Fudan University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University. Chris received a PhD in sociology and business administration from the University of Michigan. These research projects build on Chris’ earlier research on how business can have a positive impact on society and in particular how historical and geographical processes have shaped firms’ and entrepreneurs’ social and environmental strategies and activities. He is one of the foremost authorities today on the intersection of corporate social responsibility and strategy. His latest book, Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, focuses on the potential for stakeholder governance models to reform capitalism. Chris believes that businesses have a big role to play in a capitalist society. In this podcast he shares: Why corporations need to pursue both positive social impact and profit—and why we no longer get to choose A fascinating concept called “Universal Ownership Theory,” that could explain why suddenly (seemingly) corporations are awakening to this need A practical first step you can help to help your company start embracing multi-stakeholder approach __________________________________________________________________________________________"This is where I think the strategist is so important because something like a 'net zero commitment' is easy to say, but actually how to get there is a lot harder. And I think that's where strategy can play a really big role is actually in ways of transforming the company to meet a bold and important objective, like being net zero."-Chris Marquis__________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Chris Marquis + The topic of today’s episode2:10—If you really know me, you know that...2:40—What is your definition of strategy?3:08—What got you interested in strategy?3:44—What are you most well-known for?4:29—Can you describe a B corp for us?5:13—Why is it valuable for a company or strategy to be looking at this type of strategic rationale?6:08—Why do you think the ESG and B Corp movement is happening now?7:38—Can you help shatter the myth that B Corps must be socially-driven, small entrepreneurial entities?10:22—What have you changed your mind about with regard to B Corps?11:13—Is there a set of tools, leverage points or framework a strategist can look at to align the company behind multi-stakeholder benefit?12:51—Where do you see the future relationship of corporations and stakeholders in society? 14:13—What do you think should be the first steps and agenda for a strategist looking to implement these ideas into their company?15:43—Of all the strategic advice you've ever gotten, what has been most impactful for you?16:35—Could you tell us about "Universal Ownership Theory"?17:36—What are you working on now and how can people connect with you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources:Personal website: Thank you to our executive producer Zach Ness, our producer Nazanin Homayoun Jam and our editor James Pearce. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast