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Awash in a Sea of Confusion: Benefit Corporations, Social Enterprise, and the Fear of “Greenwashing”

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  • Michelle J. Stecker

Abstract

In the last five years, the majority of U.S. states enacted benefit corporation legislation, creating a new legal form of business that embraces the “triple-bottom line” of people, planet, and profit. Benefit corporation status provides legal protections for directors and officers, who may now balance social and environmental impact with shareholder returns. It also creates rich opportunities for social entrepreneurs, gives investors more socially responsible options, and offers a helpful designation for consumers. I describe the history and purpose of benefit corporations, evaluate their pros and cons, and argue that safeguards against “greenwashing” make benefit corporations a valuable business form of social enterprise.

Suggested Citation

  • Michelle J. Stecker, 2016. "Awash in a Sea of Confusion: Benefit Corporations, Social Enterprise, and the Fear of “Greenwashing”," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 373-381, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:mes:jeciss:v:50:y:2016:i:2:p:373-381
    DOI: 10.1080/00213624.2016.1176481
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    Cited by:

    1. Giorgio Mion, 2020. "Organizations with Impact? A Study on Italian Benefit Corporations Reporting Practices and Reporting Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Shaio Yan Huang & An An Chiu & Po Chi Chao & Arniati Arniati, 2019. "Critical Success Factors in Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning Systems for Sustainable Corporations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-42, November.
    3. Galli, Davide & Torelli, Riccardo & Tibiletti, Veronica, 2021. "Signaling the Adoption of the Benefit Corporation Model: A Step towards Transparency," OSF Preprints ar28u, Center for Open Science.
    4. Giorgia Nigri & Laura Michelini & Cecilia Grieco, 2017. "Social Impact And Online Communication In B-Corps," Global Journal of Business Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 11(3), pages 87-104.
    5. Serres, Coline & Hudon, Marek & Maon, François, 2022. "Social corporations under the spotlight: A governance perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(3).
    6. Silvia Blasi & Silvia Rita Sedita, 2022. "Mapping the emergence of a new organisational form: An exploration of the intellectual structure of the B Corp research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 107-123, January.
    7. Davide Galli & Riccardo Torelli & Veronica Tibiletti, 2021. "Signaling the Adoption of the Benefit Corporation Model: A Step towards Transparency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    8. Moroz, Peter W. & Branzei, Oana & Parker, Simon C. & Gamble, Edward N., 2018. "Imprinting with purpose: Prosocial opportunities and B Corp certification," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 117-129.
    9. Giorgio Mion & Cristian R. Loza Adaui, 2020. "Understanding the purpose of benefit corporations: an empirical study on the Italian case," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    10. Kevin Levillain & Armand Hatchuel & Jérémy Lévêque & Blanche Segrestin, 2022. "The emergence of multipolar corporate governance: the case of Danone and the French Société à Mission," Post-Print hal-03689828, HAL.
    11. Vincenzo Riso & Mouhcine Tallaki & Enrico Bracci & Silvia Cantele, 2024. "The transition towards benefit corporations: What are the roles for stakeholders?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 904-916, February.
    12. Sciarelli Mauro & Cosimato Silvia & Landi Giovanni, 2020. "Benefit Corporations Approach to Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosure: A Focus on Italy," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 10(4), pages 1-25, October.
    13. Trin Thananusak, 2019. "Science Mapping of the Knowledge Base on Sustainable Entrepreneurship, 1996–2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-20, June.
    14. I. Sridhar & Sahil Singh Jasrotia, 2021. "Inclusive corporate governance for creating shared values: Indian experience," International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 22(2), pages 272-286.
    15. Silvia Blasi & Silvia Rita Sedita, 2019. "Mapping the emergence of a new research field: an exploration of the intellectual structure of the B Corp research," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0236, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    16. Ronald Weber Kirst & Miriam Borchardt & Maurício Nunes Macedo de Carvalho & Giancarlo Medeiros Pereira, 2021. "Best of the world or better for the world? A systematic literature review on benefit corporations and certified B corporations contribution to sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1822-1839, November.

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