MakeGood Research Program
MakeGood undertakes ongoing, detailed research into the field of social responsibility as a foundation for its company policies. We believe in the valuable interplay between thought leadership and commercial application. As part of our ongoing research we are constantly interviewing thought leaders in the field of social responsibility, whether in leading companies or prominent academic institutions.
The field of social responsibility is of significant and growing interest to companies around the world. According to The Economist, “Company after company has been shaken into adopting a CSR [corporate social responsibility] policy: it is almost unthinkable for a big global corporation to be without one.” (January 17, 2008). Social responsibility is going mainstream and is being integrated into corporate strategy. “The theological question—should there be CSR?—is so irrelevant today,” says John Ruggie of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. ‘Companies are doing it. It’s one of the social pressures they’ve absorbed.’” (quoted in The Economist, January 17, 2008).
The need for CSR has been recognized and no longer needs to be debated. However, the mot effective solutions for companies to practice CSR have not yet been devised. The focus of the MakeGood research program is on how companies can use the internet to implement a social responsibility policy effectively into their overall corporate strategy.
Research Program
For the past two years Dr. Rick Goossen, CEO, MakeGood, has conducted extensive and wide-ranging research as to how current internet technologies and strategies are a critical tool in order to allow companies to effectively practice social responsibility. This research builds on his previous book, e-Preneur – From Wall Street to Wiki – Succeeding as a Crowdpreneur in the New Virtual Marketplace (Career Press, 2008). While there are many books on social responsibility, there is minimal focus on the intersection of SCR and present online strategies and technologies.
Academic Affiliations
Dr. Goossen liaises with colleagues at several world-renowned institutions.
- University of Cambridge – Dr. Goossen is Director of Entrepreneurial Leadership at a research centre at Cambridge called Transforming Business Network (TBN) (www.transformingbusiness.net). The founder of TBN is Dr. Peter S. Heslam. TBN focuses on addressing social problems, such as the alleviation of poverty in less developed countries.
- University of Oxford – Dr. Goossen is collaborating with Dr. William Dutton, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute (www.oii.ox.ac.uk) with respect to hosting a conference that will target businesses that want to practice CSR more effectively.
- Yale University – Dr. Ted Malloch is Research Professor at Yale. He is also an Advisor to MakeGood and the author of several books that are relevant to this project such as Spiritual Enterprise and upcoming books titled Generous Giving and Thrift: The Forgotten Virtue. He is able to provide advisory input on research undertaken by Dr. Goossen.
Case Study / Interview Sources
Ongoing interviews undertaken as part of MakeGood research can be grouped into the following categories.
We interview individuals at the following world-leading hi-tech companies. For example, Dr. Goossen has interviewed Carlos Dominguez, Senior VP in the Office of the Chairman and Mike Yutrzenka, Executive Director, Cisco Foundation.
We will also interview individuals at Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). For the purposes of our research program SMEs are viewed as companies with revenue between $10 and $500 million. The SMEs are often quite entrepreneurial and are often growing at a faster rate than the Fortune 500.
Companies in a range of sectors will be interviewed: food services; Spa & beauty products; Food processing; Hospitality and professional services.
In order to incorporate non-US perspectives, we will be interviewing company representatives in Asia, Europe and Canada. We believe it is important to recognize that European companies have much to offer in the field of social responsibility.
We also plan to interview individuals who have undertaken new initiatives in the field of online social responsibility, such as giving-related portals:
Head Researcher - Richard (Rick) J. Goossen, PhD has focused on entrepreneurial strategy, finance and growth for over 20 years as a serial new venture founder, a strategic advisor to high-growth companies, a lawyer, a researcher, an author, an educator, and a professional public speaker. He is the Founder & CEO of MakeGood which helps business practice effective social responsibility through a unique online platform (www.makegood.com). He is also Director of Entrepreneurial Leadership, Transforming Business, University of Cambridge (www.transformingbusiness.net).
Dr. Goossen has written four books, including Entrepreneurial Excellence (Career Press, 2007) and e-Preneur – From Wall Street to Wiki – Succeeding as a Crowdpreneur in the New Virtual Marketplace (Career Press, 2008). He has edited four books on entrepreneurial leadership. He has written approximately 150 articles for diverse publications throughout the world, from leading academic journals to trade magazines and newspapers.
Goossen’s education includes the following: a PhD in entrepreneurship education from the Centre for Higher Education Research, Middlesex University, London, UK; a Masters of Law (LL.M.) from Columbia University, New York City; a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) from McGill University, Montreal; and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (Hons.) (First Class) from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
A link to Rick's TechVibes Articles: http://www.techvibes.com/blog/global/author/rick-goossen
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