The Power of and - by R Edward Freeman & Bidhan L Parmar & Kirsten Martin (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Power of And offers a new narrative about the nature of business, revealing the focus on responsibility and ethics that unites today's most influential ideas and companies. R. Edward Freeman, Kirsten E. Martin, and Bidhan L. Parmar detail an emerging business model built on five key concepts.

Book Synopsis

The idea that business is only about the money doesn't hold true in the twenty-first century, when companies around the world are giving up traditional distinctions in order to succeed. Yet our expectations for businesses remain under the sway of an outdated worldview that emphasizes profits for shareholders above all else.

The Power of And offers a new narrative about the nature of business, revealing the focus on responsibility and ethics that unites today's most influential ideas and companies. R. Edward Freeman, Kirsten E. Martin, and Bidhan L. Parmar detail an emerging business model built on five key concepts: prioritizing purpose as well as profits; creating value for stakeholders as well as shareholders; seeing business as embedded in society as well as markets; recognizing people's full humanity as well as their economic interests; and integrating business and ethics into a more holistic model. Drawing on examples across companies, industries, and countries, they show that these values support persevering in hard times and prospering over the long term. Real-world success stories disprove the conventional wisdom that there are unavoidable trade-offs between acting ethically and succeeding financially. The Power of And presents a conceptual revolution about what it means for business to be responsible, providing a new story for us to tell in order to help all kinds of companies thrive.

Review Quotes

Selected by the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership as a Favorite Book of 2020.-- "Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership"

For over forty years Ed Freeman has been the intellectual leader championing stakeholder philosophy for both the academic and the business communities. The Power of And shows us that the old narrative, which tells us the only purpose of business is to maximize short-term profits for investors, is steadily being replaced with a new narrative that is more inclusive and comprehensive. The new business narrative is about finding win-win-win solutions to challenges and problems, which minimizes or eliminates trade-offs and which make our collective world a better place.--John P. Mackey, cofounder and CEO of Whole Foods Market and coauthor of Conscious Capitalism

I've long believed that changing the world of business is the straight line between where we are today and a better world. It's time for real system change and an update to what we consider business as usual. These expert authors put a human lens on the path forward from a shareholder-supremacy model to a stakeholder-oriented model, and offer clear examples of the changes needed and the companies leading the way. Highly recommend!--Kip Tindell, cofounder of the Container Store

At a time when the role and even future of corporations in our society is being questioned, The Power Of And offers a timely and compelling argument that companies can and must take a broad and inclusive view of their responsibilities to all of their stakeholders if they are to maintain their social license to operate in the future.--Wick Moorman, retired chairman and CEO, Norfolk Southern Corporation

In the twenty-first century, the old story that businesses only care for profits and shareholders and pursue these above else is incomplete. The Power of And shows the way forward, illustrating how businesses can embed powerful purpose in their business strategy, intertwining ethics and responsibility with value creation. Freeman, Martin, and Parmar weave a compelling narrative, acknowledging the complexities of organizations and people and their effect on societies. The book is a must-read for practitioners and students.--Martina Hund-Mejean, former CFO of Mastercard, chair of the Mastercard Impact Fund

This book clearly explains, in a managerial accessible language, that there is a growing recognition that the business of business is responsible action, not simply profit seeking. The authors use extensive compelling examples of leading business practice, demonstrating that being responsible is the new normal, not a fringe business practice. They highlight how responsible business practice is an asset, rather than a cost. Debunking outdated thinking in a practical way, by getting managers to reconsider what they do and why, they identify how by adopting this approach managers and their businesses are part of the solution to complex social and environmental problems.--Michael Jay Polonsky, Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair, Deakin Business School

About the Author

R. Edward Freeman is University Professor and Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. He is the author of the widely influential book Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach (2010, originally published in 1984) and has worked with executives and companies around the world.

Kirsten E. Martin is associate professor of strategic management and public policy at the George Washington University's School of Business. The research and business ethics editor for the Journal of Business Ethics, she worked at Sprint Telecommunications developing corporate strategy and internet solutions before beginning her academic career.

Bidhan L. Parmar is associate professor of business administration at University of Virginia Darden School of Business. He is coauthor of Stakeholder Theory: The State of the Art (2010) with Freeman, among others.