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6. Conclusion
This study had the purpose of providing a better understanding about what makes a new type of corporation, the B Corps, so unique compared to other traditional corporations. To answer this question, we analysed a very good example of B Corporations: the Taiwanese B Corp DOMI Earth.
Our Research Question and Research Objectives were the following:
Research question: The last years have seen a new kind of corporations appear: B Corporations.
Their uniqueness makes them «new» and allow them to drive an important change in the economy and in business. But what makes these B Corporations so unique?
Research Objectives:
Research Objective 1: Find out the uniqueness of the motivations of a B Corporation.
Research Objective 2: Study how a B Corporation works and is organized in a unique way.
We started first by providing basic background information about the B Corporation movement, B Corporations in Taiwan and DOMI Earth, to allow the reader to clearly understand the topic of our study.
Then, through meetings with B Lab Taiwan, and also with the founders and employees of DOMI, we could get valuable information and a deep understanding of the company. After analysing the company, we could answer our Research Question and Research Objectives.
This study revealed that DOMI is unique in many aspects.
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Firstly, DOMI is unique compared to traditional corporations because of its corporate culture, its motivations, its organization, its employees and its evolution. Everything at DOMI is made to have a positive impact on people: the corporate culture and organisation of the company provides a nice atmosphere to employees, while the motivations of the company are to have a positive social and environmental impact to create a better world for people.
Moreover, DOMI is also unique compared to traditional Taiwanese companies because of its international perspective and its work environment. Here again, everything at DOMI is made to have a positive impact on people, and not only on people in their own country, but all around the world and this can only be done by being international.
Finally, DOMI is different from other energy-saving companies because of the social activities they organise. These social activities aim to help people who are suffering and who are forgotten by the rest of the society.
After understanding the various points that make DOMI so different from other companies, we could generalise these points to all B Corporations, as DOMI represents very well what a real B Corp is. This generalisation provided a better understanding of the uniqueness of B Corps.
If we had to choose one uniqueness that contains all the others, it is the fact that DOMI, and so B Corps in general, deeply care about their social and environmental impact, and every choice they make will be made in the purpose of having a global and positive social and environmental impact. This idea of using business to have a positive impact on people and on our earth is very new and is totally different from the traditional corporations that we have known until know.
They form a new kind of corporation, and these corporations will have a very important impact on our future.
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By reading this paper, I hope people will realise the value that is added to their company if they are motivated by having a positive impact on all their interlocutors and on their society and environment. It is actually a win-win situation for the company. If the company has good and positive values, the employees will be more committed to the company and so will work more effectively. Also, these good values towards the society and the environment will attract more customers, and so the company will make more profits. Finally, isn’t it just good to know that your company is having a good impact on our world? There are many ways of doing good for the world, DOMI chose one of them, and companies all around the world can benefit a lot by doing the same.
Finally, it would be interesting to have other Thesis written about the uniqueness found in different B Corps in Taiwan or in other countries, to complement this paper. As the B Corp Movement is becoming each year more important, and as it is a necessary movement to improve our way of doing business, we can only desire reading more Research Papers on this topic in the future.
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Reference
Books and Journal Articles
Gilbert, J. C., Houlahan, B., & Kassoy, A. (n.d.). 2009 B Corporation Annual Report - Building a New Sector of the Economy. Sustainable Industries. Retrieved 2009.
Gilbert, J. C., Houlahan, B., & Kassoy, A. (n.d.). 2011 B Corporation Annual Report - If not now, when ? The case for B Corp. Sustainable Industries. Retrieved 2011.
Harriman, A. (2015). The making of a movement: the rise of the b corp on the global stage.
Honeyman, R. (2014). The B corp handbook how to use business as a force for good. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
J. Haymore, S. (n.d.). Public(ly Oriented) Companies: B Corporations and the Delaware Stakeholder Provision Dilemma. VANDERBILT LAW REVIEW, Vol. 64:4:1311. Retrieved 2011.
Kim, S., J. Karlesky,, M., G. Myers,, C., & Schifeling, T. (2016). Why Companies Are Becoming B Corporations. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
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Sabeti, H. (2011). The For-Benefit Enterprise. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November, 2011.
Gilbert, J. C., Houlahan, B., & Kassoy, A. (n.d.). 2009 B Corporation Annual Report - Building a New Sector of the Economy. Sustainable Industries. Retrieved 2009.
Gilbert, J. C., Houlahan, B., & Kassoy, A. (n.d.). 2011 B Corporation Annual Report - If not now, when ? The case for B Corp. Sustainable Industries. Retrieved 2011.
Websites
B Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.bcorporation.net/
B Corp Asia. Retrieved from https://www.bcorpasia.org/
Index. Retrieved from http://blab.tw/
DOMI Earth. Retrieved from http://en.domiearth.com/
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Appendix
Appendix n°1: Interview guide B Lab Taiwan
QUESTIONS ABOUT B LAB TAIWAN:
1. How did B Lab start? How was it created?
2. Why did Taiwan want to be part of B Lab?
3. What is the purpose of B Lab Taiwan?
4. Do you have any new projects for the development of B Lab Taiwan?
QUESTIONS ABOUT B CORPS IN GENERAL:
1. What makes a B Corp unique?
2. Compared to Traditional Organizations, what makes B Corp different from them? By traditional Organizations, we understand corporations for which the main purpose is only to increase profits.
QUESTIONS ABOUT TAIWANESE B CORPS:
1. How many Taiwanese B Corps?
2. How many companies applied this year and how many got certified?
3. How many B Corps do you plan to reach in the next years?
4. What makes the Taiwanese B Corps unique compared to other B Corps in the world?
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QUESTIONS ABOUT DOMI:
1. How would you describe DOMI?
2. DOMI was the first B Corp in Taiwan? Can you explain to me how it happened?
3. DOMI is very involved in B Corp right? In your point of view, what does being involved in B Corp gives to DOMI?
4. In your point of view, what is the uniqueness of DOMI compared to traditional organizations?
5. In your point of view, what is the uniqueness of DOMI compared to other Taiwanese B Corps?
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Appendix n°2: Interview of Tammy, Founder of DOMI
If there is any question that you don’t want to answer and that is confidential, let me know.
PRESENTATION OF MY SUBJECT
I am studying the Uniqueness of B Corps, through the example of DOMI.
QUESTIONS
I. UNIQUENESS OF DOMI
- Can you tell me one point that you think makes DOMI unique as a B Corp compared
to Traditional corporations?
- Can you give me one point that you think makes DOMI unique compared to other
Taiwanese companies?
- Can you give me one point that makes DOMI unique compared to other energy
saving companies?
II. CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
- Can you tell me more about your customers?
- Main categories of customers.
- % of Big companies, % of SME, % of Very Small Businesses, % of Families, %
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Government, % of Poor Families, % of other.
- Which one you target the most?
III. SUCCESFUL CASES LIKE L’OREAL
- Can you share with me two successful cases of your work as Energy consultants for
Companies, like your work with L’Oreal?
- What did you do in these companies?
- What impact did you have on these companies?
IV. WHICH COUNTRIES ARE YOU WORKING WITH
- You are also working with some companies in other countries, can you tell me a bit more about this?
- Which countries?
- What are you working on together?
V. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
- Is it possible for you to give me some Financial datas? No need for an exact number,
just a scale.
- Evolution of the profit through the years?
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- Other numbers?
- Funding?
- What influence being a B Corp has on the Finances of DOMI?
VI. NUMBERS
- Can you give me an idea of how much your work makes the companies save in terms
of energy expenses? On average, or do you have an example of a company?
- Changing to LED light for example?
o Changing to new Fan?
o Other examples?
VII. FORMULA
- I also read that you have your own formula to find out how companies could save
energy and the best solution for them, can you tell me more about it?
- How did you create this Formula?
- On what is it mainly based?
VIII. MATERIAL: PHOTOS
- I would like to put some photos in my Thesis, would that be ok for you?
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- Jan gave me access to some photos of your different parties, would it be ok
for you if I use some photos from there?
- Could you send me some photos of your different products (Book, Timer, LED
light)?
- Could you send me some photos of the Best For Taipei?
IX. CONTENT: IS MY CONTENT OK FOR DOMI
- These are my main conclusions of my Thesis (show Table), can you have a look at it
and tell me if everything is fine for you about DOMI?
- Is there anything you don’t want me to mention in my Thesis, as it might be read by
other students or Professors?
Do you agree on me using anything that we talked about together in my Thesis? Or is there
anything you don’t want to figure in my Thesis?