從綠然能源公司之案例探討B 型企業的獨特性 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學商學院國際經營管理英語碩士學位學程 International MBA Program College of Commerce National Chengchi University. 碩士論文政治. 大. 立Master’s Thesis. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 sit. y. Nat. 從綠然能源公司之案例探討 B 型企業的獨特性 er. io. Research paper on the uniqueness of B Corporations through. a. n. v l C Earth, a B Corp the Case Study of DOMI n i in Energy Saving hengchi U. Student: Charlotte NAVAS Advisor: Professor David CHANG. 中華民國 107 年 06 月 June 2018. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(2) 從綠然能源公司之案例探討 B 型企業的獨特性 Research paper on the uniqueness of B Corporations through the Case Study of DOMI Earth, a B Corp in Energy Saving. 研究生：樂心晨. Student: Charlotte NAVAS. 指導教授：張大為. Advisor: David CHANG. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. 國立政治大學. 商學院國際經營管理英語碩士學位學程. ‧. 碩士論文. y. Nat. io. sit. A Thesis. er. Submitted to International MBA Program. n. a. v. l C Chengchi University National ni. hengchi U. in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master in Business Administration. 中華民國 107 年 06 月 June 2018. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(3) Acknowledgements I will express with great pleasure my gratitude to all the people who helped me in this project.. I would like first to sincerely thank my Thesis Advisor, Professor David Chang from National Chengchi University. Professor David Chang has been an excellent Thesis Advisor, and has shown great pedagogy to me. He was always available to help, and provided his knowledge, patience and understanding. He was here to accompany me in every stage of this project.. 立. 政治大. I would also like to thank the founders of DOMI Earth, Tammy and Corey, for giving me the. ‧ 國. 學. great opportunity to do an internship in their company, to agreeing on being the subject of my Thesis, and to providing me with any information I needed to complete my project. I would. ‧. also like to thank all the employees of DOMI for their warm welcome, and especially Brian,. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. my Internship Supervisor at DOMI, who was always available to help me.. i n U. v. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the members of the IMBA Office, and. Ch. engchi. especially to Lichi Ho and Emily Huang, who always showed a great dedication to this program and to creating a very positive atmosphere for students to complete their Thesis.. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to IÉ SEG School of Management and to National Chengchi University for giving me the great opportunity to be an IMBA student.. Last but not least, I would like to express my infinite gratitude to my parents, my sister and my partner for all their support, and for always believing in me. Nothing would have been possible without them. 1. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(4) Abstract Research paper on the uniqueness of B Corporations through the Case Study of DOMI Earth, a B Corp in Energy Saving By Charlotte NAVAS. B Lab, a non-profit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a. 政治大 transparency requirements with a certification called « B Corp ». B Lab created a new kind of 立 force for good, provides companies that meet societal, environmental, governance and. ‧ 國. 學. Corporations: the B Corporations, that are very different in many aspects from traditional corporations. But what makes these B Corporations so unique? This is the question this paper. ‧. attempts to answer, through the study of one exemplary Taiwanese B Corp, DOMI Earth.. sit. y. Nat. io. er. By meeting with the founders and employees, the company appeared to be different in many. al. ways. This study reveals that DOMI is unique compared to traditional corporations because of. n. v i n C hits organization, itsUemployees and its evolution. Moreover, its corporate culture, its motivations, engchi DOMI is also unique compared to traditional Taiwanese companies because of its international. perspective and its work environment. Finally, DOMI is different from other energy-saving companies because of the social activities they organise. In the end, these points are generalised to all B Corporations to better understand the uniqueness of B Corps.. Keywords: (Traditional Corporation), (B Corporation), (Energy-saving company), (Uniqueness), (Business as a force for good). 2. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(5) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction and Relevance of this study ..................................................... 9 1.1. Topic of this study ......................................................................................................... 9 1.2. Objectives of this study ............................................................................................... 10 1.3. Why a Case Study on DOMI Earth? ......................................................................... 11 1.4. Relevancy of the topic ................................................................................................. 14. 政治大. 2. Definitions and background information ................................................... 16. 立. 2.1. Definitions of the keywords ........................................................................................ 16. ‧ 國. 學. Traditional Corporations .................................................................................. 16. 2.1.2.. Social Enterprise and Socially Responsible Business ...................................... 16. 2.1.3.. B Lab ................................................................................................................ 18. 2.1.4.. B Corporations .................................................................................................. 19. 2.1.5.. B Type person, B Type Leaders, B Type employees ....................................... 21. 2.1.6.. Traditional Taiwanese Corporations ................................................................ 22. 2.1.7.. Uniqueness ....................................................................................................... 23. 2.1.8.. Business as a force for good ............................................................................. 24. ‧. 2.1.1.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 2.2. Background information about B Corporations ...................................................... 24 2.2.1.. Background information about B Corporation ................................................. 24. 2.2.2.. B Corps in Taiwan ............................................................................................ 25. 2.2.3.. Interview of B Lab Taiwan ............................................................................... 31. 2.3. Background information about DOMI Earth .......................................................... 35 2.3.1.. Interview of B Lab Taiwan ............................................................................... 35. 3. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(6) 2.3.2.. Background information about DOMI Earth.................................................... 37. 2.3.2.1.. DOMI’s creation ........................................................................................... 37. 2.3.2.2.. The motivations of the company .................................................................. 38. 2.3.2.3.. General information about the company ...................................................... 39. 2.3.2.4.. Business plan of DOMI ................................................................................ 40. 2.3.2.5.. Customers of DOMI and products/services by customer ............................. 41. 2.3.2.6.. Finances of DOMI ........................................................................................ 50. 政治大. 3. Literature Review .......................................................................................... 51. 立. 3.1. Traditional corporations ............................................................................................. 51. ‧ 國. 學. 3.2. A Social Responsibility Gap and a need for change ................................................. 52. ‧. 3.3. A new area: For-Benefit Enterprises and Social Enterprises.................................. 53. sit. y. Nat. 3.4. The Challenges faced by For-Benefit Enterprises and Social Enterprises............. 54. io. er. 3.5. An answer to the difficulties faced by For-Benefit Enterprises and Social Enterprises: the B Corporation Certification .................................................................. 55. al. n. v i n Ch 3.6. Why B Corps matter? ................................................................................................. 56 engchi U 3.7. A missing point in the Literature: a precise study on the Uniqueness of B Corps 58. 4. Methodology .................................................................................................. 60 4.1. Meetings with the employees of DOMI...................................................................... 60 4.2. Observation and Analysis ........................................................................................... 62. 5. Results and Discussion .................................................................................. 63 5.1. Major findings – Uniqueness of DOMI compared to Traditional Corporations .. 64 5.1.1.. The Corporate Culture ...................................................................................... 64. 4. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(7) 5.1.2.. The motivations ................................................................................................ 65. 5.1.2.1.. Purpose-driven .............................................................................................. 65. 5.1.2.2.. The motivations of DOMI ............................................................................ 66. 5.1.3.. The organization ............................................................................................... 67 Engagement in the B Corp movement – An interesting relationship with. 5.1.3.1.. other companies ............................................................................................................ 67 5.1.3.2.. Broader perspective ...................................................................................... 69. 5.1.3.3.. Branding ....................................................................................................... 71. 立. The people ........................................................................................................ 72. 學. 5.1.4.1.. ‧ 國. 5.1.4.. 政治大. 5.1.4.2.. The leaders .................................................................................................... 72. ‧. 5.1.5.. The employees .............................................................................................. 73. The evolution of the company .......................................................................... 75. y. Nat. 5.1.5.2.. Always improving through B Corp .............................................................. 77. n. al. er. sit. International development ............................................................................ 75. io. 5.1.5.1.. i n U. v. 5.2. Major Findings – Uniqueness of DOMI compared to Taiwanese Corporations ... 78. Ch. engchi. 5.2.1.. International perspective................................................................................... 78. 5.2.2.. The working environment ................................................................................ 80. 5.3. Major Findings – Uniqueness of DOMI compared to other Energy-Saving companies ............................................................................................................................ 82 5.3.1.. The social activities .......................................................................................... 82. 5.4. Summary Tables of the findings ................................................................................ 83 5.4.1.. Uniqueness compared to traditional corporations ............................................ 83. 5.4.2.. Uniqueness compared to traditional Taiwanese corporations .......................... 88. 5.4.3.. Uniqueness compared to other Energy-Saving companies .............................. 89 5. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(8) 5.5. Limitations ................................................................................................................... 90. 6. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 91 Reference ............................................................................................................ 94 Appendix ............................................................................................................ 96. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 6. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(9) List of Figures and Tables. Figure 1: The Hybrid Spectrum ............................................................................................ 16 Figure 2: The Social Enterprise Spectrum ........................................................................... 17 Figure 3: the Hybrid Spectrum with B Corporations Included ......................................... 21 Figure 4: DOMI’s Business Model ........................................................................................ 40. 政治大. Figure 5: DOMI’s Customer Repartition ............................................................................. 42. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Table 1: Introduction of the 20 Taiwanese B Corporations ................................................ 26 Table 2: DOMI’s Employees who Provided Information ................................................... 61. ‧. Table 3: Uniqueness in the Corporate Culture .................................................................... 83. sit. y. Nat. Table 4: Uniqueness in the Motivations ................................................................................ 83. io. er. Table 5: Uniqueness in the Organization.............................................................................. 85. al. Table 6: Uniqueness in the People ......................................................................................... 86. n. v i n C h of the CompanyU....................................................... 87 Table 7: Uniqueness in the Evolution engchi Table 8: Uniqueness of DOMI compared to Taiwanese Corporations .............................. 88 Table 9: Uniqueness of DOMI compared to other Energy-Saving Companies ................ 89. Image 1 : DOMI’s Tree planting Party ................................................................................. 13 Image 2 : DOMI’s mascot ...................................................................................................... 13 Image 3 : B Corp Taiwan ....................................................................................................... 25 Image 4 : Corey and his daughter at a DOMI party ........................................................... 35 Image 5 : Tammy and DOMI’s employees during a meeting ............................................. 37. 7. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(10) Image 6 : DOMI’s employees during a party ...................................................................... 39 Image 7 : DOMI’s employees during a party ...................................................................... 39 Image 8 : Corey during a workshop ..................................................................................... 43 Image 9 : DOMI's LED lights package................................................................................. 44 Image 10 : DOMI’s Timer ..................................................................................................... 46 Image 11 : DOMI’s Timer ..................................................................................................... 46 Image 12 : DOMI’s Book ....................................................................................................... 47. 政治大. Image 13 : DOMI’s Book ....................................................................................................... 47. 立. Image 14 : DOMI’s Tree planting ......................................................................................... 48. 學. ‧ 國. Image 15 : Tammy at DOMI's Tree party ............................................................................ 48 Image 16 : DOMI’s Tree planting party ............................................................................... 48. ‧. Image 17 : Children at DOMI's Tree party .......................................................................... 48. Nat. sit. y. Image 18 : DOMI’s electrician installing LED lights in low income families’ houses...... 49. n. al. er. io. Image 19 : Tammy and Corey at the Tree planting party ................................................... 73. i n U. v. Image 20 : Tammy and Corey at the Tree planting party ................................................... 73. Ch. engchi. 8. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(11) 1. Introduction and Relevance of this study 1.1. Topic of this study. « Now, after all these decades of growth, the challenge of the economy, of globalization, is social justice. Without social justice, there will be no more economy » (Emmanuel Faber, 2016). This very meaningful sentence was delivered by Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone, a French multinational corporation, one of the world’s leaders in fresh dairy products, during his speech. 治政 at HEC, number one of the French Business Schools. What 大 he meant with this sentence was 立 that the only possible way for the future of the economy is that business starts to play his role ‧ 國. 學. in social and environmental justice. This belief for corporations needing to take their social and. Corporation.. ‧. environmental responsibilities for the world has driven Danone to desire to become a B. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Indeed, if there is one organization that totally agrees with Emmanuel Faber, it is the B Lab,. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. who provides the B Corporation certificate. « The B Corp movement is one of the most. engchi. important of our lifetime, built on the simple fact that business impacts and serves more than just shareholders—it has an equal responsibility to the community and to the planet. » (Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia).. In 2006, B Lab was created. B Lab is a non-profit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. For that, B Lab provides companies that meet societal, environmental, governance and transparency requirements with a certification called « B Corp ».. 9. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(12) To obtain this certification, corporations are assessed in five major topics including governance, worker, environment, community and customer. Moreover, these corporations are encouraged to give an important consideration to environmental and social issues during the pursuit of profit growth.. As explained in the B Corporation Annual Report 2009, the aim of B Lab is to « create a new sector of the economy that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental. 政治大. problems and this sector will be comprised of a new type of corporations – the B Corporations. 立. ». The B Corporation movement is driving one of the most important change in the economy. ‧ 國. 學. and is creating what our future businesses need to look like: people using business as a force for good.. ‧ y. Nat. sit. But what makes these new corporations « new »? Why are these Corporations so unique? How. n. al. er. io. do they create a new sector of the economy? These are the questions we want to answer in this. i n U. v. Research Paper. In fact, we will study the uniqueness of B Corporations.. Ch. engchi. 1.2. Objectives of this study. The objectives of this Research paper are to study the appearance of a new kind of Corporations, the B Corporations, through a better understanding of their uniqueness.. 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? 10. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(13) 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.. In order to answer to our Research Question and Research Objectives, we will make a Case Study on an exemplary Taiwanese B Corporation, DOMI Earth.. 政治大. The final aim of this study will be to find out some key insights about the uniqueness of DOMI. 立. Earth that can then be generalized to B Corporations.. ‧ 國. 學. 1.3. Why a Case Study on DOMI Earth?. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Many possibilities to make this Research Paper were available: making a questionnaire to submit to numerous B Corps, making interviews, or focusing on one B Corporation and understanding it. The last one was chosen, and we will be doing a Case Study on one B Corporation in this Research Paper.. 11. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(14) Indeed, it appeared that focusing on one good example of a B Corporation would be an efficient way to get insights and a true understanding of what makes B Corporations unique. This is why this Research Paper will provide the reader with a Case Study on DOMI Earth, first B Corporation in Taiwan, and good example of these new corporations.. Many reasons made DOMI Earth appear as the best choice for this Case Study.. 立. 政治大. First of all, DOMI was the first Taiwanese company to be granted the B Corporation certificate.. ‧ 國. 學. They also launched the B Corp movement in Taiwan. The company is very involved in the B Corp’s activities. In fact, the work of the company can’t be dissociated from B Corporation, as. ‧. one complete another.. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. Secondly, DOMI was the honoured recipient of «Best for the World 2015». The B Corp Best. i n U. v. for the World list is a list made by B Lab that recognizes the companies that are creating the. Ch. engchi. most impact for a better world. This list gives a « gold standard for high impact companies and offers a positive vision of a better way to do business. Honourees are recognized for overall, environmental, community and worker impact for earning a score in the top 10% on the B Impact Assessment »1. This means that DOMI Earth is part of the best B Corps in the world, with a score in the top 10% of all the B Corps. Choosing DOMI Earth was even more relevant knowing that they are an exemplary B Corp and that they represent very well what a B Corp is like and should be like.. 1. http://bestfortheworld.bcorporation.net 12. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(15) 學 ‧. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. Image 1 : DOMI’s Tree planting Party. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. Thirdly, I am currently doing my Internship in DOMI Earth. By working there, I have the. i n U. v. opportunity to get insights that would be impossible to notice otherwise. The best way to really. Ch. engchi. understand what makes the company so unique is by living in its environment, sharing its values, meeting its employees, seeing its present and getting its own vision of its future. The fact of working there gives an access to deep knowledge.. Image 2 : DOMI’s mascot 13. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(16) 1.4. Relevancy of the topic. Like Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone, or Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia, I truly believe that B Corporations represent the future of the economy. We need businesses who care about social and environmental issues and uses their power to become change makers for a better society, because businesses are the ones who have the greatest influence on our world.. 政治大. Moreover, more and more companies have become B Corporations and are trying to become B. 立. Corporations. It represents an important movement happening now. This is also why this study. ‧ 國. 學. is relevant, because it is relevant to understand better a major movement of our time. People who believe in this movement will be interested in this study to understand what is the essence. ‧. of this movement.. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. This study may particularly interest:. i n U. v. . Companies who are thinking about becoming a B Corp;. . Companies who are already B Corps and want to improve;. . Entrepreneurs who are thinking about creating a company that would match the B Corps’. Ch. engchi. values; . People looking for a company with good values to work for;. . People interested in new ways of doing business;. . In general, people who want to know more about B Corps.. 14. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(17) This study aims to bring insights about the essence of being a B Corp. This paper will be unique because, as an Intern in a B Corp, I can get some deep knowledge that would not be accessible otherwise.. Moreover, Research Papers about B Corporations are not abundant, and case studies on one specific B Corporation are even less plentiful.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 15. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(18) 2. Definitions and background information 2.1. Definitions of the keywords. 2.1.1. Traditional Corporations. By traditional corporations, we mean the most common type of corporations that exists since the Ancient Rome Area.. 治政 A traditional corporation has the purpose of maximizing 大shareholder value and making more 立 profits. ‧ 國. 學. We will provide more details about traditional corporations in our Literature Review.. ‧. 2.1.2. Social Enterprise and Socially Responsible Business. er. io. sit. y. Nat. To understand what is a B Corp, it is important to explain what is a Social Enterprise and a. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. Socially Responsible Business, as B Corps are very similar to them.. engchi. Indeed, many different types of organizations, called Hybrid, exist between traditional nonprofit organizations and traditional for-profit organizations. The following chart shows it well:. Figure 1: The Hybrid Spectrum. 16. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(19) First we have the Social enterprises. A social enterprise is an « organization that is directly involved in the sale of goods and services to a market, but that also has specific social objectives that serve as its primary purpose. Social enterprises are not volunteer organizations in that they operate as an enterprise by selling in a market, and can be registered as for-profit or non-profit. Profits are principally used to fund social programs »2. Social enterprises are a hybrid between a purely philanthropic organisation like NGOS, and a purely commercial organization like our traditional organizations.. 政治大. The following chart gives us a better idea of the distinction between NGOs, traditional. 立. organizations and social enterprises:. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 2: The Social Enterprise Spectrum. Then, we also have the Socially Responsible Businesses. Socially Responsible Businesses are « a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as. 2. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-enterprise.asp 17. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(20) a self-regulatory mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and national or international norms »3. This means that the company uses Corporate Social Responsibility.. The difference between a Social Enterprise and a Socially Responsible Business can seem very small. A good way to understand it is that for Social Enterprises, having a positive social and/or environmental impact is the primary goal. For Socially Responsible Businesses, having a. 政治大. positive social and/or environmental impact is important, but it is secondary.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 2.1.3. B Lab. B Lab is a non-profit organization that aims to lead a global movement of people using business. y. Nat. sit. as a force for good. The desired outcome of B Lab is that « one day, all companies compete not. n. al. er. io. only to be the best in the World, but the best for the World, and as a result, society will enjoy. i n U. v. a more shared and durable prosperity »4. B Lab was created in 2006 in the United States and the «B» stands for Beneficial.. Ch. engchi. But how does B Lab drive this systemic and major change in the economy and in the way corporations operate? The main tool that B Lab is using to drive this change is the B Corporation Certification that they created to certify organizations. B Lab is creating a global community of Certified B. 3 4. https://www.innov8social.com/2016/07/difference-csr-social-enterprise https://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps/about-b-lab 18. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(21) Corporations who meet the « highest standards of verified, overall social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability »5. Furthermore, B Lab is also providing help to thousands of businesses, investors and institutions through the B Impact Assessment and B Analytics to manage their impact, and the impact of the businesses that they work with. The B Impact Assessment is a free tool provided by B Lab to measure and manage the social and environmental impact of companies. B Analytics provides information about the B Impact assessment data of the businesses a company is working with.. 立. 政治大. Finally, B Lab is driving change by inspiring millions of people to join the movement through. ‧ 國. 學. story-telling on www.bthechange.com . This website provides meaningful articles about people using business as a force for good and covers various topics, from gender equity to change. ‧. makers’ stories.. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. 2.1.4. B Corporations. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. B Corporations are corporations that have been certified by the non-profit B Lab. It is very important to notice that these Corporations are making profit, so they are not NGOs. They were certified as B Corporations because they meet « rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency » (https://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-bcorps).. 5. https://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps/about-b-lab 19. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(22) To obtain this certification, corporations are assessed in five major topics including governance, worker, environment, community and customer. Moreover, the companies need to score 80 out of the 200 possible points in a 150- question online Test. Once this done, they also need to go through a phone interview, and then provide supporting documentation and amend their corporate bylaws to include their commitment to having a positive environmental and social impact.. 政治大. The B Corp certification can be given to companies who have at least six months of revenue.. 立. Furthermore, the Certification costs a $500 to $25,000 annually, the cost depending on the. ‧ 國. 學. company size. Another important point to notice is that a reassessment is required every two years if the company wants to keep the certification. This reassessment shows how serious this. ‧. certification is, and it forces the companies to be in a continuous improvement.. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. Finally, B Lab offers a free self-assessment tool for companies to fill out anytime to measure. i n U. v. its impact on employees, the community and the environment. After this assessment, the. Ch. engchi. corporation can get details on more than 150 best practices.. A B Corporation is very similar to a Social Enterprise and to a Socially Responsible Business. Let’s take again our Hybrid Spectrum and add to it the B Corps:. 20. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(23) B Corporations Figure 3: the Hybrid Spectrum with B Corporations Included. 政治大 B Corporations are located 立 between Social Enterprises and Socially Responsible Businesses.. ‧ 國. 學. As we can see on this chart, Social Enterprises and Socially Responsible Businesses can become B Corporations by obtaining the B Corp certification, but not all B corporations are Social. ‧. Enterprises or Socially Responsible Businesses.. er. io. sit. y. Nat. n. 2.1.5. B Type person, B a Type Leaders, B Type employees v. i l C n hengchi U. In this paper, by « B Type person », we mean an individual that naturally shares the B Corp movement’s values, and naturally fits with B Corp.. By « B Type Leaders », we mean leaders that naturally carry the B Corp movement’s values and that represents and promotes the B Corp movement.. Finally, by « B Type employees », we mean employees that deeply share B Corp’s values and are committed to it.. 21. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(24) 2.1.6. Traditional Taiwanese Corporations. A traditional Taiwanese corporation is a corporation that follows the traditional Taiwanese’s working culture and rules. The working culture in Taiwan, like in many other Asian countries, is based on Confucian values.. First of all, it is important to explain that most of the Asian countries evolve in a « High Context. 政治大. culture », whereas most of the western countries evolve in a « Low Context culture ».. 立. A « high-context culture relies on implicit communication and nonverbal cues. In high-context. ‧ 國. 學. communication, a message cannot be understood without a great deal of background information » 6 , whereas a « low-context culture relies on explicit communication, in low-. ‧. context communication, more of the information in a message is spelled out and defined »7.. y. Nat. sit. Indeed, the Asian work culture is a High Context culture, because the communication style is. n. al. er. io. more indirect compared to the western work culture, meaning that things should be said in an. i n U. v. acceptable way according to the Asian culture, and not in the western’s direct way. In this. Ch. engchi. culture, the context will be very important to understand what is meant.. Another important point is that the Taiwanese traditional work culture is hierarchical, meaning that the superiors in the Hierarchy must be fully respected and listened.. 6 7. https://online.seu.edu/high-and-low-context-cultures/ https://online.seu.edu/high-and-low-context-cultures/ 22. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(25) Moreover, the culture of the Face is very important, meaning that it is very bad to loose your Face or make somebody loose its Face. « The Face » represents a combination of social standing, reputation, influence, dignity and honour.. Finally, in most of the traditional Taiwanese companies, very few foreign people are employed. The majority of the employees are local people, Taiwanese people.. 立. 2.1.7. Uniqueness. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. The Oxford dictionaries provides a very clear definition of what we mean by the word «. ‧. Uniqueness »:. Nat. . « The quality of being particularly remarkable, special, unusual ».. n. al. er. sit. y. « The quality of being the only one of its kind »;. io. . i n U. v. This Research Paper aims to find out, through the Case Study of one B Corp, what makes B. Ch. engchi. Corporations so unique, meaning so special, unusual, different, new, compared to other corporations.. In fact, as explained earlier, B Lab is changing the economy by creating a new type of corporations, the B Corporations, and these corporations are new in the sense that they are unique, they are different from other corporations.. 23. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(26) 2.1.8. Business as a force for good. Using Business as a force for good means that business can be an agent of positive change in the society.. As explained in the book The B Corp Handbook, How to use Business as a Force for Good, written by Ryan Honeyman, using Business as a Force for Good means that we stop using. 政治大. business only to be the best in the world, and we start using business to be also the best for the. 立. world. This means using all the strengths, qualities, powers of business to have a positive social. n. er. io. al. sit. Nat. 2.2.1. Background information about B Corporation. y. 2.2. Background information about B Corporations. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. and environmental impact on the world.. i n U. v. Currently, there are 2, 504 B Corporations in the world. This is a very good number, knowing. Ch. engchi. that the movement only started in 2006.. These B Corporations are located in more than 50 countries and come from 130 industries. This means the the movement has reached very diversified corporations, and so various parts of the economy.. What are these Corporations currently doing differently from other corporations? On the B Corporation’s website, we can find some interesting facts about the practices of the current B Corps. For example, these B Corporations are improving the quality of life in their community: compared to other sustainable businesses, B Corps are 68% more likely to donate at least 10% 24. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(27) of profits to charity, 47% more likely to use on-site renewable energy, 18% more likely to use suppliers from low-income communities, and four times more likely to give paid professional development opportunities8. Another example is the fact that these B Corporations are creating higher quality jobs for their workers: compared to other sustainable businesses, B Corps are 55% more likely to cover at least some of health insurance costs for employees, 45% more likely to give bonuses to non-executive employees, 28% more likely to have women and minorities in management and more than two times more likely to give employees at least 20. 政治大. hours per year paid time off to volunteer in their community.. 學. ‧ 國. 立 2.2.2. B Corps in Taiwan. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Image 3 : B Corp Taiwan Since 2015, many activities were organized in Taiwan through the « B Corp Movement Taiwan », a platform to promote the B Corp concept in the country.. 8. Information found on B Corp’s website : www.bcorporation.net 25. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(28) In January 2016, B Lab Taiwan was formally created. B Lab Taiwan is the organization in charge of promoting the B Corp movement in Taiwan. We will detail how it works later in this paper. The same year, the 2016 B Corp Asia Forum was organized, a forum regrouping people and corporations engaged in the B Corp movement in Asian countries.. Until now, B Lab Taiwan has guided and motivated almost one hundred companies through the B Impact Assessment process. It is important to notice that a consequent part of these companies. 政治大. have obtained the B Corp certification. Taiwan is now counting 20 B Corporations and is the. 立. country that has the greatest number of certifications in Asia. We will now provide a brief. ‧ 國. 學. introduction of these 20 Taiwanese B Corporations:. ‧. io. y. sit. DOMI is using today’s new technologies and business models to. er. DOMI. Nat. Table 1: Introduction of the 20 Taiwanese B Corporations. raise awareness on environmental sustainability. They currently. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. work mainly on saving energy. Their purpose is to create a social. engchi. enterprise capable of impacting the environment as well as the society. We will present in detail DOMI later China Credit Information Taiwan’s largest and oldest industrial and commercial credit Service9. information company. In 2015, it became Taiwan’s second certified B Corp. They believe in information transparency.. 9. China Credit Information was a B Corp for two years, but didn’t renew the certification 26. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(29) Greenvines. Produce the first organic live sprout in Taiwan, they also revolutionized the agriculture industry and the way we eat, and finally, it launched its first organic sprout extract skincare product. The company is striving to develop a more realistic, healthy and sustainable lifestyle.. JW CPAs. Accounting firm that almost started from nothing. JW CPAs is focused on providing services to SMEs by providing them with. 政治大. a help to resolve finance and tax related issues. Their purpose is. 立 to help corporations realize their dreams and reach their goals.. ‧ 國. 學. NPO Channel provides public services and helps to promote and resolve social issues. They also established a long-term support. ‧. Indeed, a percentage of each purchase made by consumers is. io. sit. Nat. y. for non-profit organizations by working with certain brands.. automatically donated to a non profit organization thanks to NPO. er. NPO Channel. n. aChannel. i v a warm and friendly public l C Their purpose is tonbuild hengchi U service environment.. HEX Inc.. Leading supplier of smart evacuation systems. They introduced science and technology into the fire-fighting industry and created a Dynamic Guidance System to evacuate in case of fire. Their aim is to solve complicated problems with technology.. Ming Yung Enterprise. This company works on providing care for the disadvantaged and service the community.. 27. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(30) Cha Tzu Tang. Cha Tzu Tang works on making products with Camellia seeds. They aim to allow Camellia seeds to continue growing strong in Taiwan’s forests and to give Cha Tzu farms a stable living quality. Cha Tzu Tang entertains caring relationships with the farmers.. DA.AI Technology. DA.AI has developed recycled textile raw materials, such as recycled poly chips, recycled polyester fibbers and recycled. 政治大. fabrics. These recycled raw materials are then used to produce. 學. ‧ 國. 立 eco-products such as clothing, beddings, and other everyday textile products.. Chia Pang Plastics. The company is specialized in the professional sales of CPVC,. ‧. io. sit. Plastics was the first traditional business supplier to earn such certification.. er. Nat. y. UPVC and other industrial-grade plastic pipes. Chia Pang. aThe l Ccompany is providingn iav variety of lifestyle services U h making g c h ilifestyle includinge n adjustments, environmental. n Infinitas International. protection, preventive medicine, public education activities. Their aim is to provide a solution for living happy lives by making business, the environment and the economy grow together. Ecolohas technology10. 10. Energy Ecolohas is fully dedicated to solving global warming issues while introducing clean energy systems. Their goal is to protect. Ecolohas Energy technology was a B Corp for two years, but didn’t renew the certification 28. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(31) our beautiful planet and its environment, and answer to the pressing concerns of energy conservation and carbon reduction. Good Food Enterprise. Good Food Enterprise is a social enterprise with a mission to provide jobs and give back to the local community. Ms. Cheng the CEO, set up Good Share APP for stores and restaurants to list the soon-to expire food they can donate for free to the community .. 政治大. Reborn International. "Respect Life, Care Life, Cherish Life" are the main purpose and. 立 goal for Reborn.. ‧ 國. 學. Reborn is the Architect for the Mother Earth. This company derives the best of the life energy and art of a meaningful life, to. ‧. achieve the fulfillment of body, mind and soul.. First legal/law firm in Taiwan founded by attorneys from Taiwan. er. io. sit. y. Nat Winkler Partners. n. aasl well as foreigners. Their goali vis to provide the highest quality n Ch U i e ntogtheir c hcustomers, legal services promote a culture of openness and contribute to local communities.. Taiwan Good Fish. Taiwan Good Fish works on overcoming the challenges of floods and water shortages caused by extreme weather conditions and ground subsidence caused by over-pumping the underground water. Their goal is to make the world a better place.. 29. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(32) Tea Talk. Tea Talk produces, manufactures and market high quality mountain Oolong Tea. The company achieved carbon neutrality. Their purpose is to bring back the glory of Taiwan’s Oolong Tea.. Come True Coffee. Come True Coffee produces a high quality Coffee and they give 50% of their profits to the "African Clean Water Project" and build wells and conduct health advocacy in Africa.. O Bank. O Bank develops new banking products to meet their customers'. 政治大. diversified requirements and to establish a long-term and. 立 trustworthy relationship with them.. ‧ 國. 學. Org Better is cultivating a ready and effective platform for enterprises and consultants to maintain organizational health,. ‧. success.. io. sit. Nat Twine Fair Trade. y. sustain corporate competitiveness, and achieve long-term. Twine Fair Trade is a Fair Trade producer.. er. Org Better. aImpact i v impact locally, and is a l C Hub Taipei makes sustainable n he gchi U community n composed of entrepreneurs and impact makers. It is. n Impact Hub Taipei. a well-developed ecosystem internationalization;. that. of social. contributes. innovation. and. significantly. to. sustainability and SDGs.. B Lab Taiwan has also been the co-organizer of the 2017 / 2018 Best for Taipei project. During this important event for the city of Taipei, more social enterprises had the opportunity to learn about the work of the B Lab and the meaning of the B Corp Certification.. 30. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(33) Also, Taiwan has been able to lead the Asian countries in B Corp growth rates by motivating other countries to join the movement. Indeed, the Asia Pacific B Corp Association, former body of B-Lab Taiwan, was the first organization in Asia and seventh in the world to receive the official authorization from B Lab.. Taiwan is very involved into the B Corp Movement and its corporations have a great potential to be part of this movement.. 立. 政治大. 2.2.3. Interview of B Lab Taiwan. ‧ 國. 學. To get more background information about B Lab in Taiwan, I had the great opportunity to. ‧. interview Chloe Huang, Secretary General of B Lab Taiwan. This interview was very. y. Nat. sit. interesting; the Interview guide can be found in Appendix n°1. In this part, the most important. n. al. er. io. discoveries of the interview will be provided.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Chloe first explained how was B Lab Taiwan created, and there were already 8 B Corps in Taiwan when the B Lab was created. B Lab Taiwan was officially created 2 years ago, in January 2016. Before the official creation, events had already been organized about B Corporation by Tammy and Corey, the founders of DOMI Earth, and other people interested in B Corporation. Then, since 2015, these leaders started making the B Corp movement more visible around the country. In 2016, the Asia Forum was organised, gathering 400 people, and in 2017, the second Asia Form was organised. It was a good opportunity to talk about the B Corp movement and make it more well-known.. 31. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(34) Following the creation of B Lab, many sectors in Taiwan started getting involved into the movement: -. The Academic Sector: with teachers starting to teach about Social enterprises and B Corporations like David Chang at National Chengchi University or Corey Lien at National Taiwan University.. -. The Government: the Taiwanese Government also supported B Lab by sponsoring many events through SMEA (Small and Medium Enterprise Administration) and MOEA. 政治大. (Ministry of Economic Affairs). -. 立. The Industry: with more and more corporations wanting to become B Corps and. ‧ 國. 學. applying to the assessment.. All these different actors of the development of B Corp in Taiwan shared the same mission of. ‧. changing the way corporations work and do business.. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. Corey and Tammy, founders of DOMI, are the ones who brought the B Corp idea to Taiwan. i n U. v. and it resonated to other companies and pioneers of the movement in Taiwan. Many. Ch. engchi. entrepreneurs were interested by the movement. Also, Taiwan wanted its own B Lab because the B Corp values are in line with the traditional Chinese culture and the Confucianism culture. Chloe explained that « the Confucianism philosophy teaches us to treat people the same way you would like them to treat you, so the B Corp values go very well with the Confucianism teachings, as its purpose is for companies to treat the society and its environment better and to give back to the society ».. B Lab has the important role of advertising the B Corp ideas in the country and Chloe confirmed this point by explaining that B Lab Taiwan is like a « Sales Force promoting the B Corp 32. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(35) movement in Taiwan ». Indeed, B Lab Taiwan doesn’t give the certification to the corporations, because it is B Lab Us who can provide the certifications. So B lab Taiwan mainly works on the communication and promotion about the movement. Moreover, B Lab Taiwan has three main goals: driving the movement in Taiwan and in Asia, deepening the community and building an ecosystem (with Academics, Government and Industrials). B Lab Taiwan has a real influence on the country, and Chloe agreed with this point and explained that a good example of this influence is that the Taiwanese government is trying to pass a new law: the Benefit. 政治大. Corporation Law. The government wants to create a new legal form of Corporations in Taiwan,. 立. in order to make Benefit Corporations a real Corporation status. So it proves that B Lab Taiwan. ‧ 國. 學. has an important influence on the government and on making the law friendlier towards this type of organizations.. ‧ y. Nat. sit. The main activities of B Lab Taiwan are to organize workshops and also one on one meetings.. n. al. er. io. For the one on one meetings, B Lab Taiwan first needs to find natural B Corps that would fit. i n U. v. perfectly for the B Corp Certification. They also help to organize the Asia Forum to make the. Ch. engchi. B Corp movement well known around Asia.. B Lab Taiwan has projects for the future, and Chloe explained these projects. They want to work in a more holistic idea, meaning that they need to consider the movement globally, in its totality, so they need to consider the whole and total environment in which the businesses evolve (employees, suppliers, community, customers, government, etc.). To achieve this purpose, B Lab Taiwan has three goals to achieve in the future: -. Grow Faster;. -. Avoid over emphasizing the movement, because the B Corp movement needs quality 33. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(36) more than quantity. Indeed, first B Corp needs quantity to form a bonding power, second, it is important to maintain the quality of the B Corps. So B lab Taiwan needs to communicate about the movement in a careful way; -. Communicate to a more targeted audience, B Lab Taiwan wants to focus more on natural B Corps, meaning on companies that already really have the profile to become a B Corporation.. 政治大. As explained earlier, the B Corp movement aims to make people use business as force for good,. 立. and the description given by Chloe of the movement corresponds exactly to this idea: « the B. ‧ 國. 學. Corp movement is a purpose-driven movement aiming to redefine success and helping companies by guiding them into the right way to reach success ». B Corp is trying to build an. ‧. important community, in order that the B Corps then have other companies similar to them to. y. Nat. sit. refer too, to take as example for best-practices and for improving: they can refer to their peers.. n. al. er. io. Moreover, B Corporations are a kind of Hybrid corporation, and this citation from Chloe. i n U. v. confirms it: « B Corporations are a type of Social enterprises, but not totally, they are a mix. Ch. engchi. between traditional corporations and Social Enterprises, they are kind of in between ». Moreover, B Corp is like a DNA, and Chloe agreed with this point by explaining that when you become a B Corp, you have a different DNA from other corporations. It involves many responsibilities: the responsibilities to impact individuals (the employees, the suppliers, the customers) and Benefit for the world. Furthermore, it means that the owner of a B Corporation should be a true B Corp leader, because he must be consistent with the values of B Corp and show the example to his employees. The way that the leader manages its B Corp must be coherent with the B Corp values.. 34. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(37) Finally, we focused more about Taiwanese B Corps. Chloe explained that currently there are 21 B Corporations in Taiwan. She also added that this year, 200 Taiwanese companies registered for the assessment. This shows that many corporations are interested by the B Corp movement in Taiwan. It also proves that becoming a B Corp is a very selective process, as only 21 corporations are currently B Certified in Taiwan, when 200 tried the assessment. B Lab Taiwan aims to have 150 B Corporations in Taiwan in 5 years.. 立. 政治大. 2.3. Background information about DOMI Earth. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Image 4 : Corey and his daughter at a DOMI party. 2.3.1. Interview of B Lab Taiwan. DOMI’s purpose is to make people take action for saving energy, and Chloe agrees with this point by describing DOMI as a « B corporation with the purpose of educating people on ways 35. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(38) of being more energy sufficient and developing ways to save energy». DOMI was founded by two Taiwanese, Tammy Hu and Corey Lien, husband and wife. They decided to create DOMI when they were living in China and they realised that the air pollution was so bad. They didn’t want their children to live and grow up in a world so unhealthy and polluted. They realised that if not them, who would try to change things? And if not now, when would people change things? This is when they decided to take action and to create their own company, a social enterprise that would work to make people take action to respect and protect their environment. And so they created DOMI.. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. DOMI is a very typical B Corporation and it is a very good example of a true B Corp. Chloe also believes that DOMI is a true B Corp in each and every aspect of the company: the workers,. ‧. the missions, their work with the government. DOMI was already a B Corp when B Lab Taiwan. y. Nat. sit. was officially created. Tammy and Corey are the founders of B Lab Taiwan with David Chang. n. al. er. io. (Former Chairman of B Lab Taiwan and General Manager of China Credit Information Service).. i n U. v. So Tammy and Corey led the B Corp movement in Taiwan, they implemented it into the country.. Ch. engchi. For that, they reached B Lab Us and established B Lab Taiwan. Since then, they have always been very involved in the B Corp movement. Indeed, they are now working on developing the movement in Asia, and Taiwan has become the B Corp leader in Asia: Taiwan is the Hub for B Corp in Asia.. Chloe also explained that DOMI is the most engaged B Corp in Taiwan into the B Corp movement.. 36. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(39) 2.3.2. Background information about DOMI Earth. It is very important to notice first that, for DOMI, being a B Corp is part of the essence of the company.. As explained earlier, DOMI became the first B Corp in Taiwan in 2014 and Tammy and Corey, with some of their partners, pushed for other Taiwanese companies to join this social and. 政治大. environmental movement. In 2015, they established the B Corp Asia Association.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Image 5 : Tammy and DOMI’s employees during a meeting. 2.3.2.1.. DOMI’s creation. DOMI Earth was created in 2014 by Tammy Hu and Corey Lien. DOMI also become very quickly the first B Corp in Taiwan. DOMI means « Home » in Latin.. 37. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(40) 2.3.2.2.. The motivations of the company. Tammy and Corey, a married Taiwanese couple, decided to create the company together, as they shared the same values. It was not an easy decision, as they both were working in China, and had to quit their jobs and come back to Taiwan to found DOMI. But they did it together.. DOMI has three main motivations: achieve healthy air and water, reverse climate change and. 政治大. have justice for all. Indeed, as the company says on its website « we think of DOMI as a garden. 立. for climate change-makers, brought together by a network of leaders – people who’ve. ‧ 國. 學. committed to driving action to their own communities and around the world through the power of collaboration »11. So the main purpose of the company is to make people gather together and. ‧. take action by becoming change-makers.. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. For that, the company decided to first focus on saving energy. The consumption of energy, like. i n U. v. electricity, is very bad for the earth, and even more because a lot of energy is wasted all around. Ch. the world. So the goals of DOMI are:. engchi. -. Firstly, educate people about saving energy;. -. Secondly, providing them with ways to save energy;. -. Thirdly, to make people take action to save energy by themselves and to become leaders of this energy saving movement.. 11. http://en.domiearth.com/about-us/ 38. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(41) Brian Blankinship, head of the International Business department, explains that DOMI « uses the tools of business to create a positive impact for the environment so that it supports people ». Indeed, it is important to notice that the final purpose of DOMI is to help people by providing them with a healthier earth.. 2.3.2.3.. General information about the company. 政治大. The company has currently two offices: one in Taipei and one in Kaohsiung.. 立. The number of employees in the Taipei office is generally around 15 to 20 persons.. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. Image 6 : DOMI’s employees during a party. i n U. v. Image 7 : DOMI’s employees during a party. DOMI is divided in four teams: -. The Sales Team;. -. The Marketing Team;. -. The Operations Team;. -. The Product Team, including the International Business Team.. 39. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(42) 2.3.2.4.. Business plan of DOMI. The Business Model of the company is based on the idea of « Minus 1, Plus 1 ». The « Minus 1 » refers to replacing traditional lamps by LED lights, and more generally to the fact of reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions by using energy saving technology. The « Plus 1 » represents the green education that DOMI aims to give, meaning education about the respect of the environment.. 政治大. This is a diagram to explains how DOMI’s business model works:. 立. ‧ 國. 學 Employees. ‧. Companies. Nat. n. a- l. er. io. sit. y. Families. C Save Energy h. engchi. i n U. v. + Green education. Figure 4: DOMI’s Business Model. -. Work with companies first:. What we can see through this diagram is that DOMI needs to work first with companies, so first with the business industry. Then, DOMI can work on the employees of these companies. Indeed,. 40. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(43) if you first change the mind-set of the leaders of the companies in Taiwan, then it is easier to change the mind-set of the employees of these companies.. -. Then, work with the employees:. Once the companies and their leaders have decided to become climate change-makers, these leaders can change their employees’ mind-set. This way, DOMI is able to reach a bigger part of the population.. 立. Finally, work with the families:. 學. ‧ 國. -. 政治大. These employees have families, and the purpose is that when the employees go back home, they will educate their families about climate change and they will decide to take action together.. ‧. By using this business model, DOMI is able to reach a very important part of the society in a. y. Nat. sit. very short time. For example, if DOMI convinces the leaders of a company, that we will name. n. al. er. io. Company T, to held a speech about green issues in their company, DOMI is able to educate. i n U. v. both the leaders and the employees of Company T. And then the employees of Company T will. Ch. engchi. go back home and educate their families about what they have learned.. 2.3.2.5.. Customers of DOMI and products/services by customer. DOMI has three main Targets the company aims to reach and works with: companies (with multinational businesses, SME and micro businesses), government (with municipal projects) and families. This chart will present the percentage that each customer represents for DOMI: 41. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(44) Customers' Repartition. 立. Big Companies (20%). Very Small Businesses (25%). Government (50%). Poor Families (5%). 學. Figure 5: DOMI’s Customer Repartition. ‧. ‧ 國. 政治大. As we can see on this chart, the government and the B to B customers represent the biggest. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. activity of the company.. i n U. v. This is very interesting about DOMI. The company is very diversified and operates on various. Ch. engchi. fronts. This allows the company to keep its sustainability in the long run because when one customer category is working less well than another, there are always the two other customer categories that can generate profits.. -. Companies: the business industry. The first Target of DOMI is companies. Currently, DOMI has more than 300 corporate clients.. 42. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(45) Image 8 : Corey during a workshop. 立. 政治大. About the companies, DOMI does a similar work as Consultants. Indeed, DOMI will go to the. ‧ 國. 學. companies and do the work of Energy Consultants. This means that DOMI will analyse the company’s energy consumption and will evaluate it. Then DOMI will produce a report for the. ‧. company giving them some advices on how to improve their Energy efficiency, and how much. y. Nat. sit. they can save by implementing these improvements.. n. al. er. io. How does DOMI analyse the energy consumption of these companies and come up with the. i n U. v. appropriated solution for each company? DOMI developed an energy calculator based on the. Ch. engchi. Taipower electricity bill formula. With this formula, it is possible to calculate the energy conservation and carbon reduction effects obtained by using energy saving Technology. DOMI will for example explain what products they could use, like LED Lights or a different type of Fan. Then DOMI will play the role of an Intermediary between the company they are advising, and a company who can provide the energy-saving products needed. On average, the solutions proposed to the companies by DOMI allow these companies to save at least 50% of their energy expenses, directly at the next first energy bill.. 43. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(46) DOMI also held activities for these companies. For example, DOMI organizes workshops for companies like L’Oreal Taiwan to make people aware of Energy saving and environmental issues. Also, DOMI organised a competition between some companies and the one who was using energy in a better way and coming up with the best ideas to improve, won.. Finally, DOMI created a LED light package, with 4 LED Lights inside and very easy to use, to help companies and little businesses to change their lights to LED Lights. It is important to. 政治大. notice that using LED lights is very efficient, as LED bulbs are 70% more energy efficient than. 立. traditional bulbs and require less than half the wattage to generate the same luminosity. They. ‧ 國. 學. also have a longer service life, they generate less heat and they don’t generate UV rays. The electricity costs by using LED lights during summer can be decreased by 10 to 15%. That is. ‧. why DOMI knew LED lights were so important.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Image 9 : DOMI's LED lights package. We can take Prudential as an example of a successful case of DOMI’s work with B to B customers. Prudential Financial is a very important American Insurance company. Prudential is known to support social enterprises and this is why, three years ago, the branch in Taiwan approached DOMI. Prudential wanted to get Energy education for both the company and the employees, so they asked DOMI to organize an event for them. DOMI first started by doing 44. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(47) their consultant work for Prudential and proposing to the company some solutions to save energy. Once those solutions implemented, Prudential could save a lot of money because of DOMI. Then, DOMI organized training for their teams through Energy-saving Leadership Program workshops to make employees take action. Because the employees liked these workshops, they asked DOMI for products to help them become more energy responsible in their own houses. The employees went back home with several products of DOMI (Timer, LED package and Book that we will detail later), and so they changed from a passive mode, to an. 政治大. active mode. The company also decided to use these DOMI products as gifts for their own. 立. customers. So DOMI had an influence on every different part of Prudential: the company, the. ‧ 國. 學. leaders, the employees and their families, and their customers.. ‧. -. Government:. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. The second Target of DOMI is the Government. Fist, the company works with them to improve. i n U. v. the regulations towards energy saving and climate change, and also towards B Corps.. Ch. engchi. DOMI also organizes events with and for the Taiwanese Government. The aim of these events is to bring awareness about protecting the environment to the population. For example, they organised together some markets and fairs during which DOMI read their book to children, organised activities for the families and sold their products. Some Green NGOs were also invited to attend these events.. The work of DOMI with the government is very important for the company and for its sustainability. DOMI is insured to have some job opportunities coming from the government 45. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(48) each year. The government wants DOMI to organize some fairs and markets each year to make people become more aware of their impact on the environment. As the government appreciates the work of DOMI and needs DOMI to organize these events, they will ask the company to organize them regularly. That way, DOMI knows that they will always have some work to do. Also, Tammy and Corey built good relationships with the government. The government is a very important customer for DOMI to keep its sustainability.. -. 政治大. Families:. 立. ‧ 國. 學. DOMI also works with families. For them, they mainly created products that the family can use easily. DOMI realised that many people wanted to be more environmentally friendly but that it. ‧. was often too complicated to do. So the company decided to create easier energy-saving. y. Nat. sit. products to use. For example, they created their own Timer, that is easier to use and good-. n. al. er. io. looking. The families can use it to cut electricity when they are not at home.. Ch. engchi. Image 10 : DOMI’s Timer. i n U. v. Image 11 : DOMI’s Timer. DOMI also created, like explained earlier, a LED Light package that can be sold to families to change their lights in their houses. 46. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(49) A last product that DOMI has created is that the company wrote a book for children to teach them about energy saving. This book has been translated in many different languages.. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. Image 12 : DOMI’s Book. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Image 13 : DOMI’s Book. Moreover, DOMI organises activities for families.. 47. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(50) 政治大. Image 14 : DOMI’s Tree planting. 立. ‧ 國. 學. The aim of these activities is to promote DOMI and to bring awareness about energy saving and environmental issues. Their most famous one is the Tree-Party. The Tree-Party happens at. ‧. least once a year, and they have already organised 5 Tree-Parties since the creation of DOMI.. y. Nat. sit. Families come to these parties together, parents with children, and they participate to the many. n. al. er. io. activities organised by DOMI, mainly planting Trees. Indeed, the families will plant Trees together. DOMI’s book will also be read.. Image 15 : Tammy at DOMI's Tree party. Ch. engchi. Image 16 : DOMI’s Tree planting party. i n U. v. Image 17 : Children at DOMI's Tree party. 48. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(51) DOMI also organizes other Parties, like Rooftops parties in which they paint the top of a roof with a special Painting, called Isolate Painting, that attracts less the sun and allows the buildings to be less hot inside.. The last work of DOMI with families is that the company helped poor families to have access to a green and affordable energy. DOMI put LED lights in 1800 poor homes in Taipei, almost the half of the poor homes in the city. It took on average one hour to visit and change the LED. 政治大. light for one house. This allowed the families to save a lot of money on their energy bill.. 立. Moreover, when they went to these poor families, they made them take the Poverty Stoplight.. ‧ 國. 學. The Poverty Stoplight is a survey that helps the families know how they use their resources and their energy and how they can use them in a better and more efficient way.. ‧. Next month, DOMI is going to start this project again with 1000 new houses.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Image 18 : DOMI’s electrician installing LED lights in low income families’ houses. 49. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(52) 2.3.2.6.. Finances of DOMI. It is important to note that DOMI does not have any sources of funding, all the money they have comes from what they make with their different activities, products and services.. The first three years, DOMI made profit, but last year the company made a small loss because they had to make many investments on new projects. But innovating and trying new projects. 政治大. should bring profit to the company very soon and is a very good strategy. By trying many. 立. activities, the company is able to find the activities that suits the company the best and that can. ‧ 國. 學. bring them some good revenues.. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 50. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(53) 3. Literature Review 3.1. Traditional corporations. To understand better the new movement of « For-benefit » organizations, « Social Enterprises » and B Corporations, we first need to have a look about how does the Literature defines « traditional corporations ». By understanding the traditional role of corporations and businesses, we will be able to understand what is so different with the new movement of « For-benefit ». 治政 organizations, « Social Enterprises » and B Corporations. 大立 ‧ 國. 學. The Traditional purpose of a corporation is known to be that of maximizing shareholder value. ‧. (Alyssa Harriman, 2015). The first corporate form can be traced back to the Collegium under Ancient Rome. Indeed, the Collegia served as an « entity distinct from its owners for various. y. Nat. er. io. sit. business purposes ».. As explained by Alyssa Harriman, during the Middle Age, corporate form was used to provide. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. hierarchy and organization, it was also a way to amass power and health (Alyssa Harriman, 2015).. engchi. Over the centuries, « the dominant view of business as a purely economic activity led to the subordination of other goals and values to the primary goal of creating economic value » (Alyssa Harriman, 2015).. A good example of the traditional role of business is an article entitled « The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits » and written by Friedman in 1970 for the. 51. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.

(54) New York Times Magazine: « There is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud » (Alyssa Harriman, 2015). So, if we take this statement, the only focus of business should be to make profits and maximize shareholder value.. In this Traditional definition of a corporation, we can see that business and society are totally. 政治大. separated: the purpose of business is profit-driven whereas the governments and civil society. 立. should be responsible for solving social and environmental issues, even those created by these. ‧ 國. 學. traditional corporations (Alyssa Harriman, 2015).. ‧. 3.2. A Social Responsibility Gap and a need for change. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. This traditional role of corporations has been highly criticised in the last years.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. The gap between business and society has never stopped growing and can be seen for example in the economic scandals of the last decades. « Accused of human rights violations, causing environmental problems and engaging in tax avoidance schemes, corporations have seemingly lost touch with ethics and values » (Alyssa Harriman, 2015). As explained by Charles Handy, markets rely on rules and laws, but for these rules and laws to be followed, they need to be trusted and true. If truth is not anymore, and trust is lost, then « the game becomes so unreliable that no one will want to play » (Charles Handy, 2002). This means that if people are loosing faith in traditional corporations, there will be no economy anymore, and so there is a need for a new economy with new corporations. 52. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMBA.002.2018.F08.