Jurnal Internasional Ekonomi
Sage Publication : Business & Society
Firms are showing increasing interest in combining innovation and inclusive
business models to contribute to sustainable community development. One
framework to conceptualize such a business contribution is “corporate citizenship.”
This article utilizes, extends, and critically reflects on the framework
of corporate citizenship by identifying, explaining, and assessing the
citizenship role toward sustainable community development that firms can
perform. The article reviews a business model for delivering financial services
to the rural communities in India. The business model is developed by a
private firm “A Little World (ALW),” and the article argues that the firm and
its sister not-for-profit organization Zero Mass Foundation (ZMF) perform a
strategic bridge role between public sector organizations and rural communities
and assist in achieving their respective developmental goals. Using this
case study, the article argues that firms can act as corporate citizens through
a strategic bridge role. In so doing, firms can change political and economic
infrastructures by inducing institutional, governance, and cultural changes.
While the article underlines the positive contributions, it also raises questions
about the extension of market rationality in the public domain and its
potential influence on governmental development policies.
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