The B.A.W.B. Interactive Working Paper Series is an open-access forum dedicated to showcasing papers that explore the potential for business to act as an agent of social, environmental, and economic benefit.
The Role of Business in Society
It has long been held that the primary role of business is to produce a profit. Increasingly, however, business now focus on managing their social and environmental impact in addition to their financial bottom line. For instance, many of today’s leading business leaders are specifically directing resources – in terms of employees, assets, and imagination – to build strategies that benefit the ecosystem of the earth, or the diverse needs of vast, impoverished populations, all while still making a sustainable profit. This trend points to a fundamental change in assumptions regarding the role of business in the global economy.
This series is devoted to an exploration of this emerging shift in the perceived role and function of business. Featured articles build theory, report empirical research, or explore the practical implications of scholarly work in the area. Topics of interest include perspectives on corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, strategies at the bottom of the pyramid, micro-enterprise, sustainability strategies, transformative management education, and innovative business partnerships.
An Interactive Forum
A distinctive feature of this series is the quest for interaction between authors and readers. Our purpose is developmental: we want to develop a community of support to help authors prepare their work for future publication in traditional journals. To this end, both papers and reviews aim to be collaborative and transparent. All working papers are made available online for instant and free access. Though we seek to be inclusive, the publication decision is made by an editor with advice from at least one other reader to encourage high quality submissions. Authors of accepted papers are invited to publish a brief note in which they share their current thoughts and questions about the paper. One review will be posted with each work. We also strongly encourage additional comments and reflections from our readers.
Our hope is that this interactive design will not only support authors, but also encourage the development of a community in which a free exchange of ideas promotes accelerated, deep thinking on a variety of topics related to the role of business in society.
Exciting Papers
The series is geared for any interesting theory driven or theory building work that inquires into mutually beneficial business and society interactions. There is no limitation of method or theory used, and we encourage innovative work that bridges multiple disciplines and perspectives.
In particular, we seek publishable drafts of articles that have not yet undergone the extensive review process necessary for publication in traditional journals or other types of publications. Exciting papers will extend current theories in the academic literature either through additional theory development or empirical work around the issues related to the role of business in society. The interactive aspect of the forum will allow authors to gain feedback from interested readers who may help each writer to improve his or her writing.
Appropriate submissions include, but are not limited to, the following types of articles:
- Article on Practical Theory: This type of paper should address a practical issue with respect to business in society. The most attractive article will clearly identify the phenomena to be addressed and cite appropriate literature or examples to demonstrate why the practical issue is relevant to the role of business in society. The paper should provide a framework that is logically linked to existing theory or published empirical work. Finally, the paper should demonstrate how the framework provides insight into the practical issue of interest. (Please note, while you can incorporate your own practical work with business into your article, it is the policy of the series to not accept articles that have marketing or advertising of the author’s practice as a central part of the writing.)
- Theoretical Essay/Article: This type of paper is more philosophical and logical, but should focus on a relevant theoretical/logical dilemma as related to questions of business in society. The paper should clearly articulate the logical issue to be addressed, and this should be supported through appropriate references in the literature. The paper then builds a framework of ideas or principles for resolving the dilemma. Finally, the paper demonstrates how these ideas provide insight into the theoretical issue.
- Empirical Paper: This format reports evidence from the field to address a relevant issue as related to business in society. The typical research report poses a theoretical/logical dilemma or question, describes a methodology for gathering evidence on the question, reports on the implementation of and evidence gathered from this methodology, then assesses how the evidence enlightens the original theoretical question.