Introduction ^*

Abstract

Inclusive business (IB) is becoming increasingly important as a means to alleviate poverty and inequality in the world, one of the most significant goals set forth by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many companies have been engaging in IB projects. Even so, why are only a limited number of projects reported to be successful? IB involves complex situations, since it tries to achieve contradictory goals of solving social issues and generating a decent level of profit for sustainability. This often requires partnering with social-issue-oriented organizations by developing cross-boundary cooperation, as well as the need to associate with local partners and the poor in developing countries, who have different institutional backgrounds from multinational corporation (MNC) managers in developed countries. IB clearly involves people with diverse institutional backgrounds to develop cooperative relations. The biggest cause of IB failures seems to be MNCs’ difficulties in overcoming institutional differences vis-à-vis local partners and the poor, and interconnecting different institutions among diverse partners in an IB project. By conducting case studies of seven relatively successful IB projects in India, Ghana, and Tanzania, this book explores answers as to how companies overcome institutional differences, interconnect diverse institutions, develop cross-boundary cooperation, and successfully fuse business and social goals, namely, how they develop institutional interconnections. This chapter also briefly introduces the book’s structure and presented cases.

Citation

Okada, Y. and Stanislawski, S. (2021), "Introduction ^* ", Okada, Y. and Stanislawski, S. (Ed.) Institutional Interconnections and Cross-Boundary Cooperation in Inclusive Business, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-212-720211001