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Social Entrepreneurship, Organizational Behavior.

This case is suitable to be used in advanced undergraduate and MBA/MSc level.

This case teaches about green organization, its opportunity, challenges, and attitude toward sustainable agriculture. The Babylon Vertical Farms (BVF) is an agricultural and technological company that grew high-quality hydroponic vegetables and herbs with minimum use of sunlight, soil, and pesticides. BVF used recycled water through reverse osmosis process with the target to decrease cultivated time to less than six hours, when compared to the typical 18 hours, apart from minimizing water usage up to 90%. Knowing its potential, Stuart Thomas, the founder and his team planned to increase the farm production to 2,000–3,000 kg a month from 1,000 kg a month. The farm required RM150,000 to acquire resources and to extend its farm infrastructure. Stuart and his team had to make feasible and practical decision in gaining their funds to execute the business to be one that is sustainable and green. As a social entrepreneur, Stuart also wanted to address poverty-related hunger. A group of investors was ready to invest and asked for 30% equity. Stuart was tempted to take the offer. If he rejected the offer, the farm could lose the opportunity to scale-up its operation. At the same time, if he accepted the offer, he might lose control over the business one day.

The learning outcomes are as follows:

• to expose students to the various forms of urban farming that a social entrepreneur can venture into;

• to expose students to the benefits of green business;

• to evaluate potential opportunities and threats of a green organization using SWOT analysis; and

• to recommend a possible strategy to build a sustainable agriculture farm that is economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially responsible.

to expose students to the various forms of urban farming that a social entrepreneur can venture into;

to expose students to the benefits of green business;

to evaluate potential opportunities and threats of a green organization using SWOT analysis; and

to recommend a possible strategy to build a sustainable agriculture farm that is economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially responsible.

To maintain and enhance innovation performance, many firms nowadays look for resources from external sources such as strategic alliances and regional network embeddedness. While considering the important interdependencies among different alliances, research has established an alliance portfolio perspective. From an alliance portfolio perspective, firms can consciously configure the dimensions of their alliance portfolios such as partner characteristics, relational properties, or structural properties. However, within the context of alliance portfolio configuration, the role of regional networks has been largely overlooked. As most high-tech firms are regionally clustered, this is an important research gap. In addressing this gap, this study explores the link between regional network density, alliance portfolio configuration, and its contribution to firm innovation performance. We examine how regional network density and alliance partner diversity influences firm level innovation output. We also investigate the moderating effect of overall network partner status and partner diversity on the link between regional network density and innovation performance. Our empirical evidence is derived from a longitudinal quantitative study of 1,233 German biotechnology firms. We find that regional network density and alliance partner diversity has an inverted U-shape effect on firm level innovation performance. However, overall network status as well as alliance partner diversity negatively moderates the link between regional network density and innovation output. Thus, our study contributes to a better understanding of the link between regional networks, alliance portfolio configuration, and firm level innovation performance.

This chapter brings to notice the general idea behind the need to consider value as a pertinent point since construction is swiftly moving towards sustainability. The introductory chapter introduces the general information about the subtopics across the parts of the book and mentions other techniques implemented in the construction industry. The value system for construction characterizes construction features into sections. The barriers often experienced in implementing value management highlight some of the difficulties encountered in applying value management or any new technique in the construction industry. The summary aspect ends the whole concept of the work discussed in this chapter.

Basing himself on the premise that present economic progress cannot follow the ‘Business as usual paradigm’ and hope for continued and unlimited progress, the author holds that we need to look into the larger dimensions of growth and development, which include social, environmental and other complex factors. So in this chapter, the author makes some pertinent suggestions for a sustainable growth model inspired by green growth and degrowth.

The first section evaluates the salient features of green growth and its drawbacks. It is followed by a discussion on the notion of degrowth, with its challenge to change the direction of growth (economic, ecological, social and cultural), without which human civilisation, as we know it today, may not survive. Finally, in the concluding chapter, based on these two notions of green growth and degrowth, an all-inclusive and sustainable regrowth model is propounded.

By creating an awareness of the need to shift development goals and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the author argues that we could use economic regrowth strategically and responsibly to make the world more sustainable and viable. Responsible corporates will make their contribution to such an organic, resilient and sustainable regrowth and their CSR activities could be the starting point for this change, without which humanity's future is seriously threatened.

Finally, the author acknowledges that humanity has profited from the tremendous technological and economic progress we have made in the last four centuries, learnt from its mistakes and are ready to reorient ourselves individually and collectively towards a sustainable economic regrowth.

The chief model of modernization is that of Western Europe and North America, as these have developed since the seventeenth century. Its main elements may be described as the development of science and technology, the national state, democracy, and capitalism. The professed political ideals of this model were put forward by John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and T. H. Green among others. However, in practice, countries in the West have been imperial, warring powers, thus showing that they had little regard for democratic ideals. Internally also, a fascist tendency has often been present. Their economy has been beset with the ills of capitalism: inflation, unemployment, monopolies, and slums. Industrialization has resulted in dehumanization, social disorganization, misutilization of natural resources, and environmental pollution. Science and technology have been used more for private profit and war than for the betterment of human life. The civil administration in this model is expected to function like a large-scale industrial or business undertaking.