Prosocial Business Models - “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

We now live in a geopolitically divided world complicated by many global challenges such as climate change, inequality, and resource depletion. This demands new frameworks and approaches to sustain our businesses. I recently co-authored a paper with my colleague, Jan Pfister, and other leading academics proposing a new model that has been well-researched and studied, which offers an alternative to traditional economic paradigms that prioritize short-term profits.

The "Prosocial Model" argues that doing good for others within and outside of business ecosystems, such as the functional teams within organizations, customers, competitors, regulators, and society at large. The prosocial motives entail the “desire to benefit others or expend effort out of concern for others. Prosocial behavior creates an economy driven by goodness versus one driven by greed. It results in making a positive difference in the lives of others through one’s work. The prosocial market economy provides a framework where business success and ethical responsibility coexist, helping companies address today’s complex demands while ensuring long-term viability and positive social impact.

We argue that prosocial behavior requires an open innovation mindset – behavior that benefits others or society at large – and is the core activity of value creation that contributes to economic performance and sustainability in organizations. Our research indicates that prosocial groups outperform groups dominated by self-interest. We argue that our business school curricula across the world need to be rewritten. It is more profitable in the long run to build an economy driven by goodness versus one powered by greed. Yes, it is more blessed to give than to receive but this needs to be taught in our homes, schools, and organizations we work for. A global crisis like COVID may be required to learn this very fast.

This new paradigm builds on the realization that fundamental behavioral change is needed in the market economy to ensure a sustainable future for humanity and nature. Such a cultural evolution towards what we call the prosocial market economy is driven by an economic rationale and demands an institutional shift in theory and practice, moving away from assumptions that foster egocentrism and towards those that enhance and normalize prosociality within groups, organizations, and societies as a whole. Prosociality, in our view, is a basic societal value that protects life on the planet and deserves the same relevance and discourse as other fundamental societal values such as equality, ethics, freedom, peace, and justice.

This published paper promotes an open innovation mindset and complements many of my other works on: 1. How to Create Smart Villages? 2. How to Think Like the CEO of the Planet? 3.?The Road from Sickcare to Healthcare, and 4. Resetting the Jewel in the Crown.

Along the lines of prosocial thinking, in my book “The Road from Sickcare to Healthcare,” I suggested that we rewrite the Medical School Curriculum. We send our kids to medical school to make money off sick people, instead, we need to teach them how to keep people healthy and save the trillions of dollars we spend on sick care each year. According to WHO estimates, non-communicable diseases account for 71% of all deaths worldwide. The burden of these diseases is expected to increase in the coming years, with the global cost of non-communicable diseases projected to reach a cumulative $47 trillion during the period from 2011 to 2030. This represents a significant economic burden on individuals, families, and societies at large.

Instead of asking, “What is in it for me?” we need to be taught to ask, “What is in it for others within the whole ecosystem?” We need a shift from MVP to MVE (from Minimum Viable Product to Minimum Viable Ecosystem) that supports the whole society – creating a win-win for all. Yes, we are our brother’s keeper - Genesis 4:9.

We need to wake up to the realization that we cannot be sustained by greed. Before it is too late, our educational and training curricula will need to shift to the one based on the prosocial paradigm.

Please enjoy reading this paper "Performance Management in the Prosocial Market Economy: A New Paradigm for Economic Performance and Sustainability."

Here is the link to the paper: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QRAM-02-2024-0031/full/html