The Oxford Handbook of Social Purpose

Social purpose is the strategic commitment by leaders to generate positive outcomes in society for multiple stakeholders through their organizational operations. An organization's social purpose may benefit any number of causes from human rights to environmental sustainability, at a large or small scale. The stakes can be high, for the organization's stability as well as for the larger community, and complex strategizing is required by leaders to plan, execute, and evaluate the implementation of social purpose initiatives.

The Oxford Handbook of Social Purpose makes a foundational contribution to this field. Across twenty-eight chapters, the edited volume captures why social purpose is theoretically and practically important as well as timely. Throughout the Handbook, there are recurring themes around leadership, strategy, and stakeholders. The chapters are organized into four themes: First, conceptualizing social purpose; second, governance and strategy for social purpose; third, implementing and embedding social purpose; fourth, social purpose in practice. While the Handbook provides a valuable contribution to social purpose, it recognises that there is valuable future research and practice to follow. The Handbook concludes by calling on academics to build the evidence-base and practitioners to commit to delivering on social purpose through their activities. The stakes could not be higher to act now.

List of contents

• Introduction


• 1: William S. Harvey, Alexander Newman, and Libby Ward-Christie: New Perspectives on Social Purpose


• Section 1: Conceptualising Social Purpose


• 2: Libby Ward Christie and Michael Moran: The Social Purpose Spectrum: Hybridity and Purpose Drift


• 3: Samuel A. Mortimer: Ikigai and the Values of Social Purpose


• 4: Michelle Evans, Mark Jones, Admiral Manganda, and Peter Musinguzi: Decolonizing Social Purpose: Considering Experiences of Indigenous Business


• 5: Sven E. Feldmann and Andrew John: Economics of Social Purpose


• 6: Alexander Newman, William S. Harvey, Deshani Ganegoda, and Libby Ward Christie: Leadership and Social Purpose


• 7: Lilia Giugni: Feminist Approaches to Social Purpose How to Drive Change Drawing on a Gender and Intersectional Perspective


• 8: Ranjit Voola and Jamie Carlson: Social Purpose and Brand Purpose: A Marketing Perspective


• 9: Nathania Chua and Christof Miska: Social Purpose: New Concept, New Pathways?


• Section 2: Governance and Strategy for Social Purpose


• 10: Rebecca Robins: Five Generations Thinking: Collaborative Leadership and Collective Intelligence as a Force Multiplier for Social Purpose


• 11: Daniel J. Fleming: Virtue Ethics and Social Purpose


• 12: Colin Mayer and Rupert Younger: Governance and Reporting of Social Purpose


• 13: David M. Bersoff and Caitlin Semo: Social Purpose: A Prerequisite for Business Success


• 14: Marc Hurwitz and Samantha Hurwitz: Followership and Social Purpose


• Section 3: Implementing and Embedding Social Purpose


• 15: Sotiris T. Lalaounis and Rachel Cooper: Brand Purpose: Managing the Commerce Versus Social Purpose Paradox through Design


• 16: Juan Carlos Mondragón Quintana and Gina Simmons: Identifying Social Purpose in Multinational Enterprises: A Measurement Tool


• 17: Nicole Gillespie and Nicole Steller: How Do Social Purpose Initiatives Influence Trust? Insights From Chief Purpose Officers


• 18: Nicole Steller: How Chief Purpose Officers Prevent Purpose-Washing by Linking Social Purpose and Strategy


• 19: Franz Wohlgezogen: Exploring the Dark Side of Social Purpose: A Conceptual Model of Organizational Dysfunctions


• 20: Matt Thomas and William S. Harvey: Reputation and Social Purpose: How Organizations Can Maintain Legitimacy with Their Stakeholders


• 21: Tracey Dodd and R. Edward Freeman: Social Purpose and Stakeholder Marginalization


• Section 4: Social Purpose in Practice


• 22: Joachim Krapels, Michele Bradley, and Clay Brown: A Global Experiment in Social Purpose: B Corps


• 23: Robin Holt and Mike Zundel: Strategy and Purpose: The Case of the British Broadcasting Corporation


• 24: Harriet Gray, Jessica Vredenburg, and Amelie Burgess: Beyond the Pretty Picture: Social Purpose in Practice, An Autoethnographic Analysis of TABOO Period Products


• 25: Anuj Mehra and S. Ramakrishna Velamuri: Genesis and Evolution of Social Purpose in a Large, Diversified Corporation: The Case of the Mahindra Group


• 26: Marc Levy: Profit for Purpose: Embracing the Foundation-Owned Model


• 27: Fabiola Campbell: Social Purpose and the case of Professional Migrant Women


• Conclusion


• 28: Libby Ward-Christie, Alexander Newman, William S. Harvey, and Julie Tucker: Conclusion: Where We Are and Where Next for Social Purposea

About the author

William S. Harvey is the Director of Sustainable Value Creation and Professor of Leadership at Melbourne Business School. He is an International Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Corporate Reputation and a Board Director of WISE Employment. Will advises leaders on reputation, purpose, and leadership. His work has featured in The Australian, BBC, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, Fortune, Wired, and The Conversation. Will is the author of Reputations at Stake (Oxford).

Alexander Newman is the Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Management at Melbourne Business School. He has published widely on the topics of organizational behavior, leadership, entrepreneurship, and business ethics in journals such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Leadership Quarterly. Alex delivers courses in Organisational Behavior and Leadership to MBAs and Executives. Prior to working in Australia, Alex worked in both China and Japan.

Libby Ward-Christie is the Director of the Centre for Social Purpose Organisations at Melbourne Business School. She is a recognized leader in Australia's social purpose ecosystem with a wealth of experience in applied social purpose research, education, and engagement. Libby is often called on to advise organizations and governments and publishes in both industry and academic arenas on topics relating to social entrepreneurship, social finance, impact measurement, and for-purpose strategy.

Product details

• Publisher: Oxford Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 04.05.2026
• EAN: 9780198937852
• ISBN: 978-0-19-893785-2
• Illustrations: 23
• Series: Oxford Handbooks in Business and Management
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > General, dictionaries; Business & Economics / General, Economics, finance, business & management, STUDY AIDS / Vocational, Business studies: general