Connecting people to purpose builds a sustainable business model at Bark House

Abstract

At Bark House, a purpose‐driven, sustainability‐oriented small and medium‐size enterprise (SME) based in North Carolina, a symbiotic relationship between the firm and its stakeholders has led to the development of a resilient business model that has generated hundreds of green‐collar jobs. Data collected through semi‐structured interviews show that by proactively engaging with stakeholders, the firm has been able to change market perceptions and behavior, and to refine its core operations to become more sustainable. In addition, the stakeholders' belief in the authenticity of the organization's commitment to environmental responsibility influences the way employees feel about themselves and how they behave with others. By putting environmental and societal concerns before profits, the firm generates customer loyalty that enables it to survive economic downturns and offers the promise of long‐term success.

Opportunities and Challenges of Purpose-Led Companies: An Empirical Study Through Expert Interviews

“…By contrast, possible challenges and obstacles are discussed to a lesser extent. This also applies to previous qualitative studies, such as the case studies of Villela et al (2019) as well as Collins and Saliba (2020) and the expert interviews of Pechmann et al (2019). The present qualitative study contributes to closing these research gaps by conducting expert interviews with companies.…”

“…It is usually argued that the implementation of a purpose enhances corporate performance (Fontán et al 2019, p. 107;Deloitte 2014, p. 5). A particularly important benefit is that the reputation of a company can be enhanced by pursuing a purpose (Oechsle III 2002, p. 181;Collins and Saliba 2020). A good reputation has long been seen as an important success factor Online-retail "To live and deliver WOW" (Zappos.com AG 2021) for companies (Helm 2007).…”

“…Edelmann (2012) concluded as early as 2012 that 72% of the customers they surveyed would prefer "purpose organizations" (Edelmann 2012, p. 3;similarly, Korn Ferry 2016;Accenture 2018;Villela et al 2019;Collins and Saliba 2020). This applies only if they regard the approach as credible: "they'll never want purpose-wash communications" (Radley Yeldar 2018, p. 32; see also similarly EY Beacon Institute 2016, p. 31; Vilá and Bharadwaj 2017).…”

“…Relationship between purpose and financial performance Porter Novelli (2019) Online survey, 1193 Americans Purpose improves consumer loyalty and companies reputation Stroehle et al (2019) Nine interviews; four case studies with companies Relevance of the British Academy Principles for Purposeful Businesses (see The British Academy 2018) ANA (2020) Online survey with 259 B2B professionals Stated purpose vs. activated purpose gap; Communicating purpose; purpose empowers Stakeholders Collins and Saliba (2020) Four interviews with representatives of small and medium size enterprises; Survey with 110 participants Purpose improves the relationship between stakeholders and the company; purpose before profit improves customer loyalty Lleo et al (2020) Survey with 862 employees from eight Spanish companies Purpose implementation; measuring the intensity of purpose here (The Energy Project and HBR 2014, p. 7). The concerns expressed in the literature that some employees may be hesitant to pursue a corporate purpose, are also barely analyzed in the empirical studies.…”

The workforce revolution: Reimagining work, workers, and workplaces for the future

“…The world is undergoing a profound transformation, wherein the fundamental nature of work (i.e., the responsibilities and tasks that people perform in exchange for remuneration), workers (i.e., the people performing work), and workplaces (i.e., the spaces where work is performed by workers) is being reshaped. This transformation is driven by externalities and trends such as: Groundbreaking technological advancements like Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT; Dwivedi et al., 2023; Lim, Gunasekara et al., 2023) and virtual reality (e.g., metaverse; Dwivedi et al., 2022; Kraus et al., 2023); Increasing competitive pressures that necessitate new ways of thinking and functioning (e.g., the challenger approach; Lim, 2020); Shifting demographics with the rise of new generations (e.g., Generation Z or zoomers; Lim, 2022b) and intergenerational transitions (e.g., Generation X or baby boomers moving into the aging population and Generation Y or millennials becoming middle‐aged adults; Lim, Kumar et al., 2023); Evolving societal expectations such as corporate social responsibility or CSR (Castillo, 2022; Prasad et al., 2022), diversity and inclusion (Arora & Patro, 2021; Yilmaz et al., 2021), environmental social governance or ESG (Lim, Ciasullo et al., 2023), lifelong learning and upskilling (Lang, 2023), purpose‐driven work (Collins & Saliba, 2020; Jones‐Khosla & Gomes, 2023), sustainability (Lim, 2022a), and work‐life balance (Chigeda et al., 2022; Mello & Tomei, 2021; Naim, 2022); and Ongoing global crises or mega‐disruptions such as the COVID‐19 pandemic (Lim, 2021, 2023b) and the Ukraine‐Russia conflict (Lim, Chin et al., 2022), among others. …”