Trashy bags: sustainability crisis of a sustainable business

Abstract

Subject area Entrepreneurship, Business Strategy, Leadership, Marketing and Decision-making in business. Study level/applicability This case is suitable for graduate-level programmes in business management as well as executive education programmes. Case overview Stuart Gold, CEO of Trashy Bags is at a crossroads with respect to the future of his business. With deficits estimated at about GHS 120,000 annually, Gold is considering switching from the made-to-stock production model to a made-to-order model. Although the latter may tap into an available market and thus boost revenue, it would likely result in the displacement of the social enterprise’s loyal following and disenfranchisement of its employees’ creativity; not to mention the possibility of neglecting its mandate of repurposing plastic waste. Gold wonders if there is a case for maintaining the current made-to-stock model by driving up sales and reducing costs to eliminate the deficit. Expected learning outcomes Students should be able to: appreciate the exigencies of managing social enterprises in a largely profit-oriented economic domain; understand the interplay of choice and trade-offs in business management and apply theory-driven frameworks in making optimal choices and analytically assess instances of tension between the art (e.g. passion, emotional stakes, psychological and other influences on business management philosophies) and science (e.g. the need for business skills, use of effective models and the quest for production efficiency) of business management. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Sustainable Entrepreneurship Education: A Systematic Bibliometric Literature Review

“…Once the idea to create a for-profit, non-profit, or hybrid organization is born, it is crucial to include respect for the environment and social problems [23]. In this way, social entrepreneurship, the need for social enterprise management, the interplay with governance decisions, and the application of theory-based frameworks to make optimal decisions are enhanced [33]. Moreover, the diversity of the social contexts will enrich the individual experiences related to sustainability, in which SEE is proposed as a whole-society response through participatory sustainability [42] from either nascent entrepreneurs or established entrepreneurs [20].…”

“…Some of the literature focuses on sustainable entrepreneurial projects [29], whilst other works focus on the circular economy [30][31][32]. These strands of literature emphasize the approaches and methods currently used for collaborative and experiential learning [33,34] and case study-based learning for entrepreneurship [35], thus underscoring the interplay of entrepreneurship education processes.…”

Sustainable Entrepreneurship Education: a Systematic Bibliometric Literature Review

“…Once the idea to create a for-profit, nonprofit or hybrid organization is born, it is principal to include the respect for the environment and social problems [23]. In this way, it enhances social entrepreneurship, the need of social enterprise management, the interplay with governance decisions, and the application of theory-based frameworks to make optimal decisions [33]. Moreover, the diversity of social contexts will enrich the individual value pattern related to sustainability, in which SEE is proposed as a whole-society response through participatory sustainability [42] from either from nascent entrepreneurs or established entrepreneurs [20].…”

“…Some of the literature focuses on sustainable entrepreneurial projects [29], whilst others focus on the circular economy [30][31][32]. These strands of literature emphasize the approaches and methods currently used in relation to collaborative and experiential learning [33,34] and case study learning for entrepreneurship [35], thus underscoring the interplay of entrepreneurship education processes.…”