Liao Jianwen on Social Innovation
May 11, 2012
In recent years, a handful of Chinese entrepreneurs have set up companies that use legitimate business models to tackle some of the country’s most vexing problems — and also turn in a profit. As these early experiments show, social innovation — or using business models to solve social and environmental problems — requires a fundamentally new way of thinking.
A case in point is Spring Mountain, a company started by Liu Zhifeng. Spring Mountain produces sea buckthorn juice through a network of over 100,000 farmers in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. Even as it helps raise rural incomes by turning these farmers into micro-entrepreneurs, Spring Mountain’s unique business model fights desertification as well.
Liao Jianwen, Associate Dean of Executive Education and Professor of Managerial Practice, Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at CKGSB, has been studying social innovation models for some time now. In this interview, he elaborates on the genesis of such business models and also the challenges associated with them.
CKGSB Report
Related Articles
Related Articles
Our Programs
Building Digital Ecosystems
Jointly offered by CKGSB and IMD Business School, this program offers a comprehensive understanding of successful digital ecosystems from both China and the USA through the latest case studies and cutting-edge research.
LocationChina
DateNov 6-10, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Luxury Management: Food, Fashion & Furniture
Global Unicorn Program Series
Co-developed by CKGSB and SDA Bocconi School of Management, this program unravels luxury management—particularly in the food, fashion and furniture sectors—and emerging technologies, such as Fintech and AI.
LocationMilan
DateNov 13-16, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Emerging Tech Management Week: Silicon Valley
Co-developed by CKGSB, UC Berkeley College of Engineering, and IE Business School, this program equips participants with proven strategies, cutting-edge research, and the best-in-class advice to fuel innovation, seize emerging tech developments, and catalyse transformation within their organization.
LocationBerkeley, USA
DateNov 5-11, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Frontiers in Social Innovation
Global Unicorn Program Series
In collaboration with the Stanford Center for Professional Development (SCPD), this CKGSB program equips entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and key stakeholders with the tools, insights, and skills necessary to lead a new generation of unicorn companies.
LocationStanford, California, USA
DateDec 11-15, 2023
LanguageEnglish