Humanitarian Perspective on Social Innovation

The business of business is business. So why should corporations be involved in development? The main proposition of this chapter is that Governments and their international arms, the international agencies grouped under the umbrella of the United Nations, have failed in their attempts to rid the planet of under-development and poverty. So saying, as development has to take place and given that the private sector, particularly large corporations with their power and economic strength, have now been given their head, then should the private sector take much more responsibility for development than ever before? The paper will develop the argument that CSR provides a platform for corporations to be involved in economic development in ways that can be much more powerful than has been thought of hitherto. Economic development (also now transfigured somewhat curiously into sustainable development) means improving the well being of disadvantaged people wherever they may be.