Capitalism at Risk, Updated and Expanded: How Business Can Lead

by Joseph L. Bower, Herman B. Leonard, Lynn S. Paine

Overview

Q. Who should take the lead in fixing market capitalism?
A. Business—not government alone.

The spread of capitalism worldwide has made people wealthier than ever before. But capitalism's future is far from assured. Pandemics, income inequality, resource depletion, mass migrations from poor to rich countries, religious fundamentalism, the misuse of social media, and cyberattacks—these are just a few of the threats to continuing prosperity that we see dominating the headlines every day.

How can capitalism be sustained? And who should spearhead the effort? Critics turn to government. In their groundbreaking book, Capitalism at Risk, Harvard Business School professors Joseph Bower, Herman Leonard, and Lynn Paine argue that while robust governments must play a role, leadership by business is essential. For enterprising companies—whether large multinationals, established regional players, or small startups—the current threats to market capitalism present important opportunities.

In this updated and expanded edition of Capitalism at Risk, Bower, Leonard, and Paine set forth a renewed and more urgent call to action. With three additional chapters and a new preface, the authors explain how the eleven original disruptors of the global market system clash with the digital age, and they provide lessons on how to take action. Presenting examples of companies already making a difference, Bower, Leonard, and Paine show how business must serve both as innovator and activist—developing corporate strategies that effect change at the community, national, and international levels.

Filled with rich insights, this new edition of Capitalism at Risk presents a compelling and constructive vision for the future of market capitalism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633698253
Publisher:	Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Joseph L. Bower is the Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. Over the past five decades, his research has focused on the challenges involved in leading companies as they deal with important changes in the economic, social, and political environment.

Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard is the Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the George F. Baker, Jr., Professor of Public Sector Management at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. His work at HBS has focused on corporate social responsibility and the leadership of socially oriented components of business organizations.

Lynn S. Paine is the John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She has written widely on leadership and corporate governance, with a focus on how companies can meet high ethical standards while delivering outstanding financial results.

You can find the authors at:
Joseph. L. Bower: hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6426
Herman B. Leonard: hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=271872, hks.harvard.edu/faculty/herman-b-dutch-leonard
Lynn S. Paine: hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6526

Table of Contents

Preface to the Expanded Edition vii

Preface and Acknowledgment to the First Edition xxi

Part 1 The Future of Market Capitalism

1 Introduction 3

2 A Projection of Global Prospects 19

3 Threats to the Global Market System 43

4 Seeing the Threats as Systemic 85

Part 2 How Business Can Lead

5 The Business Response 105

6 Leading Through Innovative Business Models 125

7 Leading Through Institutional Activism 153

8 Rethinking the Role of Business 185

Part 3 A Call to Action

9 How Disruptors Interact and Why It Matters 215

10 Companies Stepping Up to the Challenge 245

11 Rebuilding Confidence in Capitalism 279

Appendix 301

Notes 305

Index 323

About the Authors 359

Editorial Reviews

Advance Praise for Capitalism at Risk, Updated and Expanded edition:

"When this book was first published, in 2011, the authors broke new ground by identifying a number of disrupters that had emerged to challenge the global economic system. Today our world is in even greater turmoil because of these and other developments, and the authors' original call for business action as a force for good is more pressing than ever. By providing timely guidance for companies, and by connecting corporate action to economic outcomes, the authors make the case that we must collectively improve and strengthen our global system to be fairer, more inclusive, and more robust. This is a call for action that no company should ignore." — Victor K. Fung, Group Chairman, Fung Group

"Professors Bower, Leonard, and Paine have laid down a massive challenge that should be accepted not only by business leaders—the essential wealth creators—to whom it is specifically addressed, but by all who aspire to lead the political, administrative, and investment processes throughout the world. This is even more vital today as the socioeconomics of the business world are facing even stronger headwinds." — Sir David Scholey, Senior Adviser, UBS Investment Bank

"The message of this book is clear. To survive and prosper over the long term, learn how to adapt your business model by making it a servant to society and the environment. Not the other way around." — Paul Polman, Co-founder and Chair, IMAGINE; former CEO, Unilever

"An important book. The authors argue that the future of market-driven capitalism is at risk unless business leaders develop new strategies that reduce the negative fallouts of the system, such as growing income disparity and environmental degradation. A clarion call for business to take the lead in saving the system of market capitalism." — Barbara Hackman Franklin, President and CEO, Barbara Franklin Enterprises; former US Secretary of Commerce

From the Publisher