Want more organizations to give back to their communities? Frank Nagle says the success of open source software offers an innovative—and unexpected—roadmap for social good
The benefits of creating good aren’t often apparent to companies, since they often don’t reap the rewards
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Regulators often punish companies for bad behavior—for instance, by fining them if they pollute the environment. But instead of focusing on what business leaders are doing wrong and constantly slapping their hands, government officials should shift to rewarding firms that make positive contributions to society, says Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Frank Nagle.
Doing so will encourage companies to spend more time working to make the world a better place, he says. Nagle points to the use of free and open source software, known as FOSS, to illustrate the power of rewarding good behavior. In fact, the code responsible for creating many consumer electronics is widely available and is often used as a springboard for developers to further innovate, sharing ideas and crafting new products for all to use. Everyone wins.
This article was provided with permission from Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.