Learn how groupelephant.com, a group of companies that specializes in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) through its EPI-USE business, broke the traditional corporate social responsibility mold with its Elephants, Rhinos, and People (ERP) initiative.
We invite you to indulge in these two fascinating case studies exploring the inception, benefits and challenges of groupelephant.com's hybrid business model, the global application thereof and the impact of 'purpose-driven leadership'.
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Six years after the 2015 launch of groupelephants.com's 'Beyond Corporate Purpose: Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP) program, CEO Jonathan Tager reflects on the various ERP programs and their impact on the elephant and rhino welfare, through a strategy based on poverty alleviation. The case also describes the effects of the ERP initiative and corporate rebranding on the core for-profit business. More broadly, the case study explores:
the benefits and challenges inherit in deploying the hybrid business model;
potential strategies for scaling the ERP initiative globally;
the importance of 'purpose-driven leadership';
issues related to impact strategy and measurement; and
whether corporate leaders should become advocates for social and environmental objectives.
Following a period of rapid growth but waning enthusiasm for purely financial objectives, CEO Jonathan Tager decided to rebrand the Group and use a hybrid (blended) business model to achieve business, environmental, and social goals. This case study explores the inception of groupelephant.com's 'Beyond Corporate Purpose: Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP)' initiative and Tager's reflections on its early stage progress. The case covers:
the difficulty of planning CSR programs;
hybrid (blended) business models;
the 'theory of change' underlying CSR strategy;
challenges in defining and measuring impact;
organizational challenges and tensions in a business model that is no longer solely for-profit; and
corporate involvement in social and environmental non-profit work.