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  • January 16, 2020
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

How Global Leaders Should Think About Solving Our Biggest Problems

By: Mark R. Kramer, Marc W. Pfitzer and Helge Mahne
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

The corporate social conscience will soon be on full display in Davos, Switzerland, where global leaders from business, government, and civil society will assemble on January 21 for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be committed to public-private partnerships that address the world’s most urgent challenges: climate change, poverty, chronic disease, illiteracy, plastic waste in the oceans, and much more. Unfortunately, after the initial splashy public announcement, most of these sincere and well-intentioned global partnerships are almost certain to quietly fail. The only way to avoid this fate is for a company to have a clear strategy about when, where, and how to develop highly targeted coalitions that advance progress on the specific issues and in the particular regions that connect most closely to their business. Translation: Local solutions are the essential to tackling global problems.

Keywords

Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Global Range; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy

Citation

Kramer, Mark R., Marc W. Pfitzer, and Helge Mahne. "How Global Leaders Should Think About Solving Our Biggest Problems." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (January 16, 2020).
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About The Author

Mark R. Kramer

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  • Engine No. 1: An Activist Hedge Fund Pursues Stakeholder Capitalism (B) By: Mark Kramer
  • Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski
  • Participant Media: Social Impact in Hollywood By: Mark R. Kramer
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