Social problems are dysfunctions of society and – at least potentially – degenerative diseases of the body politic. They are ills. But for the management of institutions, and, above all, for business management, they represent challenges. They are major sources of opportunity…
It is the object of business to convert change into innovation, that is, into new business… The most significant opportunities for converting social problems into business opportunities may therefore not lie in new technologies, new products, new services. They may lie in solving the social problem, that is, social innovation, which then directly and indirectly benefits and strengthens the company or the industry.
From The Essential Drucker. Also see Drucker on corporate responsibility.
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