Mission-driven companies come under the spotlight in an entry for Harvard Business Review's Blog Network by Michael V. Russo.
As he points out, many modern consumers now care as much about the companies from which they purchase as the products themselves, which means there is a "unique value proposition" for mission-driven companies with "higher-order goals" and responsible supply chain practices.
Russo says mission-driven companies act as an "early warning system" for consumer expectations. They have also acted as the vanguard for transparency – publicising things like ingredients lists and corporate policies before better-known companies – and delivered "proof of concept" for innovations.
Because of this, says Russo, the mainstream companies should view their mission-led counterparts as a source of strategic insight, rather than dismiss them. He adds that the mission-led companies can reveal insights that mainstream organisations can capitalise upon.
Source
What You Can Learn from Mission-Driven Companies
Michael V. Russo
HBR.org