ابتکارات مشارکت مسئولیت اجتماعی شرکت: فرصت برای نوآوری و یادگیری مولد

This article is about the intersection of innovation, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and transferable generative learning. Generative learning is learning how to solve unstructured, complex problems for which there are no single right answers. The article addresses corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that occur when corporations form or join a partnership with other organizations – community, government, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other for-profit companies – to address a social, health, and/or environmental problem. The focus is on the for-profit corporation's and employees’ motivation, engagement, and contributions in such partnership initiatives. This form of CSR occurs when a company crosses organizational and possibly national boundaries to help solve a problem – for instance, bring clean water to a remote village in a third world country or address issues of poverty and education in an inner city neighborhood. The problem is addressed by individuals from the various organizations working in one or more teams. The problem may require a specific expertise, product, or service that the corporation possesses that needs to be adapted to the local situation. Or the problem may entail considerable uncertainty and need for creative solutions and invention. The problem may be centered in one location, but the issue and process can be generalized, so that local solutions can be applied elsewhere (scalability) and the organizations involved can learn and transfer innovation development processes. The general case occurs when a company offers, or is invited, to donate expertise to help solve a problem that is being addressed by public and not-for-profit organizations and community groups in a particular location. The problem may come to the attention of corporate representatives by chance (e.g., an executive reads about the issue or observes the problem while on a trip to the region). The effort may be initiated by the corporate representative who first becomes aware of the problem and wants to find a solution. The effort may be ongoing and the corporate representative secures and offers company resources to help. Or the corporation may be known as having needed expertise and is contacted by an agency and asked to join the problem solving team. The effort could deal with disease, hunger, migration of refugees, water resources, poverty, economic development, access to technology, or combinations thereof – any issue or problem of socio-political-economic significance

Social and environmental programs require involvement across organizations, cultures, and disciplines. This article considered corporation's participation in team initiatives that may occur across the globe and that involve multiple partners. CSR can be understood from the corporate, individual, and team perspective. Readiness to learn and problem difficulty are proposed to determine participants’ commitment and engagement, which in turn influence innovative outcomes and transferable learning. Research and practice suggest interventions that recognize conditions of high and low readiness to learn in addressing problems of high and low difficulty. Ultimately, the goal is to increase the success and long-term value of participation in such efforts to repair the world.