Denmark: The Nation of Social Innovation
Traditionally it has been the predominant task of companies to create shareholder value while it was the government’s role to address social problems. However, in recent years business has emerged an important motor of social change. A small number of innovative and entrepreneurial firms are repositioning Denmark as the Nation of Social Innovation.
A recent example of the new crop of Danish social entrepreneurs are Mads Kjær and Tim Vang. The two have founded www.MyC4.com, an online platform that aims at eradicating poverty. Another example is Max Havelaar Fonden, which has been very successful in social innovation through fair trade initiatives providing self-employed smallholder producers in underdeveloped countries develop capabilities for accessing lucrative markets at prices that allow them a sustainable livelihood. A third example for social innovation concerns Hertz Delebilen, the Danish Car-Sharing company, which focuses on short-term rental and decentralized availability of cars, rather than permanent car ownership.
The analysis has been written by Dr. Kai Hockerts, Associate Professor at CBS.