Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Entity Choices for a Socially Responsibl...

Frank, Mary Margar...

Technical Note

Entity Choices for a Socially Responsible Business

Frank, Mary Margaret; Hoffarth, Alexander

C-2407 | Published January 9, 2019 | 8 pages Technical Note

Collection: Darden School of Business

Product Details

One of the fastest-growing areas in business is socially responsible investment (SRI), which incorporates environmental, social, and governance concerns. From 2007 to 2017, SRI increased from $2.71 trillion to over $21 trillion, and in 2017, 84% of all millennials were interested in SRI. Given these trends, how should an entrepreneur with a social mission proceed? One of the first decisions is choosing an appropriate legal entity. This technical note presents an array of legal entities that a business with a social mission could consider, with special emphasis on a relatively recent option: the benefit corporation.