Page 16 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.73, # 2, 2016, pp. 4-20

world then just making their fortune. The old generation may be holding them up by
passing on their old structures to them.
As the idea of social business becomes popular a part of charity money,
wherever the law or religious requirements will allow, will start flowing into social
business. And that flow will continue to grow. As decisions are taken, a question
will arise, should I give it to charity or rather give it to a social business fund.
Individuals, charities, foundations, companies will see social business as a
sustainable charity, where the same money can be used endless times.

Selflessness in the Business World
But what about business money? Will the business door remain ever closed to
social business? I don't think so. Already there are many examples of selflessness in
the existing business world. There were many even in the past. Unfortunately they
were never made part of business school curriculum. I give two outstanding
examples from the past, which are still going strong.

Bosch
Bosch is a 130 year old German multinational engineering and electronics
company, with an annual revenue of $ 50 billion. It is a familiar name throughout the
world. Not many people know that it is owned by Bosch Foundation. Founder of the
company created a foundation to own the company. Only 8% of the shares were given
to the family. It is still that way. Foundation manages the company and use the profit
for charitable activities. If we are looking for an example how business and
selflessness can be combined Bosch is a good example. This is what I call type 2
social business, a company owned by a trust or a foundation to solve human problems.

Tata Trust
Another example is again a household word in many parts of the world,
particularly in South Asia. This is Tata.Founder of Tata did the same thing 128 years
ago. Two-third of the shares of Tata group of companies, worth $118 billion, is
owned by Tata Trust.
There are endless examples, big or small, old and new, all around the world.
These are examples of defiance of the capitalist rules, but done in a smart way so
that they could not be excommunicated from business world. They led the initiative
to create a new business world. These examples could have been followed boldly
and massively. But orthodox theory of business did not recognize them.

Corporates and Social Business
Besides individuals, corporates can also invest in social business. Usually
corporates create foundations for their companies. They can easily direct the

16