In The Escalation of Prosocial Commitment: How the B Corporation Movement Catalyzes Social Impact, Professor Garima Sharma and her co-authors explore how certified B Corporations deepen their commitment to social good, particularly through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Their findings show that when organizations go beyond certification to act on prosocial values, the entire movement benefits.
Key Takeaways:
B Corps that intensified their DEI efforts saw improvements not only in equity practices but also in overall sustainability.
This “escalation of prosocial commitment” created spillover effects, strengthening newer B Corps and reducing certification dropout rates.
However, the movement also faced a paradox of inclusivity—companies less engaged in DEI were more likely to exit the certification community.
“Escalation of prosocial commitment can transform organizations and movements alike—strengthening sustainability, but also revealing tensions about what inclusion truly means,"says Sharma.