New Corporate Forms in the U.S.

Description

John Boik in, Creating Sustainable Societies:

"If one underlying cause of our economic dysfunction is that selfinterest is over-emphasized as a motivator for corporate behavior, then a reasonable solution is to develop new corporate structures that broaden the motivation spectrum. Much work has already been accomplished in this field. Dozens of states now have or are looking at alternative corporate forms.

Three of these are:

lowprofit limited-liability companies (L3Cs), B-Corporations (Benefit Corporations), and Flexible Purpose Corporations.

In general, the new corporate forms provide greater public transparency and expand the purpose of the corporation to include a social mission. These new forms are expected to make a profit, but they must balance their desire for profit with their social purpose. They can be funded through traditional means and, in some cases, by philanthropic foundations. In fact, it was the prospect of obtaining foundation support that helped to motivate creation of the L3C model."