Better world books charity rating

Better World Books uses the power of business to change the world. We collect and sell books online to donate books and fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than 8 million new and used titles in stock, we’re a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic and environmental value for all our stakeholders.

— www.betterworldbooks.com

It was almost time to present. Mike Miller, chief executive officer (CEO) of Better World Books (BWB), reflected on how much the company had changed during his short tenure at the company’s helm. He had successfully helped Better World Books develop its operations in his previous role as senior vice president of operations, but knew he had his hands full in guiding BWB toward maturity from its headquarters at the BWB corporate campus in Atlanta.

BWB was founded as a “B corporation,” one that is committed in its incorporation documents to meeting a triple bottom line of financial, social, and environmental performance. While traditional firms focus primarily on satisfying their shareholders, BWB recognizes that it has a responsibility to all stakeholders, including its employees, literacy partners, and “Mother Earth.” Over the past few years, BWB has grown significantly, from a small niche player frequenting college campuses to one of the most widely recognized social-entrepreneurship firms in the United States. As testament to its success, the company generated over $80 million in revenues for 2014 (see Exhibit 1). It has also raised over $18 million for literacy and saved over 150 million books from going to landfills.1, 2 Although BWB has successfully scaled to its current size, and investors are happy with the firm’s performance thus far, there were concerns as to how BWB would ensure future growth and continued triple-bottom-line results.

As Mr. Miller surveyed the crowd of students filling the auditorium to attend Georgia Tech’s iMPACT Speaker Series, he wondered how BWB’s transition from a start up to a mature company would affect growth and the expectations of investors and stakeholders alike, if at all.3 He was acutely aware of the growing competition in the online book market, both from companies like Amazon and eBay and from individual booksellers who now populate such online marketplaces. Similarly, the supply of used, printed books that BWB intrinsically relied on for donations was set to shrink due to the increasing popularity of e-books and e-readers like the Kindle. Was the company set to adapt to

Professors Frank T. Rothaermel, Marne L. Arthaud-Day, and Konstantinos Grigoriou prepared this case from public sources. We gratefully acknowledge Research Associate Michael McKay for updating some of the key data in this case. This case is developed for the purpose of class discussion. It is not intended to be used for any kind of endorsement, source of data, or depiction of efficient or inefficient management. All opinions expressed, and all errors and omissions, are entirely the authors’. © by Rothaermel, Arthaud-Day, and Grigoriou 2015.

Better World Books and the Triple Bottom Line

FRANK T. ROTHAERMEL

MARNE L. ARTHAUD-DAY

KONSTANTINOS GRIGORIOU

MH0034 1259927628

REv: FEBRUARY 26, 2015

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Better World Books and the Triple Bottom Line

the changing market and changing leadership? Would the necessary adjustment be at the expense of its triple-bottom-line approach or the company growth? Collecting his thoughts, he again began to mentally run through his talking points.

BWB’s History, 2003–2014

INCEPTION

As students attending Notre Dame University, Xavier Helgesen and Christopher “Kreece” Fuchs dreamed of jumping on the Internet bandwagon. In 1999, they developed a user-generated content application in which students could post teacher evaluations. The application quickly spread to other universities. Unfortunately, the dot-com bust halted their plans, and the pair was forced to sell the company at only a small profit.