BUSINESS ON THE EDGE

A look at how business growth can reduce conflict and encourage stability and investment in communities in some of the world's most challenging environments.

Viva Ona Bartkus and Emily S. Block - both former business consultants (McKinsey & Company and Accenture, respectively) - co-founded and taught the revolutionary Business on the Frontlines MBA course at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. In this course, students work with corporations, government, and non-profits to help communities recover from conflict, poverty, and illicit economic activity, which has developed more than 70 growth-driving projects in 30 countries. Named one of the "10 most innovative courses in the US" by Forbes, the course has since been expanded to become the business school's flagship offering, and provides the basis of this book. With its focus on using economics to solve global challenges, Business on the Edge should appeal to readers books like Good Economics for Hard Times or Rebecca Henderson's Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire.

Many companies worry that expanding into emerging markets is a risky - and even dangerous - move. Bartkus and Block see things differently. They argue that by entering markets in the world's frontline regions - areas stuck in cycles of violence and extreme poverty - businesses can actually create stability and expand opportunity for communities and corporations alike.

From helping Colombian farmers transition from growing coca to produce to disrupting human trafficking rings by creating more construction jobs in the Philippines, Business on the Edge proves that businesses can make money while advancing corporate social responsibility, environmental conservation, and social justice. Partnering with groups including multinational companies, NGOs, and the US military, Bartkus and Block outline their process for generating opportunities, detailing their successes and failures in launching over eighty growth-oriented business solutions in thirty countries.

Bridging the gap between academic research and real-world experience, Business on the Edge shows how businesses can reduce risks, cut costs, and increase profits, all while creating economic opportunities that transform communities.

Viva Ona Bartkus is Paul E. Purcell Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. She is a former partner at McKinsey & Company and the founder of the revolutionary course Business on the Frontlines.

Emily S. Block is the George M. Cormie Chair of Management in the University of Alberta School of Business. A former consultant for Accenture, Block now teaches negotiations and decision-making and runs the university's Business on the Frontlines program.