At the Fox School of Business’ eighth annual Impact Summit, programming analyzed B Corporations, particularly the role academics play in supporting them. 

While it might be summer, scholarly discourse never slows at Temple University.  

Temple’s Fox School hosted its eighth annual Impact Summit, Responsible Business: B Corps in the Modern Era, in Alter Hall on May 29. The event is held each year to promote discussion on ways to bridge the gap between research and practice around a current topic of relevance. 

Hosted by Fox’s Translational Research Center and the Sustainability Working Group, this year’s summit examined certified B Corporations (B Corps). A movement that was initially launched in Philadelphia around two decades ago, B Corps are for-profit companies that have been specifically classified as having good social and environmental performance and business accountability and transparency after a thorough examination. 

Conversation on many elements related to B Corps filled the daylong summit’s programming. Well attended by academics, subject-matter experts and industry professionals, the event featured opening remarks by Fox School Dean Chip Hunter, panel discussions, a Shark Tank-style academic research pitch session and a keynote address on artificial intelligence regulations. 

While important information on B Corps was analyzed, like their history and ecosystem within Philadelphia and their focus on sustainability, the summit also raised a critical question: What is academics role in supporting B Corps to make business a force for good? 

The summit’s afternoon panel session, Academic and Industry Partnerships, addressed this topic head on. Moderated by Todd Schifeling, an associate professor of management, panelists included Chris Cera, chief executive officer of Arcweb Technologies; Anastasia Gramotneva, associate director of growth at B Lab; Barrie Litzky, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Drexel University; and Garima Sharma, assistant professor of management at American University.  

For more than an hour, the panel shared their thoughts on the relationship between academics and B Corps as Schifeling guided the conversation by posing questions to panelists.  

“Academics and B Corps have proven to be great partners when working together, and that is what our panel centered its dialogue on,” Schifeling said. 

“Where we are at Fox, rooted here within this city and community, we feel a real sense of responsibility to guide students on the path to becoming the socially responsible, impactful business leaders of the future. 

“That mission not only aligns with what Fox hopes to achieve, but Temple’s commitment to creating positive impact within the community and region as a whole, and we only look forward to continuing our efforts to support responsible business as higher education leaders into the future,” he added. 

Overall, Fox School faculty leadership found this year’s summit to be a success.  

“The Impact Summit is about finding the right connection between academic research and industry, and we saw important dialogue related to that present at this year’s summit,” said Sunil Wattal, the Fox School’s associate dean of research and doctoral programs and Schaefer Senior Research Fellow. 

“This summit is an event we look forward to each year and, as we have in the past, our programming centers on a trending topic, and responsible business is on a lot of minds these days, across a myriad of industries. 

“I’m thankful that this year’s event was able to positively examine the role academics play in terms of supporting responsible business initiatives and efforts. In our positioning at the Fox School, as Philadelphia’s business school, it’s important for us to be at the forefront of those conversations, and I believe the programming we held contributed to those efforts.”