The Chris Voss Show Podcast – Business on the Edge: How to Turn a Profit and Improve Lives in the World’s Toughest Places by Viva Ona Bartkus, Emily S. Block

Business on the Edge: How to Turn a Profit and Improve Lives in the World’s Toughest Places by Viva Ona Bartkus, Emily S. Block

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A road map for how businesses can grow and make money while reducing poverty and conflict in some of the world’s most challenging environments

Many companies worry that expanding into emerging markets is a risky—and even dangerous—move. Professors Viva Ona Bartkus and Emily S. 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.

About the author
Emily Block is an Associate Professor of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Management and the George Cormie Chair in Management at the Alberta School of Business. Her research program explores how values pluralism impacts the processes of legitimacy and change, the nature of social evaluations and how organizational theory can be used to understand and address grand challenges. Emily’s research has been published in journals such as AMJ, SMJ, JBV, JOM, MISQ and JMS. Her book, “Business on the Edge,” explores how business can both thrive and improve lives in post-conflict environments. She serves on the ASQ editorial board and is a Visiting Professor at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. She received her BBA in Management from the University of Notre Dame and her PhD in Organizational Behavior from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.