%0 Journal Article
%T To B or not to B? The Journey of ¡°Coding Autism¡± Toward the B Corp Certification
%A Maria Ballesteros-Sola
%A Morgan Stickney
%A Yvette Trejo
%J Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy
%@ 2515-1274
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/2515127418774035
%X This case is based on Coding Autism, a limited liability company founded in April 2017 and located in Westlake Village (California). The case features the decision process followed by the cofounder, Oliver Thornton regarding the opportunity to seek B Corp certification. B Corp is a certification granted by the nonprofit B Lab founded in Philadelphia in 2006 that recognizes for-profit organizations for meeting the ¡°highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability and aspire to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems.¡± The case describes the social issue, the start-up, and the social entrepreneur¡¯s background as well as his rationale and analysis finally to become a certified B Corp. The case introduces the students to the social issue of unemployment among young adults within the Autistic spectrum. It also explains what a B Corp is, the process to become certified, the B Impact Assessment, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of seeking the certification. It also describes the differences between the B Corp certification and the relatively new legal status, the benefit corporation. This case sheds light on a critical question relevant for social entrepreneurship students, scholars, and sustainable business practitioners
%K certified B Corp
%K start-up
%K autism
%K social entrepreneurship
%K benefit corporations
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2515127418774035