At the macro level, different institutions (the OECD, the WEF, the UN) have developed sound methodologies to measure the economic, social and environmental impacts of economic activity. At the micro level (i.e., the firm level), it is crucial to develop a methodology to measure how firms contribute to human dignity and social welfare by generating value for stakeholders. Common accounting principles are primarily focused on determining annual profit/loss figures, contributing to shareholders’ interests and paying taxes. This accounting model must be complemented with a new approach that can interact with stakeholders while informing them about the value that firms are generating. The accounting process should be able to quantify not only profits but also the impact of firms on suppliers, customers, the environment, local communities, workers’ quality of life, employment and society overall. This paper’s primary contribution is to present a model that has the ability to monetize all of those interactions and impacts in a manner that is comparable, auditable, understandable and possible to be used by firms of all sizes.

New business models: Beyond the shareholder approach

Jesuit Universities have been training responsible professionals since the 16th century. Given this educational tradition, and in the face of the new challenges posed by the present-day social and economic situation, the Society of Jesus has started to implement the "Ledesma-Kolvenbach" educational paradigm in its higher education institutions. Instead of short-term profit maximization, the Ledesma-Kolvenbach model considers sustainability, human dignity and social well-being as key elements in business strategies. The objective of this paper is to propose a method capable of measuring the economic and social value generated by a firm managed in accordance with the four dimensions of the Ledesma-Kolvenbach model. The methodology is developed in three steps. In the first place, the authors explore the existing literature on the Ledesma-Kolvenbach model and its roots in Jesuit education. Secondly, they analyze the literature that studies the role of the firm from a neoclassical perspective, as well as other complementary or alternative approaches. In the third place, they present an empirical model that has already been tested in different organizations, designed to measure the social and economic value generated by firms. The main result of the paper is a method that can be used to measure the social and the economic value generated by firms, such that society, managers and public administrations have an operational tool to present and evaluate the economic and social performance of firms.

Purpose: Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have been studied from different perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the type of intellectual capital (IC) information provided in the Spanish IPO prospectuses and the characteristics of the firms that go public and supply more information. The paper also compares the results with similar previous studies carried out in different countries.Design/methodology/approach: The database gathers Spanish IPOs from 1996 to 2007 (after which the number of IPOs in Spain plummeted due to the crisis). Content analysis is used to obtain information about IC from the IPO prospectuses and, afterwards, the authors apply different statistical methods to analyse any relation between IC disclosure and firms’ characteristics.Findings: The paper concludes that the companies that provide more information about IC in IPO prospectuses are high-tech companies, larger firms and those whose previous shareholders do not retain the majority after the IPO.Originality/value: The authors have created an original database with the Spanish data. Moreover, this is the first study with these characteristics carried out in Spain, and some original conclusions are obtained, such as the importance of retained share percentage by previous shareholders. The authors have developed a statistical methodology suitable for the data. Both, the conclusions and the methodology will be especially useful for markets such as the Latin American ones, which are not as developed as Anglo-Saxon markets.