Purpose
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Purpose
Purpose
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Purpose
Purpose
Purpose

30 October 2025

Danone and PizzAut: a partnership linking purpose driven organizations

Authors: Alessandro Zattoni, Jordana Rech, Graciano dos Santos                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Abstract: Danone group operates in Italy through one legal entity, Danone Nutricia SpA Società Benefit, active on three categories of products: dairy and plant-based products, baby food and medical nutrition. In line with Danone’s vision “One Planet. One Health”, the corporate goal is to combine profit and purpose. Danone Italy’s main responsibility is to market and sell global and local products in Italy and Greece. Typically, the company develops local marketing campaigns or adapts global campaigns to the Italian setting (e.g., by identifying local partners and ambassadors), manages the distribution and sales of products, and nurtures good relationships with the local stakeholders. Danone Italy developed either new products (like Activia Kéfir) or innovative HR practices (like the parental policy) that have been later adopted by the Danone group. The leadership team of Danone Italy is striving to develop new business opportunities for helping the company to successfully combine Danone’s dual social and economic mission. However, satisfying these two company goals is a continuous struggle as it is not easy to predict (ex-ante) if the strategic plan or decisions will satisfactorily address the trade-off between profit and purpose. This trade-off concerns every aspect of the company, from the products to the marketing campaigns, from the HR practices to the selection and involvement of external partners. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Case Studies

30 October 2025

Danone: A purpose driven company

Authors: Alessandro Zattoni, Jordana Rech Graciano dos Santos                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Abstract: At the beginning of 2023, Danone SA group operates in over 120 countries with a diverse product portfolio focused on fresh dairy products, early life nutrition, water, and medical nutrition. Since several decades, Danone group is striving to combine successfully purpose and profit. In 2023, about 74% of Danone global sales are covered by B Corp certification and the group aims at obtaining a global B Corp Certification by 2025. In line with its vision “One Planet. One Health”, the corporate goal is to combine profit and purpose. However, satisfying these two company goals is a continuous struggle as it is not easy to predict (ex-ante) if the strategic plan or decisions will address satisfactorily the trade-off between profit and purpose. As a result, it is still an open question if a listed company with dispersed ownership (like Danone SA) can combine purpose and profit. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Case Studies

30 October 2025

Making Profits With A Sense of Purpose: Institutional Investors’ Influence On ESG Integration And Sustainable Investing

Authors: Francesca Romana Arduino, Alessandro Zattoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Abstract: In recent years, the business and financial community has devoted an increasing attention to environmental and social issues, so reinvigorating the long-standing debate – started in the ‘70s with CSR – about the role of corporations in society and their primary goal (purpose or profit). The traditional and dominant view – clearly expressed by Milton Friedman in 1970 in his famous New York Times article – emphasizes that the responsibility of managers is to conduct the business in accordance with shareholders’ expectations, “which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society”. On the other side, the purpose perspective underlines that companies should generate long-term value for all stakeholders, including also the debtholders, employees, customers, suppliers, and the society. Putting differently, this view states that companies’ responsibilities go beyond maximizing financial returns for shareholders and include economic, social and environmental goals (the so-called triple bottom line). Pressures to encourage companies to embrace this new approach come from various sources. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

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