For decades, large corporations have privatized their massive profits while quietly shifting environmental, social, and health costs onto the public. Unpacking these systemic costs is central to the discussion in The Profiteers, which diagnoses how business practices impact society at large. In this episode, host Corinna Bellizzi speaks with Christopher Marquis, Professor of Chinese Management at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and author of Better Business, to analyze the hidden mechanics of corporate externalities. From plastics lobbying and regulatory co-optation to visionary models of regenerative agriculture and foundation ownership, they explore why exposing systemic corporate abuse is the first crucial step toward real reform. Discover how innovative enterprise models, policy levers, and conscious consumer choices can help build a truly sustainable and regenerative economy.

About Guest: Professor Marquis’ research and teaching focus on how some of the biggest crises of our day – including climate change, inequality, and discrimination – are intimately connected to how our current economic and societal systems prioritize accumulating and concentrating wealth for the few over the concerns and needs of everyone and everything else. His research and writing focus on the need to rebalance the interactions between corporations, governments, and civil society to deliver socially and environmentally beneficial outcomes to all. Marquis is the author of The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profits and Socialize Costs. His earlier books include the award-winning Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism and Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise, which was a Financial Times Best Book of 2022. He has also authored more than 20 peer-reviewed academic articles and more than 50 Harvard business cases on topics related to social innovation, sustainable business and doing business in China. Professor Marquis served 2 terms as an Associate Editor at Administrative Science Quarterly and has also been a Senior Editor at Organization Science and Management and Organization Review. He has also served a term as Representative at Large for the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR) and Organization and Management Theory Division, Academy of Management. Before returning to academia, Marquis was a Vice President and Technology Manager at JP Morgan Chase. He currently is on the sustainability advisory board of the French multinational Sanofi Consumer Healthcare.

Guest Website & Socials:
https://chrismarquis.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-marquis-3884834/
https://x.com/Chris_Marquis_
https://substack.com/@chrismarquis

Resources Mentioned:
BOOK: The Profiteers https://amzn.to/4zbwM66
BOOK: Better Business https://amzn.to/4crRPHF

Key Topics Discussed (with time stamps):
01:32 Who Really Pays For Corporate Externalities?
07:22 The Plastic Dilemma: Rethinking Packaging In Sustainable Business
11:57 Privatizing Profits & Socializing Costs: Unpacking Corporate Externalities
20:37 Lessons From GE: How Shareholder Primacy Distorts Business Ethics
30:17 Big Tech And Algorithms: Profit Growth Vs. Corporate Accountability
36:30 Unpacking The Policy Debate: Plastic Lobbying & Chemical Recycling
44:19 Rethinking Lifecycles: Circularity And Extended Consumer Responsibility
51:58 Regenerative Agriculture: How Purpose-Driven Brands Restore Soil & Systems
01:00:02 Building A Regenerative Economy: Purpose-Driven Governance & Ownership
01:07:15 Conclusion & Takeaways: Empowering Individual Action and Policy Reform

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