Rosabeth Moss Kanter states in her blog How Great Companies Think Differently the difference between financial logic, and institutional logic. Whereas financial logic is based on maximizing the returns on capital, institutional logic balances public interest with financial returns.
What is meant by public interest? Moss includes under this definition improving the lives of users, enhancing workers’ quality of life, and ensuring financial viability. Hence, a ‘Great Company’ should incorporate elements of both financial logic and institutional logic: capital should be used to carry out business activities and sustain themselves.
Thus, companies will perform better once integrating a social purpose into their financial purpose. This means corporate social responsibility must be present; achieving economic growth with social and environmental limits.
Companies should, in my opinion, commit to the social and environmental limits and balance public interest with financial returns. Examples like Cemex, or PepsiCo, which address social purposes focus on both financial and institutional logic, becoming Great companies.