For sustainable social impact at Mangalajodi: change processes enabled by NatWest Bank India Vineeta Dutta Roy s part of its broader commitment to sustainable development and climate change action, the Nat West Group (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland Group) launched its Supporting Enterprise Programme (SEP) in India in the year 2007. It aimed at creating income-generating opportunities for indigenous and economically vulnerable sections of society living in critical natural ecosystems [1]. A The project was under the leadership of N. Sunil Kumar, a zealous nature lover, with over two decades of experience in business strategy and public affairs and a specialty in environmental sustainability. He headed Sustainable Banking at NatWest and was the Head of NatWest Foundation-India. Vineeta Dutta Roy is based at the Department of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida, India. The Mangalajodi project shared the problems many of NatWest’s other projects in India presented. Poor communities that relied solely on natural resources for their sustenance slid deeper into poverty as ecosystems degraded. Lacking alternative sources of livelihood and facing scantier resources, the communities helplessly caused additional damage to vulnerable ecosystems when they drew on the resources even more vigorously [2]. Poaching of migratory birds for supplemental income was a massive problem at Mangalajodi. It was not only rapidly altering the ecosystem suited for the birds for the worse but also deteriorating the ecology of the landscape as a whole. But unfortunately, measures to eliminate poaching were only partially successful. Spearheaded by Sunil, NatWest sowed the seeds of transformational change at Mangalajodi when it established Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust (MET) under the project in 2009. A decade later, the community-owned and run enterprise supported over 500 poorest families and had created income-generating opportunities and entrepreneurial ventures for many others. Moreover, poaching became practically negligible, made possible by changed attitudes and behaviour of the community, who now viewed its environment and biodiversity differently. However, despite the success, Sunil was uneasy. Mangalajodi today was at crossroads – on the one hand, its popularity was rising, but, on the other hand, it was becoming overcrowded and looked ill-managed. Its commercial value had increased and brought in more land developers, builders and investors. Still, permanent concrete structures were also coming up unscrupulously. Mangalajodi needed to balance business and developmental growth and the sustainability of its environment. Additionally, with the rapidly evolving business environment, MET had to increase its competitiveness. In preparing his strategic plan, Sunil saw that the community lay at its centre. As custodians of their environment, it had to rise to its responsibility to voice its views with the local DOI 10.1108/EEMCS-04-2021-0109 VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022, pp. 1-19, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 Disclaimer: This case is written solely for educational purposes and is not intended to represent successful or unsuccessful managerial decision making. The author/s may have disguised names; financial and other recognizable information to protect confidentiality. j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 1 government and influence land use, infrastructure, energy and waste management policies. In addition, as owners of MET, it had to monitor MET’s growth and strategise as competition grew. In accomplishing these tasks, they needed strong cohesion among themselves and the collaboration and support of other stakeholders. For him and his project team, it meant starting the process of instigating change in the community to enable them to take on these desired roles and responsibilities [3]. Mangalajodi: The Landscape and its Significance Mangalajodi was a village situated on the North-West corner of the Chilika Lake in the Khordha district of the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The geography of this remote, otherwise inconspicuous village was rendered special by the Chilika Lake. Chilika was a brackish water lagoon and one of the world’s largest wetland ecosystems. It had a mix of fresh, brackish and marine water ecosystems, which supported rich biodiversity and provided livelihood to millions of fishers and farmers. It was also the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent (UNESCO, 2014). At Mangalajodi, the migratory birds flew in from several parts of Asia, including the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea, Russia, Mongolia, Central and South-East Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas. They came in large numbers here, fed and bred in the nutrient-rich waters at Mangalajodi for almost six months before flying away home (Mishra et al., 2017). The birds had always been the highlight of Mangalajodi for researchers and wildlife photographers visiting Mangalajodi when it was practically unknown to the regular tourist. There were more than 200 species of birds, including some exceedingly rare and even threatened species. (Ganguly, 2018) In context: the chequered history of Mangalajodi Up until the 1990s, the primary occupation of the communities at Mangalajodi was agriculture and fishing. However, when the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) undertook the project of restoring the Chilika Lake in 1992, it reported significant degradation of the Chilika Lake ecology. River basin siltation and falling salinity deteriorated the lagoon’s health and affected its productivity. It adversely impacted the livelihoods of both the fishers and the non-fishers who depended on it. Fish landings were dwindling, and waterlogging of the croplands due to excessive growth of freshwater weeds was making agriculture near impossible in certain parts of the Chilika land. The poorer communities with scantier resources found themselves hit harder in such circumstances. Repeated crop failures and receding fish catches had increased their vulnerability. They found themselves laden with debt and marginalised as competition for resources in agriculture and fishing intensified (Sarangi, 2021) During the same time, the poaching of birds as an alternative source of income started becoming more visible at Mangalajodi. By 1995, it had become a menace so big that Mangalajodi was now infamously called the “poacher’s village.”(Shiva Kumar, 2018) Therefore, it was alarming when the bird numbers were a meagre 6,000 in 1998–1999, down from earlier comparable estimates of about 300,000 birds during the migratory seasons (Ganguly, 2018). On the heels of the crisis, Nanda Kishore Bhujabal, a member of the community and a poacher himself, somehow realised that the ongoing poaching of birds was not correct. So he instituted Wild Orissa (an NGO) and started preaching and reforming the poachers with the help of community volunteers, mostly village elders, opinion leaders, and the youth at Mangalajodi. He regularly used religious beliefs and pledging in the name of the local deity to alter behaviour and help the community desist from poaching (Sarangi and Acharya, 2018). Some efforts of the community members received support from the government and local administration as well. For instance, when the campaign formed a bird protection and PAGE 2 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 conservation committee called the “Sree-Sree Mahavir Suraksha Samiti”, the government offered a stipend to encourage the community to take up guiding as a vocation (Sarangi and Acharya, 2018). By October 2002, the Samiti had started imparting a guide training programme. It trained roughly 30–35 people who got employment accompanying campers and birders visiting Mangalajodi (Sarangi and Acharya, 2018). The initiative remained afloat for a few years; however, it could not become a profitable business opportunity or a sustainable means of alternative livelihood for the community (Sarangi and Acharya, 2018). Positive social change by market-based organisations: an integrative framework of change processes – Stephan et al. (2016) Market-based organisations play an essential role in addressing growing challenges in society in areas like public health, education, social inequality and environmental pollution. Organisations can address these challenges by stimulating change processes that drive positive social change (PSC) and create lasting social impact. Positive social change broadly reflects organisations’ activities categorised under largely separate management research streams. For example, corporate social responsibility (CSR), social entrepreneurship and BoP have referred implicitly or explicitly to PSC. However, while research in these three streams has enhanced our understanding of how organisations pursue social objectives for organisational performance, it has not adequately explained, if at all, the mechanisms underpinning the change processes outside the organisation’s boundaries. The integrative framework for change processes unpacks surface- and deep-level PSC strategies as distinct combinations of change mechanisms enabled and supported by organisational practices, generating greater conceptual clarity on what “mechanisms” for PSC might be. The framework uses three change levers, namely, motivation, capability and opportunity structures (MCO), to highlight important synergies and contingencies between different change mechanisms and organisational practices, enabling theoretical and empirical analyses of the effectiveness of PSC projects. The change processes include: 䊏 Change mechanisms that stimulate behaviour change towards positive social change in targets external to the organisation – triggered by specific project actions; 䊏 Organisational practices are internal tools and procedures that organisations deploy to execute PSC projects and which may enable mechanisms; 䊏 PSC strategies are combinations of change mechanisms and enabling organisational practices that affect PSC targets and trigger transformation outcomes; and 䊏 The change mechanisms and organisational practices have three levers, namely, motivation, capabilities and opportunity structures. The PSC strategies are: 䊏 Deep-level positive social change strategies affected through deep-level route change mechanisms and supported by enabling organisation practices. Deep-level PSC involves close engagement with targets, and change in targets’ behaviour is based on altered beliefs, attitudes and meanings. Deep-level strategies rely on mechanisms that stimulate targets to change their behaviour, motivated by their own volition and based on deliberation (i.e. intrinsic motivation): 䊏 Surface-level strategies affected through surface-level route change mechanisms loosely coupled with organisation practices. VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 3 Surface-Level PSC engages with targets by giving incentives and pressures (extrinsic motivators). However, these surface-level mechanisms are not found to be linked to organisational strategies. Social impact enabled by NatWest at Mangalajodi: viewed through the lens of the integrative framework of change processes With Sunil at the helm of affairs at NatWest Foundation India, NatWest launched its Supporting Enterprises Programme (SEP) in India in 2007. Its purpose was to support indigenous, economically vulnerable and excluded communities living in fragile natural ecosystems by creating livelihood opportunities for them while strengthening conservation efforts in these ecosystems through community support. The migratory bird population decline in Odisha in the backdrop of a weakening ecosystem, the issue of persisting rampant poaching in the Mangalajodi village and the dire need to establish livelihood options that weaned the village away from poaching, for Sunil, mirrored the objectives of SEP. NatWest Foundation began its work in Mangalajodi in early 2008, with preliminary knowledge-building activities including gathering baseline information and data on the situation, conducting need analyses through Participatory Rural Appraisal exercises (PRA), Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) and dialogues with Gram Sabha [4] members and the local community [5]. A project, Sunil believed, had to be co-owned by significant stakeholders in the region and had to be designed co-creatively. On his part, he networked with important actors at Mangalajodi to understand local realities and gather perspectives. Simultaneously, he brought in Indian Grameen Services, an NGO with expertise in generating innovative solutions for livelihood for the rural poor. Sanjib Sarangi headed the NGO. He was a prolific engineer and strategist who specialised in executing natural resources-based livelihood projects [6]. While NatWest Bank India would provide the overall strategic direction and funding for the Ecotourism Project, including the CSR funds of NatWest Foundation, the Indian Grameen Services would execute the project on the ground [7]: 1. Mechanisms and supporting organisational strategies for motivating the community to change. Motivation mechanisms – project actions: 䊏 Communicating and educating targets so that targets experience them as meaningful (personally relevant and essential). 䊏 Incentivising through financial rewards or coercive pressure to conform to the behaviour of others who are seen as representing the norm. Motivation practices – enabling NatWest practices: 䊏 by building inspiring shared visions to instil a sense of positive collective identity and purpose; 䊏 motivating feedback by generating quick wins (small demonstrable achievements), allowing members to celebrate successes and creating momentum; and 䊏 providing evaluation to motivate information sharing about progress towards project goals. The Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust was established in 2009 with a governance and management structure that promptly translated into a collective identity for the community. It comprised an eight-member Board of Trustees and a general body of 51 individual members – all of them were Mangalajodi residents belonging to roughly 100 families who had been persevering in the bird protection and conservation mission in the late 1990s [8]. PAGE 4 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 MET involved and consulted various institutional stakeholders for activities relating to village developmental plans, suggestions for project area development, destination improvement and administrative support. At the state level, these included Forest and Environment and Tourism departments and at the district level – the departments of Revenue, Panchayati Raj, Water Resources and Fisheries. The NatWest Foundation was its private sector partner helping with policy formulation and providing financial support, while the Indian Grameen Services was its NGO partner. In addition, it regularly engaged with the Chilika Development Authority, the village committees, Panchayati Raj representatives and other ecotourism institutions related to various project components [9]. The Board convened monthly meetings and took decisions unanimously, formally approved by its President and the Chair. The Treasurer recorded all matters related to financial planning, audit and presentation of accounts and shared them among all the members. The Trust members convened an Annual General Meeting to elect new Trustees and general members [10]: 2. Mechanisms and supporting organisational strategies to build capability in community for executing change. Capability mechanisms: 䊏 Training and encouragement Capability practices: building on local knowledge, harnessing local capacity and involving relevant stakeholders: 䊏 Project’s effort to mobilising alliances and networks by connecting and coordinating diverse stakeholders for a broader scale and reach. 䊏 Developing the project skill base by developing project members’ skills to engage with new types of partners and stakeholders while also leveraging existing skills and competencies within an organisation. The MET rented land belonging to a village member to establish its lodging facilities and recruited boatmen, guides and auto drivers from amongst the community. Additionally, NatWest supported MET to build infrastructures like cottages, dormitories, tents and amenities like boats, bird-watching equipment and watchtowers (Sarangi, 2021). The Indian Grameen Services (IGS) built and enhanced the skills set of newer community members and existing members of MET by imparting regular training sessions in hospitality, housekeeping, good hygiene and soft skills. It offered lessons in book-keeping and marketing and refresher courses on Guiding. It reinforced the community’s pride in its birds and educated them on how ecosystem sustainability related to a community’s health, wellbeing and prosperity. IGS also helped set up a conservation team comprising the Forest Department, the Chilka Development Authority (CDA), members from MET and villagers, who conducted patrolling of the wetlands using natural waterways and traditional boats. Together, they gathered information about poachers’ sightings, traps, trapped birds and fishing nets and coordinated with the forest department while taking tourists on birding trips [11]. The efforts paid, Mangalajodi did well in achieving near-zero incidences of poaching, and bird numbers hosted by the Lake improved dramatically (Table 1). Source: Company documents used with permission Lately observed by Sunil and Sanjib, “the commercial activities at Mangalajodi had increased manifold following increased visitor traffic; additionally, the untapped potential of tourism business at Mangalajodi had begun attracting new entrants. So while things could look good from an economic standpoint for a while, they came at a cost the community could ill afford in the long-term” [14]. VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 5 Table 1 Poaching incidents at Mangalajodi as compared to those in the tangri range Year Incidences at Tangri Range Incidences at Mangalajodi section Bird census 10 05 11 15 12 11 07 09 07 01 02 01 02 02 00 00 01 00 2,03,805 2,10,482 1,10,544 1,62,756 2,48,307 2,94,415 2,73,917 2,93,119 3,01,012 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018 2018–2019 2019–2020 Source: Company documents used with permission Given his apprehensions, Sunil commissioned a scientific study by the Wildlife Conservation Society of India (WCSI). The study would assess the environmental health of Mangalajodi and prescribe clear benchmarks for the ecological and social carrying capacity of ecotourism at Mangalajodi. The report highlighted the following [15]: 䊏 Agricultural runoff, sewage from public sanitation facilities and households, grease, detergent and untreated wastewater drained Chilika lake. The place lacked sewage treatment and solid waste handling systems. 䊏 Uncontrolled Phragmites spread in the marshes forming thick matty coverage on the Lake’s surface; they blocked sunlight, reduced the ducks’ swimming area and choked channels in the lagoon. 䊏 Increased number of tourists at Mangalajodi overloaded available lodging, water, food, sanitation and waste management facilities. 䊏 Several permanent built infrastructures fitted with air conditioning were contrary to the established practice of making lodges with materials such as bamboo, mud, stone and grass. 䊏 Heavy and indiscriminate use of packaged drinking water and Styrofoam cutlery led to unsightly garbage dumps. 䊏 Local shopkeepers chose to burn or bury the accumulated waste. 䊏 Congestion in several water channels made managing boat rides quite chaotic. 䊏 The recent addition of a concrete jetty that provided boarding points for the boats and parking spaces for tourist vehicles became a menace for the birds. As a result, all birds withdrew from perch points along the jetty road. 䊏 Bird behaviour had altered due to disturbance from the approaching boats. Some stopped feeding; others flapped their wings or walked away and flushed. 䊏 Tourists were littering, making noises, smoking, playing loud music, walking in the wetlands, going too close to the birds, and feeding them, which was unhealthy for birds. It could seriously impact their breeding and offspring’ survival. The way forward The biological and social carrying capacity report by WCS was the first step Sunil had taken in the direction of sustaining the positive social change NatWest had succeeded in creating at Mangalajodi. It gave Sunil a scientific basis to emphasise the need to have a wellthought-out plan of ecotourism with regulatory mechanisms to curtail its adverse impacts. PAGE 6 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 However, the real challenge was to operationalise the sentiments through effective leadership by the community. At the most fundamental level, it involved a mindset change in the community. An aware, collective and unified front was how the community could exercise its legally vested rights to shape decisions that affected them. It required informing, educating, supporting and empowering the community to rise to these expectations. Says Sunil, “We envisage having an intensive engagement with stakeholders of MET and the community at large, including outreach to Wetland and Birdlife enthusiasts, to elicit their comments. At the local self-government institution level, we plan stakeholder consultations with the Grama Sabha where the community could voice its opinions. We want the discussions to be in the presence of UNWTO, WCS, Department of Forests and Wildlife Conservation, Chilika Development Authority and IGS and NatWest India Foundation members. It would increase the chances of effective stakeholder advocacy and be an excellent opportunity to have expert advice on Ecotourism guideline formulations. Subsequently, we want to introduce discussions with the Gram Sabha to enforce a selfgoverning policy of ecotourism management at Mangalajodi” [16]. Among other action points, Sunil asserted a special status for Mangalajodi, which ensured that the government focused on sustainable water usage, low energy dependence and generating less waste in development at Mangalajodi. Furthermore, formulating a Biodiversity Management Committee was essential to oversee ecotourism activities offered by community enterprises and act on the listing, conservation, management, and preservation of the village and wetland. “Last but not least, we want to see MET become more competitive and innovative as it grows.” (Kumar, 2020): 1. Mechanisms and supporting organisational strategies to build opportunity structures for executing change. Empowerment through opportunity mechanisms. Allow targets to participate in and shape relevant strategic decisions affecting them: 䊏 The project shares information proactively and transparently and allows targets access to relevant information. 䊏 The project makes resources available to targets to empower them to engage in more positive behaviour. 䊏 The project facilitates collaboration among unconnected actors to build social capital, enabling targets to access new resources and perspectives. In addition, the project facilitates building on existing relationships and networks for cohesion and social support, empowering targets. Empowerment through opportunity practices: 䊏 creating inclusive project governance structures; 䊏 leveraging project relationships with multiple partners and connections to powerful actors, including the government, for concerted efforts at PSC, even building advocacy for the project to enable legislative changes; 䊏 build a sustainable project resource base and engage in innovation to do so; and 䊏 innovate to create new opportunities by developing new products and services for poor communities. MET collaborated with travel agencies and Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) for promotion and marketing. It became active on digital and print booking platforms and was marketed directly through phone calls and emails. It explored travel expositions in addition to setting up its website to address the specific needs of birders and conservationists [12]. VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 7 Table 2 Revenue generated by MET since 2010 Year Total revenue generated (INR million) No. of tourists 70,019 4,60,590 7,97,511 9,58,449 13,47,469 12,75,072 16,23,213 17,64,360 22,33,898 350 815 1,062 1,126 1,466 1,305 1,535 1,815 2,000 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018 2018–2019 Source: Company documents used with permission Table 3 Period Since the inception of the project 2009–2020 Company contribution Financial: 100% by the company Non-financial: Employee time and skill through volunteering INR 2,41,63,115/- Source: Company documents used with permission MET was now financially sustainable, having grown its revenues and increased its tourist influx. As a result, it achieved operational profitability in 2017–2018 and successfully generated a corpus of INR 1,250,000. In addition, it was supporting over 500 households besides positively impacting the local economy [13]. Keywords: Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, Corporate social responsibility, Business development In January 2018, MET was conferred the responsible tourism award by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). It secured pride of place as a viable, communitybased ecotourism operator. In addition, the community received recognition as a custodian of nature and was appreciated for its knowledge and resourcefulness (Patnaik, 2018) (Table 2). By 2020, NatWest had supported the enterprise with both financial and non-financial aid as follows (Table 3): Notes 1. RBS Foundation India (2018–2019). Annual Report. RBS Foundation India. 2. RBS Foundation India (2018–2019). Annual Report. RBS Foundation India. 3. Based on Personal telephonic and virtual Interviews conducted by the Author: Kumar (2020). 4. Available at: https://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/community-power/role-of-gram-sabha/functionsand-responsibilities-of-gram-sabha 5. Based on Personal telephonic and virtual Interviews conducted by the Author: Kumar (2020) and Sarangi (2021). 6. Based on Personal telephonic and virtual Interviews conducted by the Author: Kumar (2020) and Sarangi (2021). 7. Based on Personal telephonic and virtual Interviews conducted by the Author: Kumar (2020) Sarangi (2021). 8. Internal Company Document-Governance Assessment of Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust (2020). PAGE 8 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 9. Internal Company Document-Governance Assessment of Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust (2020). 10. Internal Company Document-Governance Assessment of Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust (2020). 11. Internal Company Document (2020). 12. As per information provided by Mr. Sanjib Sarangi in his interview, conducted by the Author. 13. As per information provided by Mr. Sanjib Sarangi in his interview, conducted by the Author. 14. Based on Personal telephonic and virtual Interviews conducted by the Author: Kumar (2020) Sarangi (2021) Based on Personal telephonic and virtual Interviews conducted by the Author: Kumar (2020) Sarangi (2021) 15. Internal Company Document, used with permission – Ecotourism Carrying Capacity Assessment Communication (2020). 16. Kumar (2020) References Ganguly, N. (2018). Lost in magical Mangalajodi. The Hindu, Retrieved from www.thehindu.com/life-andstyle/travel/road-less-travelled-lost-in-magical-mangalajodi/article22508283.ece Accessed 15 March 2020 Kumar, S. N. (2020). Head sustainable banking India, NatWest group and head NatWest India foundation. Personal interview conducted by the Author on May 20, 2020. Mishra, G. A., Senapati, J., & Sarangi, S. (2017). Poachers turned into protectors: A case study on community based ecotourism at Mangalajodi, Odisha. International Journal of Economics and Management Science, 3(1), 88–98. Patnaik, S. (2018). In Odisha, poachers turn protectors – and UN takes note. The Indian Express, Retrieved from https://indianexpress.com/article/india/in-odisha-poachers-turn-protectors-and-un-tak es-note-5060197/ Accessed 2 May 2020 Sarangi, S. (2021). Associate vice president, Indian Grameen services. Personal interview conducted by the Author on August 24, 2020. Sarangi, S., & Acharya, S. (2018). Poacher’s village to birds’ paradise of Mangalajodi: Biodiversity conservation by ecotourism initiatives at Odisha. Vista International Journal of Energy, Environment& Engineering, 3(4), 69–77. Shiva Kumar, N. (2018). Chilika lake-wings at work and villagers on vigil. Business Line, Chilika lake, once a hunter’s paradise, is brimming with water birds again – The Hindu Accessed 24 April 2020 Stephan, U., Patterson, M., Kelly, C., & Mair, J. (2016). Organizations driving positive social change: A review and an integrative framework of change processes. Journal of Management, 42(5), 1250–1281. doi: 10.1177/0149206316633268. UNESCO. (2014). Chilika lake. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5896/ Accessed 15 March 2020 Corresponding author Vineeta Dutta Roy can be contacted at: vineeta.roy2015@gmail.com VOL. 12 NO. 2 2022 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 9