Dr P. (Pushpika) Vishwanathan

This PhD thesis explores how organizations balance the interests of multiple stakeholders in corporate governance. The thesis consists of three studies, each focusing on a unique empirical context that involves the balancing of conflicting stakeholder interests. In the first study, a meta-analysis is conducted on the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and firm financial performance. The goal of this study is to identify if, and how organizations are able to create value for both shareholders and stakeholders. In the second study, the author looks at corporate misconduct and investigates how badly firms are punished financially for misbehavior, and how corporate governance plays a role in reducing it. Finally, the third study is a qualitative research on the corporate governance challenges of philanthropic organizations. In the absence of formal ownership these organizations represent a unique context to study stakeholder management. Theoretically, this PhD thesis contributes to a further integration of stakeholder theory and corporate governance research, and practically, it informs the development of corporate governance reforms that help organizations to become more stakeholder-friendly.