PhD Defence: Pushpika Vishwanathan
In her dissertation ‘Governing for Stakeholders: How Organizations May Create or Destroy Value for their Stakeholders’, ERIM’s Pushpika Vishwanathan 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.
Pushpika Vishwanathan defended her dissertation in the Senate Hall at Erasmus University Rotterdam on Thursday, 23 June 2016 at 13:30. Her supervisor was Prof.dr. J. van Oosterhout and her co-supervisor was Prof.dr. L.C.P.M Meijs. Other members of the Doctoral Committee were Prof.dr. J.P. Cornelissen (RSM), Prof.dr. H.W. Volberda (RSM), and Dr. F.M. Bridoux (UVA).
About Pushpika Vishwanathan
Pushpika Vishwanathan (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1986), currently Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam, first joined ERIM in 2007 as an MPhil student. She obtained her MSc in Philosophy & Business Research with distinction, and started as a PhD Candidate in December 2009. Pushpika’s PhD research was conducted within ERIM, at the Business-Society Management Department of RSM, as well as the Erasmus Center for Strategic Philanthropy. Her research centers on the interplay between strategy and ethics, with a particular focus on corporate governance, stakeholder management, and organizational design. Her research has been featured in numerous international conferences including the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, European Group for Organization Studies Colloquium, Academy of International Business, and the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability. Two of her papers have been published in the Academy of Management’s Best Paper Proceedings, and one paper was runner-up for the Best Paper Award at the European Academy of Management. In 2011, Pushpika received the Best Reviewer Award in the Social Issues in Management division of the Academy of Management. One of Pushpika’s dissertation chapters has received an R&R from the Journal of Management Studies, and another chapter is currently in the third of round of review at the Strategic Management Journal. Next to her academic activities, Pushpika was the Chair of the ERIM MPhil Council, and a member of the organizing committee of the PREBEM Conference in Rotterdam. She also participated in the open consultation of the 2014 Review of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.
Thesis Abstract
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.
· View and download Pushpikai's dissertation
Photos: Chris Gorzeman / Capital Images
