PhD Defence: Lonneke Roza
In her dissertation ‘Employee Engagement In Corporate Social Responsibility; A collection of essays’, ERIM’s Lonneke Roza addresses three main research areas. First, it investigates who engages in CSR and to what extend they differ from those who are privately involved and those who are unengaged in social initiatives. Secondly, this dissertation reveals the barriers for those who refrain from such behavior and how organizations can take measures to lower these barriers, and consequently increase engagement rates. The third part of the dissertation takes multi-level perspectives on the outcomes of employee engagement in CSR, both from a business and NPO perspective. .
Lonneke Roza defended her dissertation in the Senate Hall at Erasmus University Rotterdam on Thursday, 8 September 2016 at 15:30. Her supervisor was Prof. Lucas Meijs. Other members of the Doctoral Committee were Prof. Georg von Schnurbein (University of Basel), Prof. Peeter Verlegh (VU Amsterdam), Prof. Muel Kaptein (RSM), Prof. Dinand Webbink (ESE), Prof. Femida Handy (Penn), Prof. Jeff Brudney (UNCW), Prof. Andre Nijhof (Nyenrode) and Prof. Lesley Hustinx (UGent).
About Lonneke Roza
Lonneke Roza (1984) has a long track record with Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University where she obtained both her Bachelor and Master degree. During her Master program she specialized in Global Business and Stakeholder Management, where she realized that she was most interested the potential societal positioning and social value of businesses. In 2009, when she wrote her master thesis at Fortis Foundation Netherlands (a corporate foundation which is now known as ABN AMRO Foundation), Lonneke got particular interested in community involvement strategies of companies and how they potentially could serve as part of the solution for societal issues, rather than being considered as part of the problem. During her PhD she soon specialized in employee engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility focused on community involvement strategies (i.e. corporate citizenship; corporate community involvement; corporate philanthropy). She has published various articles on this topic in international peer review journals, books and popular outlets (see for a full overview her publication list below). Also, during her entire PhD Lonneke developed herself as a contract researcher on a variety of research topics, teacher, and coach (see portfolio).
Currently, Lonneke is the leading editor of a two-year research project on Corporate Foundations. Particular to her profile is her ability to translate academic insights into practical relevant information in the form of booklets, workshops and other. Among others, this results in her leading a knowledge lab on Corporate Citizenship, a collaborative (research based) arrangement between 10 corporate partners and Rotterdam School of Management. Next to these academic endeavors, Lonneke is currently involved as a CSR manager at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, where she puts into practice what she studies in academia and she volunteers at several organizations, including a local theater and Junior Chamber International. Community involvement, building bridges and sharing and applying her knowledge where needed are at the heart of her core values, personality and interests.
Thesis Abstract
Employee engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is essential to the success of these social initiatives within organizations. Organizations -and companies in particular- are increasingly looking for ways to involve their employees in CSR activities. Community involvement initiatives in particular, are the most implemented CSR strategies in which employees are involved -at least in Western Europe and North America. This is not surprising as academic research has shown it yields numerous benefits for the company, such as organizational commitment, developing social and human capital and pushes (social) innovation. At the same time, these initiatives are assumed to create social value as well. Despite these compelling insights, -to date- research has yet to develop on employee engagement at micro and multi-level, including developing insights on the effects on beneficiary non-profit organizations (NPOs). To fill this gap, this dissertation addresses three main research areas. First, it investigates who engages in CSR and to what extend they differ from those who are privately involved and those who are unengaged in social initiatives. Secondly, this dissertation reveals the barriers for those who refrain from such behavior and how organizations can take measures to lower these barriers, and consequently increase engagement rates. The third part of the dissertation takes multi-level perspectives on the outcomes of employee engagement in CSR, both from a business and NPO perspective. Here, it furthers the understanding of both the business case and social case for CSR, including much needed micro and multi-level approaches.
Photos: Chris Gorzeman / Capital Images
