CSR and Politics: Corporate Power, legitimacy and global governance

Time: May 18.5-22.5 2015

Place: Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki

Learning goal and objectives:

The aim of the course is to deepen the critical understanding of how multinational corporations and business interest groups impact national, transnational and global governance. It interrogates the often uneasy relationship between business and politics and makes explicit connections to corporate social responsibility (CSR) discussions such as political CSR and extended corporate citizenship.

The course approaches the subject from a cross-disciplinary perspective, bringing together faculty from management and organization, business and society, world politics, political economy, and supply chain management.

Upon completion of the course you will be able to critically analyze the role of business in relation to national, transnational and/or global governance; combine insights from various disciplines to research the politics of CSR; identify various challenges this poses in terms of democracy

Instruction: Lecturing & work in class (5 days)

Examination: Precourse work; article analysis, presentation of findings (30%), Final paper; research paper (70%)

Credits: 6 ECTS

Grading: Excellent, Good, and Satisfactory

Prerequisites: The course is designed as cross-disciplinary. It is targeted to PhD students doing research on CSR, corporate citizenship, social movements, stakeholder management and transnational/global governance. This can target students majoring in, among others, international business, management, supply chain management, and world politics.

Admittance: The maximum number of participants is 25. If more apply, the selection is based on the course’s relevance to the applicant’s thesis topic as well as previous studies.

Interested applicants should register through Webropol https://www.webropolsurveys.com/S/D16E5A21CBD9190E.par – and submit the required documents – no later than 27.02 2015.

Additionally the following documents need to be submitted per email to the course coordinator ( solitander@hanken.fi):

· the applicant’s curriculum vitae demonstrating his/her capabilities of doing research within the topic

· two-page description of doctoral research proposal

Instructors: Martin Fougère, Nikodemus Solitander

Confirmed faculty:

Prof. Frank den Hond, Hanken School of Economics;
Dr. Jukka Mäkinen, Senior University Lecturer, Aalto University School
of Business
Prof. Kathleen Rehbein, Associate Professor of Management, Marquette
University, USA
Dr. Ville-Pekka Sorsa, University Lecturer, University of Helsinki

Course coordinator and contact information: Nikodemus Solitander, solitander@hanken.fi