Currently, there are more than 4,900 institutional investors and service providers that have signed onto the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), representing $121 trillion of assets under management, up from $6.5 trillion in 2006 (PRI, 2022). The rise reflects pressure on companies from a range of different stakeholder groups to contribute to societal demands by engaging in environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices (Moser and Martin, 2012; Lin-Hi and Muller, 2013; Ahmed et al., 2019; Eliwa et al., 2021). In parallel, issues surrounding ESG have received extensive attention from academicians and commentators (see, e.g., McWilliams and Siegal, 2000; Derwall et al., 2011; Gillan et al., 2021). However, the vast majority of these studies focus on the “doing good” side of ESG practices rather than “avoiding bad”, and this tendency represents one of the major weaknesses in the ESG literature (Lang and Washburn, 2012; Lin-Hi and Muller, 2013). In extreme cases, irresponsible environmental, social and governance (IESG) practices can cause significant long-lasting harm to a business, including firms as prominent as British Petroleum (BP). Following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the then President of the United States, Barack Obama, made it clear that BP would be held financially responsible for the damage caused (Lin-Hi and Muller, 2013). This high-profile intervention led Tony Hayward, the CEO of the firm at the time, to state that: “The capital market was effectively closed for BP; we were not able to borrow in the capital market either medium or short-term debt at all.” Consequently, the company had to set aside $20 billion to satisfy compensation demands and remained involved in multiple claims relating to the catastrophic damage caused a decade later (Schwartz, 2020).
This PhD will give you the opportunity to explore this understudied area of corporate social irresponsibility (CSI). We invite submissions of proposals analysing the potential determinants and consequences of corporate socially irresponsible practices. Moreover, we are interested in research proposals that use diverse theories and propose rigorous empirical models (e.g., regression models) to help advance our understanding of this issue. Submissions may focus on, but must not be limited to the following domains:
- How to measure CSI, the components and the disclosure of CSI.
- Firm-level determinants or corporate governance level determinants (e.g., firm management or board-level features, ownership characteristics) of CSI.
- CSI and its effects on different measures of corporate financial or market performance.
- CSI and its impacts on stock price crash risk and other types of firm risk.
- The impact of CSI on the cost of equity capital and cost of debt.
- Other consequences (e.g., CEO turnover, or regulatory sanctions etc.) of CSI
Scholarship:
- Tuition fee (Home / International)
- Living allowances per year £16,062 at present
- Consumables/Conference budget per year £1,500
- Scholarship up to 4 years
Eligibility:
- To be accepted to study for a PhD, applicants need to have an undergraduate degree of at least 2:1 (or equivalent) or a master’s degree, in a subject related to the proposed PhD topic.
- English language requirements – a minimum IELTS score of 6.5.
To apply please ensure you include the following documentation:
- Final or current degree transcripts including grades (and an official translation, if needed) – scanned copy in colour of the original document.
- Degree certificates (and an official translation, if needed): scanned copy in colour of the original document.
- Two references on headed paper (academic and/or professional).
- Research proposal on the given topic, CV and samples of written work.
- If you fail to submit the above documents then your application will not be considered.
Dates:
- Deadline for submission: 31 March 2023
- Interviews: April, 2023 TBC
- Start date: May/June, 2023
Please submit your application to Professor Sudhu Paramati ([Email Address Removed]) and PhD Admin Lead, Donna Milne ([Email Address Removed])
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