Today, firms face increasing expectations to behave responsibly towards their stakeholders. These expectations create business trade-offs, which are even more intense under the various extreme institutional environments in today's global economy, such as, for example, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sustainability megatrends, the AI revolution, and the growing wealth gap. Consequently, an increasing number of corporations worldwide are trying to find ways to confront or resolve their business trade-offs, redefine their business strategies, and adopt practices that embrace financial but also environmental and social aspects. These efforts range from mainstream corporate social responsibility activities (e.g., philanthropies and donations) to more business model-related initiatives, such as reducing energy use in operations, committing R&D resources to sustainable products, supporting local producers, etc. However, only a relatively small number of firms have integrated social and environmental aspects into their business models and strategies that can have a long-term economic, social, and environmental impact.
This course starts with a critical view of corporations' role in shaping our world, exploring the necessity of redefining the purpose of businesses beyond mere profit generation. We examine the transformative journey towards Corporate Sustainability, understanding it not as a destination but as a continuous process of ethical, institutional, and instrumental motivations.
Next, it presents ways corporate responsibility can be manifested, from the supply chain to the end customer. Through this exploration, students will learn to recognize responsible business models that align with the core values of sustainability. However, this path is far from easy. Businesses face many challenges in their quest for responsibility. In this course section, we dissect the multifaceted nature of these challenges and trade-offs, emphasizing the need for long-term thinking in a world fixated on immediate results.
The following section focuses on implementing corporate responsibility at the strategic level. It discusses the need for stakeholder management and the nuances of managing trade-offs between competing interests. The course highlights the pivotal role of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) in fostering responsible leadership and orchestrating collaborations and partnerships that align with corporate values.
The second part of the course deals with ideas about how corporations should be governed to protect and create value for all their stakeholders. Corporate Governance (CG), broadly defined as "the system by which companies are directed and controlled", has attracted unprecedented resonance over the last decade as the power and impact of corporations on society has risen. Over a decade after the financial crisis of 2008, numerous corporate wrongdoings have made headline news worldwide, building up some critical questions about 'corporate accountability'. Governments, businesses, and people disagree on whose interests should be primarily considered in corporate decision-making or how corporations should be governed. These debates are even more intense under the extreme institutional environments in today's global economy. Students will acquire an in-depth understanding of the current critical issues regarding Corporate Governance, the legal and regulatory framework worldwide, and the dynamics of the various corporate governance mechanisms/solutions, such as executive compensation policies, boardroom structure and practices, corporate disclosure, and transparency.
- Teacher: Maria Fotaki
- Teacher: GIORGOS PAPAGIANNAKIS