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Professionalism and Moral Behavior

Maryam Kouchaki (PhD, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Utah</st1:placename></st1:place>)

The dissertation abstract and reflection commentary present the work of Dr. Maryam Kouchaki. The abstract provides an overview of research examining the role of professional identities on ethical behavior. Across a number of studies, this work demonstrates that professionalism, either measured or manipulated, can increase individuals' unethical behaviors. This dissertation extends prior work on professionalism by examining its psychology and shedding new light on importance of its meanings in driving individuals' behaviors. Below, the author discusses the reasons for why professionals may engage in unethical behaviors. Finally, the reflection commentary provides insights about the author's journey as a PhD student.

SRI Indices and Responsible Corporate Behavior: A Study of the FTSE4Good Index

Rieneke Slager (PhD, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Nottingham</st1:placename></st1:place>)

This dissertation abstract and the reflection commentary present the work of Dr. Rieneke Slager. The dissertation addresses the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) metrics on responsible corporate behavior, through a case study of a prominent metric in the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) market, namely, the FTSE4Good Index. This extended dissertation abstract introduces the research questions, theoretical framework, methods, and findings. The author's views on successful completion of a PhD are discussed in the appendix.

Designing Public–Private Partnerships for Development

Lea Stadtler (PhD, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Geneva</st1:placename></st1:place>)

This dissertation abstract and the reflection commentary present the work done by Dr. Lea Stadtler. Comprising four articles, the dissertation explores the challenge of designing successful public–private partnerships (PPPs) for development and contributes to the discourse on partnerships and business engagement in society. Article I adopts the company perspective and develops a conceptual framework for interest alignment in PPPs for development. Based on a theoretical analysis, Article II examines the role that different structures play in handling common design challenges. Articles III and IV are empirical: The former analyzes how partners cope with tensions occurring on the PPP's boundaries, while Article IV explores the roles of broker organizations, which increasingly facilitate the partnering process of PPPs for development. This extended dissertation abstract introduces the dissertation's research focus and summarizes each article's research question, methods, and main findings. The reflection commentary in the appendix discusses the author's views of her dissertation journey as a junior scholar and the research process.

Dr. Stadtler's dissertation was winner of the Social Issues in Management (SIM) Division (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Management</st1:placename></st1:place>) Best Dissertation Award Competition for 2013.  The award was announced in August 2013 at the AOM conference.

The 2013 Best Dissertation Winner and Runners-Up for the Academy of Management's Organizations and the Natural Environment Division

P. Devereaux Jennings (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Alberta</st1:placename></st1:place>)

The Organizations and the Natural Environment (ONE) Division of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Management</st1:placename></st1:place>, like most Academy divisions, has an annual dissertation competition to recognize and honor exemplary work in the field. This article, kindly invited by the Editor of Business & Society, provides an overview of the winner and runners-up of that competition, insights into the process for selecting this work, and some reflections on future dissertations in the area.

The Role of Deployment Policies in Fostering Innovation for Clean Energy Technologies: Insights From the Solar Photovoltaic Industry

Joern Hoppmann (PhD, ETH Zurich)

In recent years, governments in a large number of countries have introduced so-called deployment policies to foster the diffusion of clean energy technologies. While there is little doubt that these demand-side measures have been very effective in raising the share of clean electricity generation, currently, much less is known about how deployment policies affect-and are affected by-technological innovation beyond the mere diffusion of existing technologies. Against this backdrop, this dissertation abstract and commentary presents the dissertation work of Dr. Joern Hoppmann. Based on a discussion of deployment policies as a means for addressing pressing societal issues, the dissertation abstract describes four essays that provide a detailed account of the role that these policies play for technological learning in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry. The theoretical background, methods, and main findings of each of the essays are briefly summarized. Building on this, this abstract discusses implications for managers and policy makers in terms of how to improve the design of deployment policies and navigate businesses in policy-induced markets.

Climate Change and Financial Market Efficiency

Andrea Liesen (PhD, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Leeds</st1:placename></st1:place>)

This dissertation abstract and reflection commentary present the work of Dr. Andrea Liesen. The dissertation examines the informational efficiency of financial markets to price the systematic risk stemming from climate change for European companies. The abstract provides an overview of the underlying theory, introduces the development of hypotheses, the method applied, and data gathered, as well as selected implications of results. The reflection commentary discusses the author's views of the research process as a junior scholar.

Dr. Liesen's dissertation was winner of the Organizations and the Natural Environment (ONE) Division (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Management</st1:placename></st1:place>) Best Dissertation Award Competition for 2013.  The award was announced in August 2013 at the AOM conference.

Essays on International Non-Market Strategy and the Political Economy of Environmental Regulation

Sanjay Patnaik (DBA, Harvard Business School)

This article contains an abstract of Dr. Sanjay Patnaik's dissertation as well as a commentary essay on the research process in the appendix. In his dissertation, Dr. Patnaik examines the importance of the non-market environment for firm strategy and performance within the context of newly introduced regulations for greenhouse gases in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. The dissertation abstract contains a description of each dissertation chapter, including research questions, methodologies, and results. The commentary essay describes the author's perspective on conducting research as an emerging scholar.

Duane Windsor, BAS Editor, Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Management, Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University

<st1:personname w:st="on">odw@rice.edu</st1:personname>