Mentor: Dr. Kate Odziemkowska
Assistant Professor of Strategic Management
Project Description
This research focuses on the recent mobilization by conservative politicians, nonprofits, media amongst others, against the promotion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in corporate governance and firm strategy, commonly referred to as the “anti-ESG movement.” The main objective of this research is to elucidate how the anti-ESG movement operates and if it is succeeding in reversing the progress some firms have made on ESG by answering two questions: a) what companies does the anti-ESG movement target and with what tactics? b) how and when do firms respond to being contentiously targeted by the anti-ESG movement? Answers to these questions will shed light on the unique features of the anti-ESG movement in comparison to other movements or counter-movements, advancing our understanding of how counter-movements and markets interact. Additionally, the answers are critical to understanding the anti-ESG movement’s prospects for arresting, or even reversing, progress made by the private sector in addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges (e.g., climate change). This is a large-sample archival research study. Data collection is currently taking place. The student will participate in the project by assisting in the cleaning and processing of the collected data. This will include training on how to diagnose errors in the data (e.g., mis-coded observations, missing data) and how to fix those issues through pre-existing cleaning rules or by consulting the original raw data. Additionally, they will match the firms that are targets of the anti-ESG movement to existing archival databases.
Does this project require the SROP Student to be in-person or remote? Remote
Mentorship Statement
I really enjoy working with students on research and think the SROP program is an amazing initiative for students to get unique exposure to academic research. Over my short career I have worked with over 25 undergraduate and PhD students providing training either on archival data methods or literature reviews as the necessary for different ESG and stakeholder strategy research projects. Students with whom I’ve worked have continued on in their professional careers to jobs in ESG-related divisions of private sector employers like Bain & Company (a prominent management consulting firm), law school as well as PhD programs.