Robert Strand

Robert Strand is the Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Business and Lecturer at the Berkeley Haas School of Business. His research and teaching compares U.S. and Nordic approaches to sustainable and socially responsible business. He has more recently turned attention to contrast varieties of capitalism in the U.S. and Nordic contexts and is currently working on the book project “Sustainable Vikings.” He was a United States Fulbright Scholar to Norway. Prior to joining academia as a professor with the Copenhagen Business School, Strand spent a decade in industry with IBM and Boston Scientific in a range of roles in manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, strategy, and investor relations. He holds a PhD in corporate social responsibility from the Copenhagen Business School, an MBA in international business from the University of Minnesota (completed at HEC-Paris), and a BS in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

Education

• Ph.D., Doctoral School of Organization & Management Studies, Copenhagen Business School
  
• MBA, International Business, University of Minnesota
  
• B.S., Industrial Engineering, University of Wisconsin
  

Positions Held

• 2014 – present, Executive Director, Berkeley Haas Center for Responsible Business
• 2014 – present, Lecturer, Berkeley Haas
• 2012 – 2014, Assistant Professor of Leadership & Sustainability, Copenhagen Business School
• 2009 – 2012, Ph.D. Fellow, Copenhagen Business School
• 2006 – 2009, Principal Market Planner, Boston Scientific Corporation
• 2005 – 2006, U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Norway
• 2003 – 2005, Industrial Engineer, Boston Scientific Corporation
• 1999 – 2003, Industrial Engineer, IBM Corporation

Expertise and Research Interests

• Nordic Sustainable Business
• Nordic Capitalism
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Selected Papers and Publications

• Robert Strand and Dara O’Rourke. Patagonia: Driving Sustainable Innovation by Embracing Tensions(opens in a new tab). California Management Review. 2017
• Robert Strand, R. Edward Freeman, and Kai Hockerts. Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in Scandinavia: An Overview(opens in a new tab). Journal of Business Ethics. 2014
• Mette Morsing, Robert Strand. CSR and Beyond. A Nordic Perspective(opens in a new tab). Corporate Communications: An International Journal. 2014
• Robert Strand and R Edward Freeman. Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage: The Theory and Practice of Stakeholder Engagement in Scandinavia(opens in a new tab). Journal of Business Ethics. 2013
• Robert Strand. Strategic Leadership of Corporate Sustainability(opens in a new tab). Journal of Business Ethics. 2014
• Robert Strand. The Chief Officer of Corporate Social Responsibility: a Study of Its Presence in Top Management Teams(opens in a new tab). Journal of Business Ethics. 2013
• Robert Strand. Toward Sustainable Sustainability Learning: Lessons from a U.S. MBA study abroad program to Scandinavia(opens in a new tab). Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability. 2011
• Robert Strand. Exploring the Role of Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review(opens in a new tab). Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics. 2011
• Robert Strand. Corporate Responsibility in Scandinavian Supply Chains(opens in a new tab). Journal of Business Ethics. 2009
• Robert Strand. The Stakeholder Dashboard(opens in a new tab). Greener Management International and The Journal of Corporate Environmental Strategy and Practice. 2008

Honors and Awards

• Berkeley Haas Case of the Year Award 2019
  for “Patagonia’s Path to Carbon Neutrality by 2025”

• Berkeley Haas Case of the Year Award 2017
  for “Patagonia: Driving Sustainable Innovation by Embracing Tensions”

• Nykredit CSR Research Talent Award
  2013

• Society for Business Ethics Founders’ Award
  2012

• Next Generation Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Scholar Award
  2010

• Bush Leadership Fellow & Award, Archibald Bush Foundation
  2009-10

• Society for Business Ethics Emerging Scholar Award
  2008

• Net Impact Distinguished Member Award
  2008

• U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Norway
  2005-06