New to the Business School – Vivek Soundararajan

I Joined BBS as a Post-Doctoral International Fellow on the 1st of October 2014. I refer to myself as a Social Issues in Management scholar and I’m interested in the role that business has to play in society. I have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, and have worked on projects related to responsible supply chains, business non-profit partnerships, global supply chain governance, multi-stakeholder initiatives and stakeholder management. I have presented my works at numerous top-notch international conferences and on my way to publish my works in reputed research outlets. My research interests include corporate responsibility; political role of business; multi-stakeholder initiatives; stakeholder engagement; global supply chains; small business /entrepreneurship; institutional theory and emerging country contexts.

Before joining BBS, I was doing my fully funded PhD and was working as a visiting faculty at the School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London. I obtained my PhD degree in July 2014. For my Ph.D. dissertation titled “Understanding the Construction of Working Conditions in Small And Medium Sized Enterprises in Developing Countries: The Case Of Indian Garment Exporting Firms”, I endeavored to understand the construction of working conditions in small and medium sized owner-managed garment exporting firms in India that are part of global supply chains.

Until now, I have obtained various honours and awards for excellence in education and research. Recently, I won the 2014 Academy of Management - Social Issues in Management Division’s Best Dissertation Award (see above picture). In addition, the Center for Business Ethics, Bentley University, USA has awarded me the 2014 Next Generation Environment, Social and Governance scholarship for my research. Additionally, I have a distinction class Master’s degree in management from University of St. Andrews, UK and a distinction class Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Anna University, India. The Royal Holloway, University of London, UK acknowledged and honoured my academic achievements by offering me the two scholarships – Reid Research Scholarship and School of Management Research Scholarship - to support my PhD.

It is a great pleasure to be a part of BBS. I really look forward to working with you all.

Vivek Soundararajan BE, MLitt, PhD
Post-Doctoral International Fellow
Email: v.soundararajan@bham.ac.uk; Tweet: @Vivek_Soundar