Si informa che nell’ambito dei seminari di Dipartimento, del ciclo "Management" a.a. 2022-2023, mercoledì 7 giugno 2023, alle ore 11.30 in aula 100, via Necchi 9, si svolgerà un incontro dal titolo:

Aligning Corporate CSR Strategy with Employee Needs: A Mixed Method Study of CSR and Employee Volunteering

 Relatrice: Dr Swati Nagpal, La Trobe University, Melbourne

 A seguire una breve bio della relatrice e l’abstract della lecture.

Dr Swati Nagpal

Swati is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the La Trobe Business School in Melbourne, Australia, and the School Lead of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (UN PRME).  Her research interests include corporate social responsibility, sustainability, ESG, and management education for sustainability. Her work has been published and presented in top-ranked academic journals, international conferences, and she has co-authored a book and several book chapters.

Her current research projects focus on employee volunteering, local government and the sustainable development goals, climate change activism and ESG in the agribusiness sector.

She is a passionate educator and teaches undergraduate and postgraduate subjects related to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

The Evolution of Business Sustainability

Abstract

Has sustainability been mainstreamed in business?  This talk will challenge the audience to arrive at their own conclusions to this question by charting the history of sustainability practices in business, and outlining the key theoretical contributions made to the business strategy, corporate social responsibility, and organisational sustainability literature in recent history.

Business strategy and management practice are widely recognised to be the key levers though which sustainability is embedded in business and other organisations.  However, the socio-ecological challenges businesses face today require a new set of analytical and framing tools that are yet to be adopted by key decision-makers and diffused as management practice.  These tools, which include solving for wicked problems, and systems thinking offer promise in strategizing for sustainability.  

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Si informa che nell’ambito dei seminari di Dipartimento, del ciclo "Management" a.a. 2022-2023, giovedì 18 maggio 2023, alle ore 11.00 in aula 100, via Necchi 9, si svolgerà un incontro dal titolo:

Biases and Budgeting Behavior: Rethinking Public Budgeting Research

Relatore: prof. Tom Overmans

Below a bio, adapted from the university website:

Tom Overmans is a Public Administration scholar with extensive experience in practice and science. In his teaching and research, he connects theories from public management, public finance and psychology.

His current research is about the budgeting behavior of politicians. Why do politicians fail to invest in the topics they personally find most important, but instead invest in topics that have been in the news a lot, that are easy to understand or that they know others are investing in? Through experimental research, Tom studies the influence of cognitive biases on the decision-making behavior of local politicians and ways to combat those errors. For this research he received a Veni grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

A second research area focuses on the significance of Public Administration in tackling societal issues. With Marlies Honingh  and Mirko Noordegraaf Tom edited the book ‘Maatschappelijke Bestuurskunde’ (English title: Societal Public Administration). In the book, leading authors investigate how PA can better respond to the grand issues of our time. How can PA contribute to combatting issues related to climate, energy, healthcare, housing, equality, policy execution, and so on. He presented the book to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations during the 50th anniversary of the Dutch Association for Public Administration on March 8, 2023.

Tom is a core teacher involved in bachelor's, master's and executive's modules in the fields of economics, public finance, public financial management, public performance, and societal impact. He is an Executive Board Member of the Dutch Association for Public Administration. He is part of the Executive Committee of the Public Service Accounting and Accountability Group, and active member of various international research communities such as the IRSPM, EGPA, PMRA.

Biases and Budgeting Behavior: Rethinking Public Budgeting Research

Dr. Tom Overmans (Utrecht University School of Governance)

Abstract

The budgeting behavior of politicians is almost certainly affected by cognitive biases. Due to the

collective nature of Public Budgeting, however, attention to individual dimensions of budget decisionmaking

– and mental dimensions in particular – has receded into the background. This study uses

empirical insights from behavioral economics and psychology to develop a theory for individualoriented

public budgeting research. We demonstrate the influence of eight common cognitive biases on

private financial decisions and relate them to decision-making in the public sector. The biases are

overconfidence, herding, representativeness, anchoring, availability, loss aversion, regret aversion, and

mental accounting. We formulate ten propositions and a research agenda with which the Behavioral

Public Budgeting theory can be tested and modified.

Practitioner points

• This article broadens the perspective of Public Budgeting research by studying the decision-making

behavior of individual politicians, prior to negotiation and collective decision-making.

• A behavioral perspective on Public Budgeting can be beneficial for practitioners as it aims to study

the mental dimensions of budget decision-making. It helps politicians to make better decisions and

strengthens the starting position of negotiations.

• This article can also be beneficial for practitioners as it brings Public Administration insights into

debates dominated by economists and behavioral scientists. For instance, PA scholars have been

central in demonstrating the limitations of simple rationality in Public Budgeting.

Key words

Public Budgeting, Behavioral Public Administration, Cognitive Bias, Behavioral Public Budgeting