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Professor David Bruce Allen

Dean of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, Professor of Management

Qualifications: AB, MFA, PhD, MBA

Email:
Phone: Work: 01483 68 6310
Room no: 18 MS 03

Further information

Biography

Professor Allen became Dean of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at the University in July 2010. Prior to taking up this post, he enjoyed a multi-faceted career as an academic, consultant and entrepreneur. From 1994-2010, he was at IE Business School in Madrid, where he was Associate Dean for Research, where he led a multi-year project with MIT, and served as Chair of the Strategy Department.  His research has appeared in leading journals, among them The Journal of International Business Studies, Sloan Management Review, Long Range Planning, and The Journal of Business Ethics. In 2010, Professor Allen published Corporate Social Strategy with Cambridge University Press (co-author Bryan W. Husted). He has held academic posts at the University of New Orleans, City University of New York, and Boston University.

Professor Allen holds a B.A. in Political Science from Syracuse University, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Iowa. Among his academic honours, Professor Allen has been a Fulbright Lecturer and was named in Business Week’s 100 top business school professors; in 2003, he won the EMFD Case Writing Award for “XBox: It’s Time to Play”. He was a Teaching-writing Fellow at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a Resident Filmmaker at the Sundance Film Institute. From 2007-2009, he was the author of the widely-read blog, “Strategy Op-Ed”.

As an entrepreneur, Professor Allen has operated a trading company, and founded a banking consulting company and a film company, producing in 2000 the Spanish feature film “Zapping”, starring Paz Vega and Eduard Fernández. He has also held executive posts in the construction and publishing industries. As a consultant and advisor, he has worked for numerous multinational firms including Banco Santander, Diageo, Pfizer, Deutsche Telecom, Telefonica, La Caixa, Eli Lilly, and Amadeus.

Research Interests

Professor Allen is currently working on two projects with Yuliya Shymko. The first “Creating Value in the Film Industry” explores the inter-relationship between artistic, economic and institutional legitimacy required to fund and sustain production. This work is empirical. The second, “Life after Rationality”, is an essay on the rejection of observer-independent objective reality and its consequences in everyday life.

Publications

Journal articles

  • Husted BW, Allen DB, Kock N. (2012) 'Value Creation Through Social Strategy'. Sage Business & Society,
    doi: 10.1177/0007650312439187
    Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/729051/

    Abstract

    Literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has tended to treat economic benefits to the firm as unintentional spillovers that result from laudable CSR behavior. Empirical studies of the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) have reported mixed findings. This article shifts the conceptual and empirical focus to investigate the conditions under which intentional profit-seeking through corporate social action projects can create economic value for the firm. The article uses resource-dependency theory and the resource-based view to define the firm’s external and internal environments respectively. From that perspective, the article looks at how corporate social action creates economic value through strategic social planning and strategic social positioning. A survey instrument was developed and applied to 110 large Spanish firms. In that sample, munificence and continuous innovation positively affect social positioning, while nongovernmental organization salience and social responsibility orientation positively affect social planning. Both social positioning and social planning in turn contribute to corporate ability to create value. The article concludes with a discussion of the research and managerial implications of these findings.

  • Husted BW, Bruce Allen D, Rivera JE. (2010) 'Governance Choice for Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Evidence From Central America'. SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC BUSINESS & SOCIETY, 49 (2), pp. 201-215.
    doi: 10.1177/0007650308315504
    Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/729054/
  • Bach D, Allen DB. (2010) 'Beyond the Market: What Every CEO Needs to Know About Nonmarket Strategy'. MIT Sloan Management Review,
  • Husted BW, Allen DB. (2009) 'Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility and Value Creation'. Springer MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL REVIEW, 49 (6), pp. 781-799.
    doi: 10.1007/s11575-009-0016-5
    Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/729086/

    Abstract

    This paper examines the conditions under which corporate social responsibility (CSR) is related to value creation in the multinational enterprise (MNE). • Following prior work by Burke and Logsdon (1996), we examine the relationship of centrality, appropriability, proactivity, visibility, and voluntarism to value creation. • The results of a survey of 111 MNEs in Mexico suggest that centrality, visibility, and voluntarism are related to value creation.

  • Husted BW, Allen DB. (2008) 'Toward a Model of Cross-Cultural Business Ethics: The Impact of Individualism and Collectivism on the Ethical Decision-Making Process'. SPRINGER JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS, 82 (2), pp. 293-305.
    doi: 10.1007/s10551-008-9888-8
    Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/729523/

    Abstract

    In this paper, we explore the impact of individualism and collectivism on three basic aspects of ethical decision making – the perception of moral problems, moral reasoning, and behavior. We argue that the inclusion of business practices within the moral domain by the individual depends partly upon individualism and collectivism. We also propose a pluralistic approach to post-conventional moral judgment that includes developmental paths appropriate for individualist and collectivist cultures. Finally, we argue that the link between moral judgment and behavior is related to individualism and collectivism.

  • Husted BW, Allen DB. (2007) 'Strategic corporate social responsibility and value creation among large firms - Lessons from the Spanish experience'. PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD LONG RANGE PLANNING, 40 (6), pp. 594-610.
    doi: 10.1016/j.lrp.2007.07.001
    Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/729387/
  • Husted BW, Allen DB. (2006) 'Corporate social responsibility in the multinational enterprise: strategic and institutional approaches'. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES, 37 (6), pp. 838-849.
    doi: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400227
  • Dans E, Allen DB. (2001) 'B2B Marketplaces: Perception of Value Proposition in Incipient Markets'. Economia Industrial, 340, pp. 101-108.
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2000) 'Is it ethical to use ethics as a business strategy?'. Springer Journal of Business Ethics, 27 (1-2), pp. 21-31.
    doi: 10.1023/A:1006422704548
    Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/728824/

    Abstract

    Increasingly research in the field of business and society suggests that ethics and corporate social responsibility can be profitable. Yet this work raises a troubling question: Is it ethical to use ethics and social responsibility in a strategic way? Is it possible to be ethical or socially responsible for the wrong reason? In this article, we define a strategy concept in order to situate the different approaches to the strategic use of ethics and social responsibility found in the current literature. We then analyze the ethics of such approaches using both utilitarianism and deontology and end by defining limits to the strategic use of ethics.

Conference papers

  • Shymko Y, Allen DB. (2009) '"Fixing" failures in corporate governance through increased state ownership. The intermediating role of markets, institutions and behaviors'. Barcelona, Spain: EABIS
  • Shymko Y, Allen DB. (2009) 'Implications of high state embeddedness for the quality of corporate governance: The case of Russia'. Athens, Greece: EBEN
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2007) 'Toward a Model of Cross-cultural Business Ethics: The Impact of Individualism and Collectivism on the Ethical Decision-Making Process'. Belgium: EBEN, Leuven
  • Husted BW, Allen DB. (2007) 'Corporate social strategy in multinational enterprises: Antecedents and value creation'. SPRINGER JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS, Vienna, AUSTRIA: 19th Annual Conference of the European-Business-Ethics-Network (EBEN) 74 (4), pp. 345-361.
    doi: 10.1007/s10551-007-9511-4
  • Allen DB, Husted B. (2006) 'Linking CSR to Competitive Advantage in Reputation'. Vienna, Austria: Strategic Management Society Annual Conference
  • Allen DB. (2006) 'The Creative Moral Entrepreneur'. Merida, Mexico: International Association for Business and Society Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2006) 'Corporate Social Responsibility in the Multinational Enterprise: Strategic and Institutional Approaches'. Beijing, China: Academy of International Business
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2005) 'The Impact of Individualism-Collectivism on Ethical Descision Making by Leaders in Organizations'. Estonia: EBEN Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB, Rivera J. (2005) 'Making, buying, or collaborating for corporate social responsibility: Evidence from Central America and Mexico'. Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the International Association for Business and Society, , pp. 136-141.
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2004) 'Corporate Social Strategy in multinational enterprises: Antecedents and value creation'. Stockholm, Sweden: Academy of International Business Annual Conference
  • Allen DB, Eguia R. (2004) 'The tramp and the blue light: Towards a Theory of Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Ethics'. Enschede, Netherlands: EBEN Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2004) 'Corporate social responsibilty in multinational enterprise: The relationship of international organizational strategy to corporate social strategy'. Enschede, Netherlands: EBEN Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2004) 'Strategic corporate social responsibility and value creation among large firms in Spain'. Jackson Hole: International Association for Business and Society Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2004) 'Strategic corporate responsibility and value creation among large firms in Spain'. Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the International Association for Business and Society, , pp. 98-102.
  • Allen DB, Eguia R. (2003) 'Telefonica Reputation Project'. Belo Horizonte: Global Compact Learning Forum
  • Allen DB, Husted B, Coduras A. (2003) 'Linking Proactive CSR to Competitive Advantage in Reputation'. Budapest: EBEN Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB, Coduras A. (2003) 'The use of Corporate Social Strategy among Large Spanish Firms'. Budapest: EBEN Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2003) 'Corporate Social Strategy Among Multinational Firms in Mexico'. Rotterdam: International Academy of Business and Society
  • Santalo J, Allen DB. (2003) 'Working paper - Estimación de los Efectos Económicos de la Piratería (An estimation of the economic effects of piracy)'. Instituto de Empresa:
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2003) 'Strategic corporate social responsibility among multinational firms in Mexico'. Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the International Association for Business and Society, Rotterdam, The Netherlands: , pp. 64-67.
  • Dans E, Allen DB. (2002) 'Working paper - Methodology and Rigor: How 'false prohets' pushed firms to the cot.com cliff'. Instituto de Empressa:
  • Allen DB. (2001) 'Globalization of the telecom and the internet industries'. Washington DC, USA: Academy of Mangement Annual Meeting
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (2001) 'Towards a model of Corporate Social Strategy Formulation'. Washington DC, USA: Academy of Mangement Annual Meeting
  • Contardo I, Allen DB. (2001) 'Never leaving home with cases: A mirroring study of the Harvard Business School and McKinsey Corporation'. Lyon, France: EGOS
  • Allen DB, Cabrera A. (1999) 'A cognitive science approach to understanding organizations as knowledge systems'. Berlin, Germany: Strategic Management Society Annual Conference
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (1999) 'Is it ethical to use ethics as a strategy?'. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: EBEN
  • Cabrera A, Allen DB. (1999) 'The Architecture of Organizational Cognition'. Chicago, USA: Academy of Management Annual Meeting
  • Husted B, Allen DB. (1998) 'Defining Corporate Social Strategy'. Orlando, Florida: Strategic Management Society Annual Conference
  • Allen DB. (1997) 'Strategy as Narrative: Building New Foundations for Strategic Management'. Barcelona, Spain: Strategic Management Society 17th Annual Conference

Books

  • Husted BW, Allen DB. (2010) Corporate Social Strategy. Cambridge Univ Press

Teaching

Professor Allen will be teaching on the MBA on corporate social strategy. He lectures on subjects including business ethics, the film industry, corporate social responsibility, organizational sociology and strategy. Professor Allen works with delegates on executive education programs in projects to create integrated business, social and environmental strategies.

Departmental Duties

Professor Allen is the Dean of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law and a member of the University Council and the Executive Board.