Assistant Professor Enrico Fontana, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor Enrico Fontana, Ph.D.

Fellow and Visiting Faculty

[email protected]
www.enrico-fontana.com
  • Senior Lecturer, Cranfield School of Management
  • Affiliated researcher at the Mistra Centre for Sustainable Markets, Stockholm School of Economics
  • Visiting Faculty, Sasin School of Management

Enrico’s research lies within the organizational domain and takes an interdisciplinary approach to study the role of business in society. While acknowledging the indigenous meaning associated with executing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, his projects aim to shine a spotlight into how local organizational players in the Global South socially navigate embedded networked and/or institutionalized arrangements to do (or not to do) CSR. In so doing, his research applies different levels of analysis, spanning from the micro to the macro dimension. From an empirical standpoint, Enrico is predominantly interested in labor issues in developing countries and in the rights of the poor and marginalized, with a specific focus on the apparel supply chain and Bangladesh. Consequently, his research connects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1 (no poverty), 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 10 (reduced inequalities) and 12 (responsible consumption and production). As a qualitative and inductive/abductive researcher, Enrico believes in recurring and explorative fieldwork as the main source of scientific evidence. Prior to completing his doctorate and post-doctorate studies, Enrico worked full-time for six years as a market manager in the apparel industry in Japan and Italy.  

  • Post-doctorate, Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria (Canada)
  • Ph.D. in Business Administration, Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden)
  • Master in Business Administration, McGill University (Canada)
  • Master of Science (CEMS) in International Management, University College Dublin (Ireland)
  • Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Bocconi University, Milan (Italy)

  • Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
  • Sustainable value chains
  • Organization Theory
  • Developing countries

  • Fontana, E., Frandsen, S., & Morsing, M. (2023). Saving the world? How CSR practitioners live their calling by constructing different types of purpose in three occupational stages. Journal of Business Ethics. Doi: 10.1007/s10551-023-05343-x
  • Fontana, E., & Pisalyaput, N. (2022). Understanding the importance of farmer-NGO collaboration for sustainability and business strategy: Evidence from the coffee supply chain. Business Strategy and the Environment. Doi: 10.1002/bse.3266
  • Fontana, E., & Siriwichai, P. (2022). Understanding transgender persons’ careers to advance sustainable development: The case of Trans for Career Thailand. Sustainable Development. Doi: 10.1002/sd.2329
  • Fontana, E., Atif, M., & Heuer, M. (2022). Implementing social sustainability through market pressures: An inter-organizational network analysis in the Pakistani apparel supply chain. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. Doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-07-2021-0265
  • Fontana, E., Shin, H., Oka, C., & Gamble, J. (2022): Tensions in the strategic integration of corporate sustainability through global standards: Evidence from Japan and South Korea. Business Strategy and the Environment. 31(3), 875-891.
  • Fontana, E., Öberg, C., & Poblete, L. (2021). Nominated procurement and the indirect control of nominated sub-suppliers: Evidence from the Sri Lankan apparel supply chain. Journal of Business Research. 127, 179-192.
  • Fontana, E., Atif, M., & Gull, A. A. (2021). Corporate social responsibility decisions in apparel supply chains: The role of negative emotions in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 28(6), 1700-1714.
  • Fontana, E., Heuer, M., & Koep, L. (2021): Cross-sector collaboration and non-profit boundary work for female workers in developing countries: Evidence from Bangladesh. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal. 12(6), 1178-1207.
  • Fontana, E. (2020): Managing diversity through transgender inclusion in developing countries: A collaborative corporate social responsibility initiative from Bangladesh. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 27(6), 2548-2562.
  • Fontana, E. (2020): When the main job tasks are perceived to be ‘irrelevant’ in the workplace: The internal uselessness of corporate social responsibility work in Japan. Culture and Organization. 26 (5-6), 405-424.
  • Fontana, E. (2020). Pioneering environmental innovation in developing countries: The case of executives’ adoption of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Journal of Cleaner Production. 236, 117675.
  • Fontana, E. & Egels-Zandén, N. (2019). Non sibi, sed omnibus: Influence of supplier collective behaviour on corporate social responsibility in the Bangladeshi apparel supply chain. Journal of Business Ethics. 159(4), 1047-1064.
  • Fontana, E. (2018). Corporate social responsibility as stakeholder engagement: Firm-NGO collaboration in Sweden. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 25(4), 327-338.
  • Fontana, E. (2017). “Strategic CSR: A panacea for profit and altruism? An empirical study among executives in the Bangladeshi RMG supply chain”. European Business Review. 29(3), 304-319.

  • Atif, M., & Fontana, E. (2022). Managing emotions in responsible management education courses and promoting the leadership of the Sustainable Development Goals. In Moratis, L. & Melissen, F. (Editors): Business schools, leadership and the sustainable development goals: The future of responsible management education. Routledge.
  • Fontana, E. (2021). Creating inclusion for transwomen at work through corporate social responsibility: The contributions of Bandhu in Bangladesh. In Marques, J. In: Exploring gender at work: Multiple perspectives (pp. 385-406). Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Fontana, E. (2020). Social sustainability from upstream: DBL Group’s People programs in the Bangladeshi apparel supply chain. In Swain, R. B., & Sweet, S. (Editors): Sustainable Consumption and Production (pp. 281-302). Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Fontana, E. (2019). Among the poorest of the poor: Tauhid’s sustainability approach in northern Bangladesh. In: Flynn, P. M., Tan, T. K., & Gudić, M. (Editors): Global Champions of Sustainable Development (64-76). Greenleaf/PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) Book Series. Routledge.
  • Fontana, E. (2018). Innovative sustainability in South Asian Garment Supply Chains: The case of MAS Holdings in Sri Lanka. In: Heuer, M., & Becker-Leifhold, C. (Editors): Eco-Friendly and Fair: Fast fashion and consumer behavior (112–123). Greenleaf Publishing. Routledge.

Fontana, E., & Dawkins, C. (2022): Politics and Social Responsibility in the Bangladesh Ready-Made Garment Supply Chains. Paper presented at the annual conference: Creating a Better World Together. Academy of Management annual meeting, Seattle, USA. August 5 – 9, 2022. Proceedings of the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2022.15875abstract Fontana, E., Köllen, T. & Siriwichai, P. (2022): Trashing or rather thrashing out the gender binary? Transgender employees’ gender performance at work. Paper presented at the annual conference: Creating a Better World Together. Academy of Management annual meeting, Seattle, USA. August 5 – 9, 2022. Proceedings of the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2022.13011abstract Fontana, E., Frandsen, S., & Morsing, M. (2021): How CSR practitioners reformulate their calling through social-symbolic work practices over time. Paper presented at the at the conference: Bringing the Manager back in Management. Academy of Management annual meeting, Philadelphia, USA (virtual meeting due to Covid-19). July 29 – August 4, 2021. Published in: Proceedings of the 81st Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2021.11115abstract Fontana, E., Shin, H., Oka, C., & Gamble, J. (2021): A comparative examination of the tensions of sustainability managers in Korean and Japanese MNCs. Paper presented at the at the conference: Bringing the Manager back in Management. Academy of Management annual meeting, Philadelphia, USA (virtual meeting due to Covid-19). July 29 – August 4, 2021. Published in: Proceedings of the 81st Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2021.15298abstract Fontana, E., Öberg, C., & Poblete, L. (2020): The Direct and Indirect Control of Sub-Suppliers Through Nominated Procurement in Emerging Markets. Paper presented at the conference: Broadening our sight. Academy of Management annual meeting, Vancouver, Canada (virtual meeting due to Covid-19). August 7 – 11, 2020. Published in: Proceedings of the 80th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2020.18348abstract Fontana, E. (2018). When jobs are “spoiled” in the workplace: the internal taint of CSR work. Paper presented at the conference: Improving lives. Academy of Management annual meeting, Chicago, USA, August 10 – 14, 2018. Published in: Proceedings of the 78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2018.15830abstract Fontana, E., & Egels-Zandén, N. (2017). Non Sibi, Sed Omnibus: The network effect of industrial clusters on CSR execution in the Bangladeshi Garment Supply Chain. Paper presented at the conference: At the interface. Academy of Management annual meeting, Atlanta, USA, August 3 – 8, 2017. Published in: Proceedings of the 77th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2017.15334abstract

  • Member of the Academy of Management (AoM)
  • Member of the International Association for Business and Society (iABS)
  • Member of the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS)

  • Post-doctorate fellowship, Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation, Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria (Victoria, Canada)
  • Doctorate fellowship, the European Institute of Japanese Studies, Stockholm School of Economics, 2014-2018 (Stockholm, Sweden).
  • Mistra Centre for Sustainable Markets Fund, Stockholm School of Economics, 2018 (Stockholm, Sweden).
  • Ann-Margret och Bengt Fabian Svartz Stiftelse Foundation Fund, 2016-2017 (Stockholm, Sweden).
  • Sasakawa Foundation Fund, 2016 (Stockholm, Sweden).

Share this profile