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Luyao Bao

Luyao Bao

Email: l.bao@qmul.ac.uk

Project title

Understanding CSR Through Employee Sensemaking:

A Case Study of a Western MNC Operating in China

Project description

I am a PhD researcher specialising in sustainability, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR), with a particular focus on the employee perspective in multinational companies.

My doctoral research explores how Chinese employees in a Western professional services firm interpret and respond to CSR initiatives, examining the ways in which cultural, political, and organisational contexts shape these understandings.

By drawing on extensive interview data, I investigate how employees actively make sense of CSR, the cognitive mechanisms behind their evaluations of CSR authenticity, and the role of paradoxical thinking in navigating CSR ambiguities.

Through this work, I aim to contribute to a more contextually grounded understanding of CSR in non-Western settings while generating practical insights for global companies on how to design, localise, and communicate CSR strategies in ways that enhance perceived legitimacy and facilitate employee engagement.

Supervision

1st Supervisor: Dr Andromachi Athanasopoulou 
2nd Supervisor: Professor Nelarine Cornelius 

 

Media

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/luyao-bao

 

Conference papers

Presented paper at the BAM 2022 Conference: Employees Making Sense of CSR – A Multilevel Study of MNCs in China

 

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