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Dr. Alison Kemper
Associate Professor
DepartmentEntrepreneurship & Strategy
EducationBA, MDiv, MTh, MBA, PhD
OfficeTRS 2-131
Phone416-979-5000 ext. 556741
Overview
After a career as a non-profit leader, Alison Kemper now researches the impact of social and environmental issues on business strategy. She draws on the rich research tradition of institutional theory and brings new perspectives to bear on the critical issues which arise from the interactions between businesses and their social and environmental contexts.
Environment, society and governance issues in corporate strategy.
| Articles in Journals and Refereed Proceedings |
|---|
| Kemper, Alison. “Board reform in Canada from 2000-2007: how Actor Networks changed governance”. Proceedings, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. 2014 |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “Moving from Malthus to Solow: innovation as a corporate response to global calamity”. April 2012. Harvard Business Review. |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “After the Fall: Reconsidering business and society after the 2008 collapse of the financial markets”. December 2010, European Management Review. |
| Kemper, Alison. “Heisenberg’s Principals: How activist ratings change corporate boards”. Proceedings, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. 2010 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Observer effects in corporate ratings”. Proceedings, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. 2009 |
| Other Publications |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger. May 7, 2014. All business leaders should consider the source of their electrical power. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger March 27, 2014.The rush for new oil and gas sources is pushing us towards extreme actions. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger. March 13, 2014. Oil and trains make for a volatile combination in North America. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger. January 24, 2014. Do middle-managers and finance block progress towards sustainability? The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger. January 22, 2014. Top tips for overcoming short-termism. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, January 9, 2014. New research points to risk peak oil presents to business. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, November 25, 2013. Climate talks will fail unless parties agree to a carbon price. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, November 4, 2013. New York, London and Mumbai: major cities face risk from sea-level rises. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, September 25, 2013. Are governments' trade policies harming the growth of renewables? The Guardian |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, September 9, 2013. We are underestimating climate change and underfunding innovation. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, June 26, 2013. Climate change puts the value of countless companies at risk. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, May 10, 2013. Dhaka factory collapse: who will prevent another tragedy? The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, March 21, 2013. Volatile fossil fuel prices make renewable energy more attractive. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, March 19, 2013. Get to know your planetary boundaries |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, January 23, 2013. Two inventions that have the power to transform energy use. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, January 15, 2013.Will a new US secretary of state finally close a climate change deal? The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, November 29, 2012. Leaders look to US energy policy to signal sustainability is back in business. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, October 17, 2012. Understanding cause and effect are vital to progress on sustainability. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, September 13, 2012. Sustainable businesses need to think beyond their supply chains. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger, September 7, 2012. Why business is locked into unsustainable and carbon-heavy cycles. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison, & Martin, Roger. August 13, 2012. Why saving the planet is no longer the work of political leaders. The Guardian. |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “Carbon Pricing, Innovation, and Productivity: Implications for Canadian policy makers”. Sustainable Prosperity White Paper. June, 2010. |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “The CEO’s dilemma”. Critical Eye Review. April 2010 |
| Martin, Roger, Alison Kemper and Jennifer Riel. “Virtue Matrix Reloaded”, Rotman Magazine, Fall 2009 |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “Corporate Social Responsibility” in Qfinance: The Ultimate Resource. Bloomsbury Publications, 2009 |
| Kemper, Alison, “Strategy”, Chapter 2, in Daft, R.L and A. Armstrong. Organization Theory and Design (2009, first Canadian edition) |
| Kemper, Alison. “Accessibility Standards and Innovation: Projecting the Economic Impact of Meeting Ontario's Human Rights Challenges”, Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (CBERN), Business and Human Rights symposium, 2010 in preparation for a special issue of the Journal of Business Ethics |
| Presentations and Invited Seminars |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “Carbon Capture: The rise of Australia and Canada’s influence on climate negotiation.” European Group on Organization Studies, Rotterdam, July 2014. |
| Cukier, Wendy, Howard Lin, Laura Mae Lindo, and Alison Kemper. “Applying a Diversity Lens to Developing and Supporting Entrepreneurs”. To be presented at Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education, Lowell, MA. June, 2014 |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “Carbon Capture: The rise of Australia and Canada’s influence on climate negotiation.” Presented at ASAC 2014, Huntsville, ON. |
| Kemper, Alison. “Board reform in Canada from 2000-2007: how Actor Networks changed governance”. Presented at ASAC 2014, Huntsville, ON. |
| Trenholm, Susan, Wendy Cukier and Alison Kemper. “Social Innovation, Complexity Theory and Health Care Innovation in the UK”. NYU-Stern Conference on Social Entrepreneurship. November, 2013 |
| Kemper, Alison. “The Diffusion of Governance Reforms through an Actor Network”. Presented at European Group on Organization Studies, Helsinki, July 2012. |
| Kemper, Alison. “Rankings as a driver of institutionalization: The case of governance reform”. Presented at International Society for New Institutional Economics, Los Angeles, June, 2012 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Governance reform, speed and the structure of organizational fields”. Presented at European Group on Organization Studies, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2011 |
| Kemper, Alison. “The Speed of Governance Reform and the Structure of Organizational Fields. Presented at ASAC 2011 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Heisenberg’s Principals: How activist ratings change corporate boards”. Ivey Ph.D. Sustainability Academy 2010: Markets & Movements for Sustainability, November 2010 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Heisenberg’s Principals: How activist ratings change corporate boards”. Research seminar, School of Administrative Studies, November 2010 |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “After the Fall: Reconsidering business and society after the 2008 collapse of the financial markets” .Presented at Society for Business Ethics, Montreal, 2010 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Heisenberg’s Principals: How activist ratings change corporate boards”, OMT Division, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. 2010 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Accessibility Standards and Innovation: Projecting the Economic Impact of Meeting Ontario's Human Rights Challenges”, Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (CBERN), Business and Human Rights symposium, 2010 |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “After the Fall: Reconsidering business and society after the 2008 collapse of the financial markets”. Presented at European Group on Organization Studies, Barcelona, 2009. |
| Kemper, Alison. “Observer effects in corporate ratings”. OMT Division, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. 2009 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Making markets, changing organizations”, Presented at Energizing Markets – Making and Breaking Boundaries for The Regimes of Value, Copenhagen Business School, 2008 |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “Rethinking our self-fulfilling prophecies: rebuilding the social dimensions of the MBA”, Presented at Biennial Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, Humboldt University, Berlin 2008 |
| Kemper, Alison and Roger Martin. “Evading self-fulfilling prophecies: rebuilding the social dimensions of the MBA”, Presented at EABIS, Cranfield, UK, 2008 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Performativity Effects in Corporate Rankings”, Poster at the SIM Division, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Anaheim, 2008 |
| Kemper, Alison. “Activists, Firms and Institutions”, Presented at the Organization Theory Division, ASAC Conference, Halifax, 2008 |
| Research funding |
|---|
| Lee-Chin Institute Research Award. “Naming Conventions in American Biotech Firms”. 2010 |
| 2015 TRSM Internal Research Grant |
| Course code / title |
|---|
| Strategic Management, BUS 800, Capstone course, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, 2014-present |
| Introduction to Entrepreneurial Behaviour, ENT 526, Undergraduate requirement, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, 2013-present |
| Business in the Canadian Context, Introduction to Management, Undergraduate requirement, School of Administrative Studies, York University, 2010-2013. |
| Business Strategies for Sustainability. Second Year MBA elective, Schulich School of Business, Fall 2010 |
| Organization Theory and Design. Undergraduate elective, Rotman Commerce Programme, 2008-2010 |
| Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. Undergraduate requirement, School of Administrative Studies, York University, Summer 2009, 2010 |
| Corporate Citizenship Strategy. Second year M.B.A elective, Rotman School of Management, Winter 2008-2010 |
| Managing the Mission-Driven Organization, M.Div. Elective, Trinity College, University of Toronto. 2010 |
| Honour / Award |
|---|
| Award Recognizing Teaching Excellence, School of Administrative Studies, York University, 2011-12 |
| Winner, Dissertation Proposal Award. The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education. 2009 |
| Award for Teaching Excellence, Rotman School of Management, 2008 |
| Valedictorian, Rotman MBA Class 2004 |