Rob van Tulder - Biography#

Rob van Tulder is full Professor of International Business-Society Management at RSM Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds a PhD degree (cum laude) in social sciences from the University of Amsterdam. He has acted as visiting professor in a large number of universities (Australia, US, Poland, Austria, Germany, Brazil, the Philippines) and is consultant to international organisations (such as the UN, the IMF and the European Union), multinational enterprises, Non-Governmental Organisations and ministries around the world. In 1998 he founded the department of Business-Society Management, was has become one of the leading departments in the world studying and teaching about the contribution of business and leaders towards society’s ‘grand challenges’. With more than 200 students, the departments hosts the largest Master on Global Business and Sustainability and was elected #1 in the world on education and research in CSR. For more than ten years he worked together with UNCTAD to compile the annual list of the ‘world’s largest TNCs’ (Published in the World Investment Report).

In 2009, Dr. Van Tulder founded the Partnerships Resource Centre that studies the cross-sector partnerships between firms, NGOs and government for sustainable development. The PrC functions as a ‘bridging’ institute between academia and society. At the moment, the PrC engages in action research together with major societal stakeholders – including large MNEs like Philips, Akzo Unilever, Jolibee, St.Miguel, Safaricom - in a variety of countries around the world: ten countries in West and East Africa, Latin America (in particular Brazil and Chili); South-East Asia (in particular the Philippines). The partnerships Resource Centre (www.prc/rsm.nl) pioneered action research together with the Dutch and German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in support of the Milennium Development Goals (in particular goal no.8) and the Sustainable Development Goals (serving SDG17, but also all other SDGs that engage multiple stakeholders, in particular SDG1 - poverty - SDG 2 - hunger; SDG3 - health- ;SDG6 - water and sanitation; SDG 8 decent work and economic growth). Other projects involve major NGOs - like Cordaid, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, trade unions - or multilateral organizations like UNESCO, UN Global Compact, UNDP, UNHCR, etc.

Prof. van Tulder takes an active role in helping organizations around the world develop fill research and data gaps to advance sustainable development. At the moment he acts as the chair of the Supervisory Board of Wage Indicator Foundation - a global network of researchers that developed and sustains a database of between 140 and 200 countries on wage related issues like 'living wage', 'minimum wage', collective agreements', and the like. A second relevant position is as member of the advisory board of Robeco - a large institutional investor - to help redraft their investment portfolio and support the sustainability efforts of their client base (10.000 companies). A third position is as member of the advisory board of the chair of Social Enterprise and Institutions of Collective action, which focuses on briding scientific research and societal initiatives related to new business models that are able to deal with the 'grand challenges' of the present era.

Over the years, dr. Van Tulder published more than 100 scholarly articles in a wide range of academic journals such as Journal of Management Studies, California Management Review, Journal of International Business Studies, Business Strategy and the Environment, Journal of International Business Policy, ICCC, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of World Business, Business & Society, Research Policy, World Development, Transnational Corporations, European Management Journal, Journal of International Organization Studies, Review of International Political Economy. In additon, many practice oriented article were produced, policy papers as well as a wide variety of validated opan-access tools were developed to serve specific audiences needs:, such as: (1) the better business scan for companies to measure the gap between their sustainability intentions and realization; (2) partnering aliignment tool to help cross-sector partnerships creating an impactull configuation ('issue-partnering fit'); (3) wicked problems plaza - a model to get conflicting parties working together on common solutions to wicked problems; (4) CANVAS+ - a business model approach to help corporations develop strategies that limit negative externalities, optimize positive externalities and create (net) shared societal value. All these tools (and more) have become available on various websites.

His latest book publications include: Principles of Sustainable Business (2023: with Eveline van Mil; Routledge; https://www.principlesofsustainablebusiness.nl), Getting all the motives right. Driving ICR to the next level (2018: SMO books); Business and the Sustainable Development Goals (2018 RSM Series in positive change); Skill Sheets: an integrated approach to research, study and management, Amsterdam (2018): Pearson International (https://www.skillsheets.com); International Business in a VUCA world (2020: Emerald); International Business and Sustainable Development (2014: Emerald); The Challenge of the BRIC Multinationals (2017: Emerald); Managing the Transition to a Sustainable Enterprise (2014, with Rob van Tilburg, Andrea da Rosa and Mara Francken; Earthscan), Doing Business in Africa, a strategic guide for entrepreneurs (2013), Corporate Responsibilities in Turbulent time, Beijing (2012; 2010) China Economic Publishing House (in Chinese); International Business-Society Management, London (2006): with Alex van der Zwart (Routledge (https://www.ib-sm.org)