dr. Nikolas Rathert

Bio

My research and teaching focus on the role of corporations and alternative forms of organizing such as social enterprises in addressing a range of complex challenges facing societies today. I study why and how these organizations integrate social goals, the opportunities and challenges they encounter both from within and outside the organization, and how organizing for social and economic goals differs across institutional contexts. 

I have a PhD in Management from the Freie Universitaet Berlin. I have held visiting positions at the Kellogg School of Management and the Industrial and Labor Relations School at Cornell University, where I was a Fulbright Scholar. Before joining Tilburg University, I was a postdoctoral scholar at the Hertie School.

Courses

• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Wicked Problems 301: Interv. Theories
• Class Meeting GMSI (Pass) - Year 2
• International Organisations
• Societal Developments and Institutions

Top publications

1. Alternative organizing with social purpose - Revisiting institutional…

   Mair, J., & Rathert, N. (2021). Alternative organizing with social purpose: Revisiting institutional analysis of market-based activity. Socio-Economic Review, 19(2), 817-836.

2. Sustaining the integration of social objectives over time - A case-ba…

   Bünder, T., Rathert, N., & Mair, J. (2023). Sustaining the integration of social objectives over time: A case-based analysis of access to medicine in the pharmaceutical industry. Business & Society. Advance online publication.

3. Strategies of legitimation - MNEs and the adoption of CSR in response…

   Rathert, N. (2016). Strategies of legitimation: MNEs and the adoption of CSR in response to host-country institutions. Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), 47(7), 858–879.

4. Let’s talk about problems - Advancing research on hybrid organizing, …

   Mair, J., & Rathert, N. (2020). Let’s talk about problems: Advancing research on hybrid organizing, social enterprises, and institutional context. In M. L. Besharov, & B. C. Mitzinneck (Eds.), Research in the sociology of organizations: Organizational hybridity: Perspectives, processes, promises (Vol. 69, pp. 189–208). (Research in the Sociology of Organizations). Emerald Publishing.

5. Private governance as regulatory substitute or complement? - A compar…

   Jackson, G., & Rathert, N. (2017). Private governance as regulatory substitute or complement? A comparative institutional approach to CSR adoption by multinational corporations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 49, 445-478.