On-Site PhD conferral mr. Constantijn van Aartsen

Key words: corporate law, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, corporate misbehaviour, corporate illegality, corporate ethics

"A Journey into Causes of Corporate Misbehaviour: why corporate legal disciplines and regulation need to be structurally reformed"

Corporations are the most powerful economic entities in contemporary society. The main finding in this thesis is that existing regulatory approaches in corporate law, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are methodologically suboptimal and politically biased. Their continued use entrenches corporate power and undermines our ability to properly deal with the social, economic and environmental effects of corporate misbehaviour. This conclusion draws on insights from twelve disciplines: law, political economics, economics, psychology, anthropology, management studies, sociology, political science, criminology, theology, media studies and philosophy.

The resolution of global crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss and inequality requires us to urgently reform corporate law, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. The reform chapter outlines how such an overhaul can be achieved without fundamental shocks to the economy.