Dr. Brigitte Bernard-Rau

• Impact Investment Measurement and Evaluation
• Social Rating Agencies and ESG Performance
• Social Issues Management
• Social Change and Organisations
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Dr. Brigitte Bernard-Rau, LL.M. is a postdoctoral research associate in the School of Business, Economics, and Social Science at the University of Hamburg. She received her PhD in Management Sciences at Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands). In her doctoral thesis, entitled "Better Be Responsible – The impact of social ratings on bringing about change in organisations", she shows how the interactions between firms and social rating agencies (SRAs), as well as between CSR managers and environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysts, are a driving force towards organisational change.

Brigitte furthers her academic career by undertaking independent and collaborative research on topics related to CSR reporting, ESG performance factors, impact investment, social ratings, SRAs and sustainable finance. As a project leader and scientific advisor, she provides support to Professor Busch and to his Chair of Management and Sustainability. In addition, she develops contacts and networks outside the university that are relevant for future collaboration and funding opportunities.

Prior to starting her fellowship at the University of Hamburg, Brigitte worked as an ESG Analyst at a leading ESG rating agency in Germany. She holds a Graduate Business degree from Novancia-ACI Business School Paris (France) and a Master’s degree (LL.M.) in European Comparative Law from the University Carlos III of Madrid (Spain). Before returning to academia, Brigitte gained broad international subject-matter and leadership experience in the corporate world. She has also worked as an EU public procurement lawyer at the European Commission. During an extended stay in the USA, she volunteered in various non-profit organizations. Her working languages are English, French, Spanish and German.

Bernard-Rau, B. (2024): Sustainability Stories: The Power of Narratives to Understand Global Challenges. 1st ed. 2024. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52300-7

Bernard-Rau, B., Busch, T., Kaiser, J., Weber, J. (2022): Impact Investing in Deutschland – Markstudie 2022; Bundesinitiative für Impact Investing (Hrsg.)

Bernard-Rau, B. and Schnerring, G. (2022): Gabler Kompakt-Lexikon Corporate Social Responsibility – Schlüsselbegriffe einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaft in Deutsch und Englisch (Gabler Kompakt-Lexicon Corporate Social Responsibility -Key terms of a sustainable economy in German and English). Wiesbaden (DE): Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH; Springer Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-34940-0

Bernard-Rau, B. (2021): Rating Social and Environmental Performances, in Cooren, François and Stücheli-Herlach, Peter (Eds.): Handbook of Management Communication. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 459-475. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501508059 

Bernard-Rau, B. (2019): Better Be Responsible –The Impact of Social Ratings on Bringing about Change in Organisations. PhD Thesis, Institute for Management Research, Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), ISBN 978-94-028-1770-6.

Bernard-Rau, B. (2013): Sociale verantwoordelijkheid van ondernemingen: Lessen van de leiders (Corporate Social Responsibility: Lessons from the Leaders), in Reichling, Antonie and Jonker, Jan. (Eds.): Derde Generatie – Kwaliteits Management – Vertrekken, Zoeken, Verbreden. Deventer (NL):  Kluwer, 287-311, ISBN 978-90-13-11590-1.

Bernard-Rau, B., Blazevic, V.: Negotiating Social Ratings: Interaction Dynamics between Social Rating Analysts and Corporate Social Responsibility Managers, 14th International Process (PROS) Symposium, Chania, Cyprus, 2023.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: Lines of dialogue between society and business: The communicative constitution of a social rating agency, 36th European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Hamburg, Germany, 2020.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: Mobilizing forms of justification and evaluation to sell the relevance of ESG issues, Cass Business School Research Seminar – Mobilising the Economies of Worth in Organisation and Market Studies, London, UK, 2019.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: Bridging the gap between society and business: The transformative role of social rating agencies, 78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM), Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2018.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: The micro-processes of mobilising justification and valuation to assess CSR and sustainability practices: Worth testing and compromising, 34th European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Tallinn, Estonia, 2018.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: The impact of socially responsible investors and social rating agencies on firms’ CSR practices: How conflicting economies of worth become entangled in attempting to legitimise non-financial evaluation, 33rd European Group of Organisational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2017.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: The corporate-stakeholder relationship: Analysis of the influence of stakeholders on CSR organizational practices – The impact on corporate social performance, 7th International Conference on Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, Berlin, Germany, 2016.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: Giving an account to ethical and socially responsible investors: A multiple stakeholder approach, 3rd International CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Conference, Cologne, Germany, 2016.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: The impact of socially responsible investors and social rating agencies on firm’s practices: An institutional logics perspective, 6th CSR Research Seminar – Taking corporate responsibility to the next level: Innovative business approaches, Brussels, Belgium,  2016.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K., Blazevic, V.: Giving an account to ethical and socially responsible investors: A multiple stakeholder approach, 1st International New Business Model Conference, Toulouse, France, 2016.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K.: The impact of social ratings on firms’ reported corporate social responsibility policies and practices, 30th European Group of Organisational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 2014.

Bernard-Rau, B., Lauche, K.: Impact of responsible investors on mainstream investment and management practices, (Professional Development Workshop), 73rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM), Orlando, Florida, USA, 2013.