Dr Louise Obara

Lecturer in Accounting and Finance

Accounting and Finance

l.j.obara@swansea.ac.uk

Office 237 - 237
Second Floor
School of Management
Bay Campus

Available For Postgraduate Supervision

About

Louise joined Swansea University in 2022 as a lecturer in Accounting and Finance. Previous to this, Louise worked for over five years at De Montfort University where she developed and ran a number of modules as well as managed the BA (Hons) Business and Management programme. Louise has also worked in the public sector as a social worker (where she supported refugees and asylum seekers in Swindon), and as a research officer at the Welsh Government (where she co-managed the Government’s stakeholder engagement programme).

QUALIFICATIONS

PGCLTHE (2019) Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (De Montfort University)
PhD (2015) From Awareness to Action: Exploring the Development of Human Rights within UK Companies from a Sensemaking and Organising Perspective (Cardiff University)
MSc (2009) Social Science Research Methods (Cardiff University)
MA (2002) Human Rights (Essex University)
BSc (2001) Applied Social Studies (Bath University)

Areas Of Expertise

Business ethics, CSR, sustainability and human rights
Corporate governance
Qualitative research methods

Career Highlights

Research

A social scientist by training, Louise’s research focuses on human rights, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability within multinational companies (MNCs). In particular, she explores how ethics, CSR and human rights are managed, implemented, measured and disclosed by MNCs as well as the drivers behind the extent and type of corporate responsibility. Whilst Louise’s research focuses on the people, governance systems and formal/informal management processes within businesses, she adopts a holistic approach that incorporates and explores the interaction of organisational and internal factors (such as employee values, leadership, and corporate culture), and external aspects (such as regulation, stakeholder pressure, and home/host country norms and traditions). Louise also takes a keen interest in CSR, sustainability and human rights at the international level, particularly the work of the United Nations and initiatives in respect of CSR (e.g. Global Compact), business and human rights (e.g. UN Guiding Principles), corporate social performance (e.g. Global Reporting Initiative), ethical investment (e.g. Principles for Responsible Investment), and business ethics / CSR pedagogy (e.g. Principles for Responsible Management Education).

Publications

Research Highlights

Obara, L., , T., , G., & , R. (2021). From Personal to Professional: A Reflective Account of Academics Engaging with Sustainability. In Mark Starik, Patricia Kanashiro (Ed.), Personal Sustainability Practices: Faculty Approaches to Walking the Sustainability Talk and Living the UN SDGs New Horizons in Sustainability and Business series (pp. 206-217). Edward Elgar
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61762
https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781800375123/9781800375123.00031.xml
Obara, L. & Peattie, K. (2018). Bridging the great divide? Making sense of the human rights-CSR relationship in UK multinational companies. Journal of World Business, 53(6), 781-793.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2017.10.002, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61761
Obara, L. (2017). ‘What Does This Mean?’: How UK Companies Make Sense of Human Rights. Business and Human Rights Journal, 2(2), 249-273.
https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2017.7, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61760
Obara, L. & Robinson, P. (2013). Negotiating the Terrain: Doing Research Abroad. In Alex Franklin, Paul Blyton (Ed.), Researching Sustainability: A Guide to Social Science Methods, Practice and Engagement Taylor and Francis Group
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61759
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315870441-23/negotiating-terrain-research-abroad-alex-franklin-paul-blyton?context=ubx&refId=320f75b9-2677-4e36-91a4-5ddddde87858

All Research

Journal Articles

Obara, L. & Peattie, K. (2018). Bridging the great divide? Making sense of the human rights-CSR relationship in UK multinational companies. Journal of World Business, 53(6), 781-793.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2017.10.002, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61761
Obara, L. (2017). ‘What Does This Mean?’: How UK Companies Make Sense of Human Rights. Business and Human Rights Journal, 2(2), 249-273.
https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2017.7, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61760

Book Chapters

Obara, L., , T., , G., & , R. (2021). From Personal to Professional: A Reflective Account of Academics Engaging with Sustainability. In Mark Starik, Patricia Kanashiro (Ed.), Personal Sustainability Practices: Faculty Approaches to Walking the Sustainability Talk and Living the UN SDGs New Horizons in Sustainability and Business series (pp. 206-217). Edward Elgar
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61762
https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781800375123/9781800375123.00031.xml
Obara, L. & Robinson, P. (2013). Negotiating the Terrain: Doing Research Abroad. In Alex Franklin, Paul Blyton (Ed.), Researching Sustainability: A Guide to Social Science Methods, Practice and Engagement Taylor and Francis Group
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61759
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315870441-23/negotiating-terrain-research-abroad-alex-franklin-paul-blyton?context=ubx&refId=320f75b9-2677-4e36-91a4-5ddddde87858

Taught Modules

MN-2003 Corporate Governance and Ethics

The collapse of well-known companies in the 1980s (e.g., Carrian Group, Texaco, Qintex) brought into sharp focus the mismanagement and unethical practices of those that own and/or run companies. Despite the proliferation of corporate governance codes, regulation and guidance over the past 30 years (not to mention academic literature and research), the number of bankruptcies (e.g. Enron, Arcadia Group), business scandals (e.g. Volkswagen, BP), and accusations of corporate malpractice (e.g. Facebook) has persisted. Against this backdrop, the module explores the theories, mechanisms and debates about how companies should be managed, controlled and directed. Through the use of lectures and seminars, students are encouraged to engage critically with government policy and academic literature on corporate governance and ethics, and apply this knowledge to explore its relevance and application in different companies and sectors. The module is designed to be as interactive and participatory as possible based on the fact that corporate governance and ethics is a contested, dynamic and rapidly-changing field of theory and practice, thus requiring much debate, discussion and analysis.
MN-3551 Law of International Corporate Governance

Since the turn of the century, corporate governance regulations and codes have proliferated around the world. Often developed in response to business scandals (e.g. Toshiba, Volkswagen), or the collapse of well-known companies (e.g. Enron, Arcadia), they aim to set out how a company should be run and managed effectively. Whilst corporate governance systems share many similarities in terms of the mechanisms and actors that are perceived to be critical to a well-functioning business, there are important differences between them, leading to much debate and empirical research on their effectiveness. Adopting a comparative lens to corporate governance, this module examines the similarities and differences between the most notable corporate governance regimes in the world (e.g. the UK, USA, Germany, South Africa, and Japan), and compares their strengths, weaknesses, and impact on business practice and performance.
MN-M507 International Corporate Governance and Ethics

The collapse of well-known companies in the 1980s (e.g., Carrian Group, Texaco, Qintex) brought into sharp focus the mismanagement and unethical practices of those that own and/or run companies. Despite the proliferation of corporate governance codes, regulation and guidance over the past 30 years (not to mention academic literature and research), the number of bankruptcies (e.g. Enron, Arcadia Group), business scandals (e.g. Volkswagen, BP), and accusations of corporate malpractice (e.g. Facebook) has persisted. Against this backdrop, the module explores the theories, mechanisms and debates about how companies should be managed, controlled and directed. Through the use of interactive workshops, students are encouraged to engage critically with government policy and academic literature on corporate governance and ethics, and apply this knowledge to explore its relevance and application in different companies and sectors. The module is designed to be as interactive and participatory as possible based on the fact that corporate governance and ethics is a contested, dynamic and rapidly-changing field of theory and practice, thus requiring much debate, discussion and analysis. This unit prepares the students for CFA Level 1.