Research

Research Interests

Sustainable Development Goals, Stakeholder Management, Mixed Methods, and Global South.

Working Papers, by broad topics


Poverty and Inequality

Getting Out of the Ghetto: The Paradox of Inclusion in a Discriminatory System


Winner Best Conference PhD Paper Prize at the Strategic Management Society 40th Annual Conference.Working Paper. 1st round R&R at the Administrative Science Quarterly.

Do training programs promote socioeconomic prosperity among the disenfranchised? This paper answers this question through the case of Banco da Providência, a NGO dedicated to reducing extreme poverty in Rio de Janeiro favelas. This research combines a randomized controlled trial (RCT), computational text analysis, and interviews.

KEYWORDS: Business capabilities development, diversity and inclusion, social stigma, randomized controlled trial, computational text analysis, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Stakeholder Capitalism: Organizations' Capabilities and Individuals' Wellbeing

in collaboration with Lucas Lauriano.


Working Paper. Submitted to the Journal of Management Studies.

To what extent can organizations’ capabilities promote individuals’ well-being? In this theoretical article, we argue that organizations are essential to free people from socioeconomic exclusion, using their resources and capabilities – e.g. duty, design, governance – to produce an inclusive approach towards disenfranchised stakeholders. We do so by developing a model based on the “poverty traps” literature that explains how organizations may pull individuals out of what we call “the exclusion traps.”

KEYWORDS: Individuals’ capabilities, organizations’ capabilities, exclusion traps, stakeholder theory, and socioeconomic development.

Polycentric Governance Among Stakeholders in Disenfranchised Communities

in collaboration with Anita McGahan.


Working Paper.

Polycentric governance involves aligning incentives of stakeholders to overcome collective action problems (Ostrom, 1990, 2005). Achieving this alignment is particularly difficult in disenfranchised communities. The study then lays out an agenda on how theories of polycentrism, and more broadly, theories of management, must be adapted to the interests of stakeholders who are vulnerable, disadvantaged, impoverished, and otherwise less than wholly considered in the resolution of grand challenges and other collective action problems.

KEYWORDS: Polycentric governance, stakeholder theory, disenfranchised communities, collective action, grand challenges

Climate Change

There is No Planet B: Stakeholder Governance that Aligns Incentives to Preserve the Amazon Rainforest

in collaboration with Anita McGahan.


Wiliam F. Glueck Best Paper Award at the 81st Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Best Paper Award at the 13th Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability Annual Conference. Best Paper Award at the 17th Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference. Honorable Mention for the Best Paper Prize at the 41st Strategic Management Society Annual Conference. Working Paper. 2nd round R&R at Management Science.

How do firms design incentives compatible with environmental protection? This paper explores what is the impact of Natura Co. in forest conservation and fire incidents in the Amazon rainforest. We do that through a Differences-in-Differences (DiD) analysis comparing municipalities in which Natura entered versus not entered. An instrumental variable analysis using missing satellite images is also employed. Anecdotal pieces of evidence from field trips to Amazon illustrate the results and the mechanisms.

KEYWORDS: Governing the commons, internalizing externalities, new institutional theory, new stakeholder theory, and Amazon rainforest.

The Normative Core of Relational Stakeholder Strategies: Open Buyer-Supplier Relations in the Amazon Rainforest

in collaboration with Sérgio Lazzarini, Dirk Boehe, and Mike Cook.


Distinguished Paper Award in Cooperative Strategy at the 80th Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Working Paper.

In this paper, we examine Natura Co., a company in the cosmetic industry that developed a complex web of open vertical and horizontal relations (a “netchain”) to procure natural inputs from the Amazon rainforest. Using an in-depth case study methodology, we argue that instrumental and normative explanations of stakeholder-oriented strategies are complementary and that the so-called shareholder primacy may actually help as long as shareholders (or whoever holds control rights) implement morally informed principles guiding those relational strategies.

KEYWORDS: Stakeholders, normative stakeholder management, relational governance, supply chains, and netchains.

The Role of Management in Solving the Fallacious Trade-off Between Economy and Ecology

in collaboration with Gustavo Cordeiro, Paulo Arvate, and Joana Story.


Working Paper. Submitted to the Academy of Management Discoveries.

This study demonstrates the fallacy of the trade-off between ecological and economic outcomes. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) methodology on elections with a margin of victory close to zero, we show that marginally elected agribusiness leaders increase the number of new firms in their municipalities more than their marginally elected non-agribusiness counterparts. Nevertheless, differently from expected, the development of these new businesses was not followed by different deforestation trends in comparison to non-agribusiness municipalities. This was possible through progressive fiscal policies and investments in local infrastructure, which are under the control of these local leaders.

KEYWORDS: Sustainability, Amazon rainforest, Regression Discontinuity Design, Trade-off economy-ecology.

Leviathan as A Client: Public versus Private Promotion of Desalination Technologies to Address Critical Water Shortages

in collaboration with Ilze Kivleniece and Sérgio Lazzarini.


Working Paper.

In this paper, we empirically explore water provision as one of the grand challenges of present times by examining the effect of public versus private clients in promoting more sustainable desalination technologies. Based on a population-level data of all desalination projects worldwide from 1950 to 2015, we find that public demand-side promotion of desalination leads to a higher rate of adaption of more sustainable desalination technologies over time. Our models illustrate a public client as two to three times more likely to implement such technology than a private client. Moreover, using an instrumental variable approach we find this effect is moderated by the institutional development of the countries, with more effective responses in moments of hydric crises (i.e., following droughts) from governments in developed institutional contexts.

KEYWORDS: Water shortages, droughts, public vs. private governance, instrumental variable model.

Healthcare Management

Privacy at What Cost? Saving the Lives of HIV Patients with Electronic Medical Records

in collaboration with Laura Derksen and Anita McGahan.


Working paper. Under review at the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.

This paper explores the impact of EMR on the healthcare of HIV/AIDS patients in Malawi. Using an staggered differences-in-differences methodology, we show that EMR implementation by Baobab Health Trust led to an increase in the number of patients in care and a gradual reduction in deaths. Field interviews suggest that EMR allowed a better tracing of lapsed patients, and therefore, helped bring more patients back into care. Heterogeneity analysis shows that these results are stronger for patients with a preference for more privacy.

KEYWORDS: Electronic medical records (EMR), healthcare, HIV/AIDS, development, and staggered differences-in-differences.

Connecting Internal and External Networks of Cooperation: the North Star Alliance’s Roadside Wellness Centers Across Africa

in collaboration with Aline Gatignon, Julien Clément, and Luk N. Van Wassenhove.


Working paper.

This paper explores conditions and combinations of conditions that enable healthcare clinics in resource-constrained settings to achieve superior performance, measured by the number of patient visits. We use the context of the North Star Alliance, an independent nonprofit organization that provides access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services for mobile populations across East, West, and Southern Africa. Using a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) we found that clinics might achieve superior performance by either building strong internal communication networks or by pursuing external resources.

KEYWORDS: Resource-scarce communities, networks, healthcare, HIV/AIDS, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).

Responsible Production and Consumption

Fifty Shades of Green: A New Toolkit to Examine Firms Environmental Disclosure

in collaboration with Lígia Azevedo-Rezende, Jiaxin Li, Pedro Makhoul, Aldo Musacchio, and Salil Redkar.


Stakeholder Strategy Best PhD Student Proposal and Finalist for the Research Methods Paper Prize at the Strategic Management Society 41st Annual Conference. Working Paper. Reject and Resubmit at the Strategic Management Journal.

Through a combination of text analysis, sentiment analysis, and image processing techniques, we evaluate firm environmental disclosure. Results suggest intertemporally, firms increase the amount of environmental text, with more emotional content (both positive and negative), and higher use of green pixels on their reports. This time trend is particularly prevalent among firms operating in contested areas, such as the Amazon rainforest. Interestingly, while reports become literally “greener,” firm ESG controversies score declines, suggesting a decoupling between reported actions and the true behavior of firms.

KEYWORDS: Environmental disclosure, greenwashing, non-market strategy, text analysis, sentiment analysis, and image processing.

How Much Does Industry Matter to ESG, Really?

in collaboration with Michael Gavin, Witold Henisz, and James McGlinch.


Working Paper.

This study discusses how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors can affect firm performance heterogeneously both across and within industries. We do so by analyzing ESG scores and the profitability of U.S. public corporations in a configurational way. Through a fuzzy-set QCA application, we identify heterogeneous patterns by which ESG factors combine, leading some firms to superior financial performance compared with their industry peers. Our approach reveals that different industries have distinct ESG configurations (aka. paths) that lead to higher performance. Similarly, within the same industry, more than one ESG configuration may be associated with higher profitability.

KEYWORDS: Nonmarket strategies; Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG); Financial Performance; Industry Heterogeneity; Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).

Published Papers

International Journals

Pongeluppe, L. S. (2022). The Favela Effect: Spatial Inequalities and Firm Strategies in Disadvantaged Urban Communities. Strategic Management Journal.

Best Paper Award at the 12th Annual Ivey/Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability PhD Sustainability Academy.

Mesquita, L. F., Saes, M. S. M., Lazzarini, S. G., & Pongeluppe, L. S. (2021). Can trust induce vertical integration? An experimental study of buyer–seller exchanges with distinct competencies and specific investments. Industrial and Corporate Change, 30(3): 778-798.

Lazzarini, S. G., Pongeluppe, L. S., Ito, N. C., Oliveira, F. D. M., & Ovanessoff, A. (2020). Public Capacity, Plural Forms of Collaboration, and the Performance of Public Initiatives: A Configurational Approach. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 30(4): 579-595.

Monteiro, G.F.A., Yeung, L.L.T., Caleman S.M.Q. & Pongeluppe, L.S. (2019). Indigenous land demarcation conflicts in Brazil: Has the Supreme Court’s decision brought (in)stability? European Journal of Law and Economics, 48(2): 267-290.

Narsalay, R.; Pongeluppe, L.S. & Light, D. (2015). The Hidden Pitfalls of Inclusive Innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, v. Winter, 47-53.

Brazilian Journals

Ito, N. C., and Pongeluppe L.P. (2020). The COVID-19 outbreak and the municipal administration responses: resource munificence, social vulnerability, and the effectiveness of public actions. RAP. Revista de Administração Pública, 54.4: 782-838.

Monteiro, G.F.A; Caleman, S.M.Q.; Pongeluppe, L.S. (2019). Firm Performance and the Strategic Components of Bankruptcy Reorganization Plans. BAR. Brazilian Administration Review, 16: 1-28.

Pongeluppe, L.S.; and Saes, M. S. M. (2014). Ambiente institucional e compra de terras por estrangeiros em países em desenvolvimento. RAUSP Revista de Administração da Universidade de São Paulo, 49(1): 9-17.

Pongeluppe, L. S., Abdul-hak, G. S., & Carvalho, C. E. (2013). O Brasil na Reunião Ministerial de Agricultura da OCDE, Fevereiro de 2010. Pesquisa & Debate. Revista do Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Economia Política, 24(1(43)): 137-151.

Book Chapters

Lazzarini, S.G., Cabral, S., Pongeluppe, L.S., Ferreira, L.C.D.M. and Rotondaro, A. (2021). The best of both worlds? Impact investors and their role in the financial versus social performance debate. In: Lehner (Ed.), A Research Agenda for Social Finance. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Boehe, D.M., Pongeluppe, L.S. & Lazzarini, S.G. (2014). Natura and the development of a sustainable supply chain in the Amazon region. In: Liberman, Garcilazo, and Stal (Eds.), Multinationals in Latin America: Case Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. p. 49-71.

Pongeluppe, L.S., Moron, C.R. & Lazzarini, S.G. (2014). The Pulp and Paper Industry: The Case of Klabin company and Orsa Group. In: Ménard, Saes, Silva, and Raynaud (Eds.), Challenges to economic organization: Plural Forms. Atlas, São Paulo. P. 185-199.


Last update: January 2023.