David Crowther

David Crowther is a British intellectual and social leader. He has particular expertise in the areas of governance, sustainability and accountability. He was born in Wigan, England in the 1950s and was educated at Nottingham High School.

Early career

Commenced working in local government and qualified as an accountant – CPFA (1975) and ACMA (1977), FCMA (1986). Worked in various public and private sector organisations as accountant, systems specialist and general manager, rising to board level before a spell as a self-employed management consultant

BA (psychology), MBA, MEd, PhD, PGCE, FCMA, CGMA, CPFA, MCMI

Later career

Acquired degrees from Open University, Loughborough University, Aston University and Nottingham Trent University. In 1994 he joined Aston University and there obtained a PhD in 1999 for research into corporate social performance. While at Aston University he staked out a reputation as someone who was prolific but also encouraging of others, especially junior scholars; many of whom went onto to enjoy successful academic careers. This was to become a feature of his career. His contemporaries at Aston remember him fondly holding forth on philosophy over lengthy lunches in the Pot of Beer, Sacks of Potatoes and other places of learning. During this period, he was known for his curious interest in the local history of Derby. David's range of intellectual interests marked him out as a polymath early in his academic career. David traded Aston Business School for London Metropolitan University, where he held a chair in Corporate Governance. At London Met, he made a difference and was known for mentoring and co-writing with colleagues. He is now Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility at De Montfort University. He has been visiting professor in 7 countries, most recently (since 2006) in Turkey. David enjoyed a meteoric rise in his academic career.

In 2003 he organised the first International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility in London, which led to annual conferences taking place around the world. Following this he established the Social Responsibility Research Network, an international body which now has 1000 members, which he continues to Chair. In 2005 he established and edits Social Responsibility Journal; he also edits book series with Emerald Group Publishing and with Ashgate Group Publishing. In 2010 he established the Organisational Governance Network and conference series – in its 4th year. He is on the advisory boards of many organisations. He has worked with Ralph Nader in the Association for integrity in Accounting and the Citizen Works Corporate Reform Commission.

Initially his work was concerned with social and environmental accounting. The distinctive feature of this work was to bring a semiological perspective to the study of environmental accounting. Later his concern was with corporate social responsibility and, more recently, sustainability and governance. His views are represented in his many publications, in the newspapers, on radio and TV. He has spoken at business and academic conferences in over 25 countries. He continues to work internationally in the areas of governance and sustainability.

Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, UK

Visiting professor at London School of Commerce, UK; Trakya University, Turkey

Chair of Social Responsibility Research Network

Other activities

He has been involved with many organisations in an advisory capacity and continues to be in demand. Examples of current activities are:

• Founding Board member, Research In Organisational Governance Network
• Member of Scientific Committee, Centre for Competitive Intelligence and Strategic Management, National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (INPT), Morocco
• Director, The Durability Institute
• Patron, The Temple Trust (Sri Lanka)
• Partner, The Knowledge Globalization Institute, USA
• Founding chair of the Social Responsibility Research Network

• "Sientific committee, Centre for Competitive Intelligence and Strategic Management (CIEMS)". 
• "Westburn Publishers Ltd". 
• "Knowledge globalization Institute, Editorial Advisers". 

Honours and awards

He has received many awards from around the world and is listed in directories such as:

• Great Minds of the 21st Century
• Marquis Who’s Who in America
• Marquis Who’s Who in The World
• Dictionary of International Biography
• Lifetime achievement award

Publications

More than 400 articles published in academic and professional journals, magazines and edited book collections.

Books published

• The Governance of Risk; 2013
• Education and Corporate Social Responsibility: International perspectives; 2013
• Territories of Social Responsibility: Opening the policy agenda; 2012
• Business Strategy and Sustainability; 2012
• Human Dignity and Managerial Responsibility: diversity, rights and sustainability; 2012
• A Social Critique of Corporate Reporting; Semiotics and web-based integrated reporting; 2012
• Governance and Social Responsibility; 2012
• Corporate Governance and International Business; 2011
• Governance in the Business Environment; 2011
• NGOs and Social Responsibility; 2010
• A Handbook of Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility; 2010
• Corporate Social Responsibility; 3 volumes; 2010
• Part I Principles, Stakeholders and Sustainability
• Part II Performance evaluation, Globalisation and NFPs
• Part III Strategy and Leadership
• Corporate Governance and Risk Management; 2010
• The Durable Corporation: strategies for sustainable development; 2009
• Global Perspectives on Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility; 2009
• Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs; 2009
• Ashgate Research Companion to Corporate Social Responsibility; 2008)
• Culture and Corporate Governance; 2008)
• Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility; 2008
• Research Methods: a concise introduction to research in management and business consultancy; 2008
• Ethics, Psyche and Social Responsibility; 2007
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Theory and Practice with Case Studies; 2007
• New Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility; 2007
• Globalisation and Social Responsibility; 2006
• Social Responsibility in India; 2005
• International Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility (2 volumes); 2005
• Representations of Social Responsibility (2 volumes); 2005
• Organisational Theory; 2004
• Managing finance – a socially responsible approach; 2004
• Stakeholders and Social Responsibility; 2004
• Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility; 2004
• Creating Shareholder Value; 2002
• A Social Critique of Corporate Reporting; 2002
• Shareholder or Stakeholder Value? The development of indicators for the control and measurement of performance; 2001
• Social and Environmental Accounting; 2000
• Management Accounting for Business; 1996