Hasan is the First Global DBA Durham-emlyon CSR Scholarship Recipient

The CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Scholarship is merit-based scholarship that is awarded to participants whose, “research topic will focus on enhancing, developing and encouraging responsible (public or private) organizations in their CSR strategies and plans.” CSR is an increasingly hot topic as more and more businesses are being looked at to be held accountable for their social, environmental, and economic impacts. To participate in CSR practices, a business must be taking active measures to operate in ways that positively impact society at large. This may be beneficial for the world and paint the businesses in a better light by the public, but this benevolence does come with a cost to business. Hasan Samancioğlu, a recently enrolled GDBA participant in the January cohort, recognizes the need for continued advancements in CSR which is why he is focusing his thesis on the subject and was awarded the first CSR Scholarship by the two business schools. Currently, Hasan works at a multi-national development organization, the Islamic Development Bank, as a strategy professional to contribute to the economic development of countries in “fragile situations.” Out of the 56 member countries in the organization, “almost half of them are categorized as low or lower-middle income countries as per OECD classification,” says Hasan. Due to his work, he’s had the, “chance to closely observe the challenges that these countries face which encouraged me to find ways to work on solutions,” he says. “My research topic takes CSR in the heart of the discussion and will focus on the SMEs operating in emerging economies to ultimately attempt to provide evidence that CSR would contribute their long-term performance of having sustainable businesses,” Hassan explains. “I aim to find evidence that implementation of CSR not only contributes to the economic and social environment, but also to the development of the economy in emerging markets,” he states. He envisions beginning his research with an examination of the extent to which CSR is currently being used in selected emerging countries and then recognizing the, “paradigm shift that CSR is a balance between social and economic interests and that emerging markets also must recognize this, especially on a SME level,” Hasan postulates. Hasan was born into a conservative family in Turkey, but was able to go to college which he says, “liberated me and allowed me to not only explore a wider array of subjects and issues but also a vision to be open-minded and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong (including issues like inequality, environment, peace, justice, fighting poverty, and ethical values).” He is excited to start his Global DBA journey in January, with the help of the CSR Scholarship, and ultimately envisions, “understanding historical backgrounds of biased opinions and using this to question the status quo which will result in increased awareness in CSR-related issues.”