Business student wins NBN Rabobank Thesis Award

Student of business Maurice Melenberg received the annual NBN Rabobank thesis award for his thesis about corporate social responsibility in smaller companies in the Netherlands.

Melenberg tried to develop a scan that would determine the amount of corporate social resonsiblity in a company. He conducted his research for the Triodos bank, a bank that is committed to finance business and other institutions that enhance society in a social, cultural, and environmental way.

The scan could help the Triodos to determine the level of corporate social responsibility. Given the banks commitment to only finance institutions with a sufficiently high level of corporate social responsibility, the scan could be an important tool in the banks investment decision making process.

However, as one might expect, corporate social responsibility is not easy to quantify or measure. The scan is not finished yet. However, the jury of the award notes that his theoretical foundations are sufficiently firm to expect a working scan for the Triodos bank in the near future.