The ICMA Centre’s Dr Ioannis Oikonomou has been awarded the University’s 2013 Best Research Output Prize for Henley Business School. Each year the University awards Faculty Output Prizes for the best research outputs from each of its four faculties.

Dr Oikonomou won the award with his research paper* “The Impact of Corporate Social Performance on Financial Risk and Utility: A Longitudinal Analysis”, published in the Financial Management journal. The study examines the association between corporate social performance and financial risk for an extensive longitudinal sample of US firms. It is shown that corporate social responsibility is negatively but weakly related to systematic firm risk and that corporate social irresponsibility is positively and strongly related to financial risk. Even more interestingly, this is the first piece of research which demonstrates that the overall volatility of the financial markets is an important mediating factor in this relationship.

Dr Oikonomou, lecturer in Finance at the ICMA Centre, commented on his award by saying, “I am very excited and honoured to be the recipient of this prize, especially as it comes within a business school such as ours with many bright and hard-working colleagues from all areas that are also undertaking interesting, innovative and important research projects.”

Professor Adrian Bell, Head of the ICMA Centre, said, “Ioannis’ work contributes to the investigation of a phenomenon which falls in the cross sections of financial markets, the business world and the wider society. As such it provides important insights to a plethora of constituents and has significant outreach potential. This is the sort of work we are proud of doing in the ICMA Centre: academically rigorous but with practical implications for business and society as a whole.”

Dr Oikonomou will be presented with his award by the Vice Chancellor at a meeting of the University Court on Monday 25 March 2013.

* The Impact of Corporate Social Performance on Financial Risk and Utility: A Longitudinal Analysis", Financial Management, Volume 41, Issue 2, pages 483-515 (with Brooks, C. and Pavelin, S.)