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Dr. Peggy Cunningham, R.A. Jodrey Chair in the Rowe School of Business at HÂþ»­ University, has an active research portfolio aimed at creating knowledge relevant to both academics and practitioners. It is centred on three related themes: corporate social responsibility (CSR), business ethics and marketing strategy. The themes are linked by the belief that strong ethics and responsible practice builds employee, customer and partner trust which, in turn, drive organizational performance. She and her colleagues helped pioneer research in the CSR field  that continues to be cited today and provides practitioners with frameworks to improve CSR practices.

She recently explored questions of what enables unethical behaviour (particularly sex harassment) to persist over long periods of time. She and her co-authors found that perpetrators form Networks of Complicity. Network members benefit from their association with the perpetrator and, in turn, insulate and protect the perpetrator. These networks cause significant harm to the organization by creating toxic cultures, employee distrust, turnover and disengagement, and lower productivity. The networks often persisted even after the perpetrator was removed from the organization. The paper includes guidelines to help organizational leaders detect and disband these harmful networks. Another recent series of papers outlines the factors that drive superior performance among Canada’s mid-sized, private, fast-growth companies (i.e., Canadian gazelles). These values-led firms envision and exploit niche markets, trust and develop employees, use collaborative innovation and form successful partnerships. They reinvest their exceptional profits back into the firm and its technologies. The work provides insight to both academics and managers about key activities that drive private small-firm success.