Housed within the Fox School of Business, Temple’s Responsible Business Institute (RBI) is a new multidisciplinary hub for research, dialogue and innovation that has launched this fall.

Only 53% of Americans believe large U.S. companies are very or somewhat just, the lowest percentage that the number has been since it started being tracked by JUST Capital seven years ago. That same study also indicates that 80% percent of Americans think that business still can be a force for positive change. 

For today’s business leaders, this presents a challenge. The public wants to see companies and organizations do well, but there is a general disbelief in their ability to do so. 

So, how can leaders be provided with the necessary tools to create highly efficient workforces that thrive within productive, innovative and inclusive workplace cultures? That is where the Responsible Business Institute (RBI) comes in. 

Housed within Temple University’s Fox School of Business, RBI is a new multidisciplinary hub for research, dialogue and innovation that has launched this fall. 

“The idea of the Responsible Business Institute is to focus on the pillars that every responsible business should be focused on and viewing those pillars as interrelated. So, ethics and compliance; sustainability, inclusion and workplace culture. The key is not viewing each of those in a vacuum but viewing them as connected in the way that a company strategizes and moves forward. That is the starting point for how we hope to educate business leaders moving forward,” said Leora Eisenstadt, RBI’s director who is also an associate professor in the Department of Risk, Actuarial Science, Healthcare Management and Legal Studies at the Fox School. 

The institute represents the evolution of the Center for Ethics, Diversity and Workplace Culture (CEDWC), which previously operated out of Fox. RBI reflects a broader and more interdisciplinary vision for the future of organizational leadership and impact, and that can be seen through its various partners across campus. While the institute is housed in Fox, it is a universitywide institute supported by Temple’s Office of the Vice President for Research. 

“The Fox School is excited to host this new institute and join our campus partners in fostering more of the world-class research that Temple University is known for, as well as finding applications of that research in dialogue with our corporate partners and the broader community,” said Chip Hunter, dean of Fox and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. “This cross-campus collaboration reinforces the strategic commitment made by the university to realizing sustainable, positive impact in Greater Philadelphia and beyond.” 

“RBI embodies research in action, bringing researchers and corporate and community partners together to address the challenges organizations face,” added Josh Gladden, Temple’s vice president for research. “By translating evidence into practical tools, RBI will help our partners develop a skilled, adaptable workforce, strengthen business competitiveness and support economic growth while creating the conditions for people to thrive. This is what drives research at Temple: advancing knowledge that makes a meaningful difference in people's lives and in communities.” 

The initiative is also supported by five additional Temple schools and colleges, including the College of Public Health; the Beasley School of Law; the College of Liberal Arts; the Klein College of Media and Communication; and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. Each school has an RBI fellow, who works in tandem with Eisenstadt on RBI’s various initiatives and research. 

“Each of the fellows has a different sort of research focus, but they’re all interested in translational research. So, the idea is the same idea we had with CEDWC, in that we are focusing on research sponsorship, educational programming and industry engagement. But now, we are approaching this work from so many more disciplines. That is exciting because it means our impact will grow,” Eisenstadt said. 

"For me, it’s been great to see the institute’s commitment to fostering an interdisciplinary community. I’ve had two opportunities to present my research regarding disability,” said Dustin Kidd, professor of sociology in the College of Liberal Arts and a faculty fellow at RBI. Kidd used the faculty fellowship to make progress on a forthcoming book.  

The ultimate goal with RBI’s expanded approach is for the institute to engage more deeply with complex organizational issues influencing the future of work and responsible business leadership. This is intended to be across industries, as well. So, for instance, RBI may partner with a large corporation on one research project but the institute is just as likely to work with a smaller nonprofit organization on another. 

“When you're thinking about how to handle whistleblowing policy in your company, you shouldn’t be doing that in a vacuum, and you probably shouldn’t have to pay consulting companies hundreds of thousands of dollars if you’re a corporate partner with an academic institution that is doing leading research on this. You should look to us,” Eisenstadt said. “So, one of the things we’re doing is saying to our faculty fellows, when you publish new research, we want you to then go to our corporate partners and say, in layman’s terms, here’s what my research means to you.” 

Helping guide the institute as it pursues its new work is a highly qualified, senior advisory board led by Board Chair Timothy Fair, vice president of culture and community impact at Burlington Stores Inc. The board also includes representation from companies and organizations that include EY, Nixon Peabody LLP, Lincoln Financial, PwC and Merrill Lynch. 

RBI will formally launch later this fall when the institute hosts a special panel event, titled “Ethical AI? Can AI be deployed responsibly across people, processes and the planet?” Scheduled for Monday, Oct. 26, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Alter Hall, the event will feature an insightful and engaging conversation with industry leaders from Intel, Google DeepMind and Nike.