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The PRME Working Group on Business for Peace (B4P) emerged in the mid-2010s as part of PRME’s broader Working Group ecosystem, following growing dialogue within the PRME community about the role of business in advancing peace and inclusive development. Early discussions were visible around the 2015 PRME Global Forum, with a more defined steering structure taking shape soon after. The Working Group was established to connect interdisciplinary academics and practitioners examining how management education and the private sector intersect with conflict prevention, human rights, anti-corruption, ethical leadership, and post-conflict recovery. Since its formation, B4P has provided a platform for research collaboration, conference engagement, and the development of educational resources that integrate peace-positive perspectives into business scholarship and teaching.
Purpose
The mission of the PRME Working Group on Business for Peace is to more intentionally embed business-for-peace principles within business and management education worldwide. The Working Group advances this aim by supporting rigorous, practice-relevant research; developing teaching resources and case studies; convening scholarly dialogue; and cultivating a global network of educators and practitioners committed to understanding the private sector’s role in fostering peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.
The key challenge it seeks to address is the persistent gap between discussions of responsible management and the realities of conflict, fragility, corruption, and inequality that shape many business environments. Management curricula often address ethics and sustainability, yet pay less attention to how firms can prevent harm, operate responsibly in high-risk contexts, and contribute constructively to long-term peace. The Working Group works to close this gap by positioning peace not as an external concern, but as an integral dimension of responsible leadership, strategy, and organizational practice.
Goals
The PRME Working Group on Business for Peace is a global community of academics, practitioners, and students who advance research, develop teaching resources, and bridge scholarship with practice on the private sector’s role in peace and conflict.
The Working Group pursues four interconnected goals:
Advancing cutting-edge research that pushes B+P theory toward empirically grounded, testable frameworks;
Transforming management education by developing case studies, curricula, and teaching tools that equip future leaders;
Bridging research and practice through guidance documents, practitioner dialogues, and policy engagement; and
Expanding a globally diverse network that includes scholars, business leaders, students, and partner organizations across regions and disciplines.
Research
The PRME Working Group B4P focuses on collaborative research initiatives, systematic literature reviews, special issues in academic journals, and conference panels that advance B4P theory toward empirically grounded frameworks.
Business for Peace (B+P) research is interdisciplinary, drawing on business ethics, corporate social responsibility, peace and conflict studies, human rights, international business, entrepreneurship, development economics, and environmental studies. The field examines how the private sector can move beyond compliance and do-no-harm approaches to actively cultivate conditions for sustainable peace and inclusive development.
Scholarly interest spans all phases of peace (e.g., peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding) and all types of conflict, including intrastate civil wars, interstate wars, and hybrid conflicts. Research addresses how businesses impact their workforce, supply chains, markets, governments, the natural environment, and the communities in which they operate. Examples of peace-relevant business activities include corporate diplomacy and mediation, conflict-sensitive human resource management, inclusive entrepreneurship, addressing structural inequalities, humanitarian engagement, and the protection of human rights and labor standards.
Engagement Opportunities
The PRME Working Group on Business for Peace fosters engagement opportunities to advance practice and build a globally diverse network of scholars, business leaders, students, and partner organizations:
Advance Practice: Webinars, practitioner dialogues, closed consultations with stakeholders on sensitive issues, and policy engagement with international organizations.
Build Community: Open webinars, annual meetings, cross-institutional collaboration, and student engagement opportunities.
Resource Development
Key Publications: Reading list of foundational and recent B4P scholarship – coming soon.
Teaching Resources: Case studies, syllabi, and teaching tools – coming soon.
Stay tuned for additional resources to be uploaded in the resources tab!
Current Chair
John E. Katsos, American University of Sharjah, UAE
jkatsos@aus.edu
Steering Committee
In the process of being confirmed!
Past Leadership
Dr. Christina Bache, Chair
Dr. Bache’s interests include peace and conflict management studies, focusing on the intersectionality of business and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. She has written and presented issues related to peace economics, human security, livelihood security, positive business engagement, and the meaningful inclusion and participation of women in fragile and conflict-affected situations. Currently, she is a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, IDEAS, Chair of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education, Working Group on Business for Peace, Co-Chair of the International Crisis Group’s Ambassador Council, and an adjunct faculty member at Vesalius College in Brussels. Previously, she was a Visiting Fellow with the Wilfred Martens Centre for European Studies.
Christina received her PhD from the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick in the UK. Her dissertation focused on the impact of the private sector on human security and peace in fragile and conflict-affected states. Her case study delved into the Turkish private sector’s impact on economic security and peace in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Christina received both her MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution and BA in International Relations from American University in Washington, DC.
Professor Sicina has 30 years of experience in senior executive positions at Citibank, American Express, and various entrepreneurial endeavors. He worked for fourteen years in Latin America for Citibank, where he served as Country Manager of Colombia and Division Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He became CFO of Citibank’s entire International Consumer Group and later, of Citibank’s US credit card business. Professor Sicina subsequently joined American Express and went on to become President of American Express Bank Ltd. and a member of its Board of Directors. Subsequently, he was named President of the Latin American Division for the corporation. Professor Sicina has since worked in executive positions of several entrepreneurial endeavors. As part of his course work, he leads student teams that help entrepreneurs in post-conflict regions create business plans. He also is a member of the International Advisory board of Partners of the Americas. He is the author of the book, “Learn from Failure: The Key to Successful Decision Making.”
John Katsos teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Business and Peace, Business Ethics, Negotiations, and Business Law. He researches business operations in conflict zones. He looks specifically at how businesses can mitigate political risk and enhance peace in conflict and post-conflict zones and how international businesses can limit their legal exposure as a result of foreign operations in conflict and post-conflict zones. His publications have appeared in Journal of Business Ethics, Academy of Management: Perspectives, Business Ethics: A European Review, Business Horizons, and Corporate Ownership and Control. He is also the Associate Editor of Business, Peace, and Sustainable Development.
John has his JD and MBA from the George Washington University in Washington, DC and his BA in Religion from Haverford College in Haverford, PA.
In 2006, Robert McNulty joined the Philosophy Department at Bentley University and in 2007 moved to the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics (HCBE) at Bentley. He has been responsible for many aspects of the Center’s educational, communications, and research activities. The focus of McNulty’s work has been theoretical and applied ethics, as well as ways to advance peace amid growing international tensions and global threats from war and terrorism. At Bentley, he launched the Bentley Business for Peace initiative through which he brought to Bentley cohorts of scholars from ten countries in conflict to explore how business could contribute to greater peace and stability. He served on the Steering Committee of the UN Global Compact Business for Peace Initiative and was the first co-chair of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRIME) Business for Peace Working Group. He has published numerous articles on business ethics and business for peace and was on the editorial board of the journal, Business, Peace and Sustainable Development. He founded the nonprofit organization Applied Ethics, Inc., the main work of which is the Pax Populi people-to-people peacebuilding initiative, which offers online educational services to students in Afghanistan, a country he visited three times for this work. Earlier, he had a career in international business specializing in communications in support of economic development.
Robert has three master’s degrees (International Affairs, Educational Administration, and Philosophy and Education) and a PhD with distinction in Philosophy and Education, all from Columbia University.
Maya Ragab is overseeing communications and participant engagement within the B4P network community. She is also leading the membership outreach campaign of the working group.
Maya received her BA in Business Administration from the College of Management and Technology at the Arab Academy in Egypt. She had years of experience working in the business and management field before pursuing her MA in Global Peace, Security, and Strategic Studies at Vesalius College, VUB in Brussels. Maya’s research interest focuses on security and economic cooperation in the Middle East.
The Working Group welcomes academics, practitioners, and students from all regions and disciplines who are interested in the role of business in peace and conflict. Members gain access to collaborative research opportunities, teaching resources, practitioner dialogues, and a global peer network.
Please fill out the form here or contact the chair to join the Working Group.
Working Group Outputs
Business, Conflict, and Peace: A Systematic Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
Although business is increasingly seen as promoting peacebuilding, conflicting claims about its role have arisen. This disparity stems from definitional variations and differences in the unit and level of analysis across research fields, hindering further research. To reconcile, we undertake an organizational-level examination of the field, cataloguing the research by scholars across disciplines through a systematic review of 215 publications. Our review maps the known ways by which businesses can engage in peacebuilding, while demonstrating how organizations exercise their agency to create heterogenous effects on peace and conflict. Our analysis highlights the need for businesses to advance peace-positive ends across a range of activities to reduce the conflict-causing effects of business.
Joseph, J., Maon, F., Uribe-Jaramillo, M.T., Katsos, J.E. and Lindgreen, A. (2025), Business, Conflict, and Peace: A Systematic Literature Review and Conceptual Framework. J. Manage. Stud., 62: 1779-1810. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13139
Challenging Our Thinking on Peace and Development for a Better Future
The guest speaker shared new highlights and findings of the main reports that the Institute For Economics and Peace works on: Global Peace Index; Ecological Threat Register; Positive Peace Index.
The guest speaker, Renahan Gil, is helping to create a paradigm shift in the way the world thinks about peace. He is a Consultant for the Public and Private Sectors, in addition to supporting social and non-governmental organizations. He is a specialist in Development Agenda, implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a Consultant in Human Rights, Security, and ESG.
Ukrainian political and economic landscape in the future: is there a place for women?
This webinar examines women’s roles in Ukraine’s political and economic life before and after Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. Daryna Dvornichenko, PhD, Ass. Professor shared her reflections on women’s engagement in politics and the economy before and after 24 February in Ukraine. Despite the introduction of various instruments for mainstreaming gender-balanced policies, their effectiveness was relatively low in pre-war Ukraine. The numerous persistent factors that hamper women’s political participation prove that Ukraine still had much to do to create a level playing field for men and women in politics and the economy. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has dramatically changed the political and economic landscape. There is a high risk of rollback of those not-so-numerous achievements gained before 24.02.2022. The findings from the interviews with women politicians and entrepreneurs presented at the meeting will provide a clear picture of the challenges women face in pre-war and post-invasion Ukraine.
Time For An Eleventh UN Global Compact Peace Principle? Exploring The Business Role In Securing & Maintaining Peace In An Incomplete And Fragile Global Governance Ecosystem
Dr. Kernaghan Webb, Law and Business, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, will explore the advantages and disadvantages of adding an eleventh peace principle to the existing ten UN Global Compact principles based on the evolving nature of the imperfect global governance ecosystem approach to creating and maintaining peace; and the changing role of business in this global governance ecosystem.
Strengthening the Nexus of Business and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda
This webinar focuses on the intersection between business and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Dr. Christina Bache, Chair of the B4P Working Group and Research Affiliate at Queen's University and Ms. Benafsha Delgado, Senior Programme Manager, Business and Human Rights for Global Compact Network UK presents responsible business frameworks that can bolster the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. The webinar draws on conclusions as outlined in the Women, Peace and Security: Guidance for Business, a publication of the Global Compact Network UK.
Exploring the Intersectionality of Business, Peace, and Human Rights: The Case of Libya
This webinar explores the intersection of business, peace, and human rights, focusing on Libya.
Dr. Elie Abouaoun reviewed the private sector's role in MENA peace-building, noting challenges and opportunities for businesses to move beyond charity to impactful local initiatives.
Nate Wilson discussed how Libya presents numerous opportunities for businesses, particularly those in the energy sector, to contribute meaningfully to peace outcomes in the country. Despite Libya’s many challenges, it has a young population and the recent political gains in stability create an environment in which the private sector can positively incentivize Libyan actors to consolidate those gains in December elections and beyond.
Thriving in Uncertainty and Crisis: Management Lessons from Companies in Conflict Zones
This webinar examines the lessons companies globally can learn from their counterparts in conflict zones based on decades of research in the business for peace (B4P) field.
Three long-term trends - globalization, climate change, and increasing social inequalities - are simultaneously converging to create an era of global uncertainty and crisis. As one crisis ends, another seems to begin without an end in sight. How can companies manage this “new normal”? Research on businesses in conflict zones can provide needed answers. In conflict zones, crisis and uncertainty are part of a regular day that destroys many businesses, while others not only survive but thrive.
Getting to “Us”: Nudges & Bridges for Peace at Work and Beyond
Professor Timothy L. Fort, one of the founding academics of the B4P space and Eveleigh Professorship in Business Ethics and Professor of Business Law & Ethics at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (USA), discusses how music, sports, movies and other cultural artifacts offer bridges for people who might otherwise disagree with each other on social and political issues. He argues that it is essential that we recover the capability of sharing bonds with those who politically differ from us even when these divides are historical and sharpened by the challenge of increasing diversity, social media (as well as network media) siloing of viewpoints and gerrymandered political districts.
The Complex Relationship between Corporations, Conflict Prevention, & Conflict Resolution
In this webinar, Dr. Molly M. Melin examines the multifaceted role private corporations play in civil conflict and peacebuilding. Including original cross-national data of peacebuilding efforts and in-depth case analyses of corporate actions and outcomes, Dr. Melin shows that corporations help to prevent violence but not resolve it. In examining the corporate motives for peacebuilding and the implications of these activities for preventing violence and conflict resolution, the book builds a more holistic picture of the peace and conflict process. The findings also help explain why armed civil conflicts persist despite the multitude of diverse actors working to end them.
War, Law and Business
This webinar features a conversation with Fauve Kurnadi, Legal Adviser, Australian Red Cross and Dr Jonathan Kolieb, Senior Lecturer in Law, RMIT University about corporate responsibility in international humanitarian law and how it can be translated into innovative business and management education – insights and tools.
In the global economy, companies, their personnel, assets, supply chains, and customers are often present in areas affected by armed conflict, environments no longer dominated solely by militaries. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights recognize the heightened risk of abuses in these contexts, requiring increased corporate action. However, less attention is paid to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the unique set of rules applicable during armed conflict. For four years, Australian Red Cross and RMIT University have worked to familiarize businesses with IHL globally, addressing this gap. Therefore, IHL awareness, applicability, and relevance must be a crucial component of responsible management education.
