Dr. Theresa Onaji-Benson

Biography

Dr. Theresa Onaji‑Benson is an Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. She is currently the Director of International Relations at the University of Bradford’s School of Management with previous roles managing the Centre for African Management and Markets and the Centre for Business Ethics at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, South Africa. She teaches across undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive programmes and  has supervised numerous MBA, MPhil, MSc, and PhD dissertations.

She holds a PhD in International Business and Strategy from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria, where her doctoral work explored non market strategies like corporate social responsibility and corporate political strategies among African multinationals. She also earned an MSc in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Essex and a BSc in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. She brings extensive academic leadership and international research experience from roles in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Nigeria.

Her research interests align closely with work that examines how organisations operate within institutionally complex and unequal environments, particularly across Africa and the wider Global South. She is drawn to understanding how organisational practices, individual subjectivities, and broader social forces interact to produce or challenge inequality, and how responsible management can be reimagined in contexts shaped by deep institutional and historical complexity.

Dr. Onaji‑Benson’s research has been published in Critical Perspectives on International Business, International Journal of Competitiveness, Academy of International Business Insights, and the Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development. She has authored chapters in the Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets, and Springer’s Reduced Inequalities volume. Her case writing has gained international recognition, including First Prize in the 2024 GIBS Case Writing Competition, Second Prize in the 2023 Fox International Case Writing Competition, and recognition in the 2023 Emerald/CEEMAN Case Writing Competition. Her impact‑focused publications include policy briefs, white papers, and practitioner articles on sustainability, whistleblowing, gender‑based violence, and Africa's industrial transition. She has also contributed to research funded by the UKRI (EPSRC), the Global Challenges Research Fund, Irish Aid, and South African corporate partners such as Woolworths and Hollard. 

Her professional service includes roles with the Academy of Management and the Academy of International Business. She also serves as a reviewer for journals such as Development Southern Africa, Journal of International Business Policy, and Thunderbird International Business Review.

 

Teaching

Modules

• Business Ethics and Social Responsibility - HRM6010-B
• Economics for Global Business - SIB7508
• Economics for Global Business - SIB7508-A
• Study Abroad Experience - MAL5010-Z

Publications