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Deborah de Lange

Dr. Deborah De Lange

Associate Professor
DepartmentGlobal Management Studies
EducationBASc (Electrical Engineering, University of Toronto), MBA for Science & Technology (Queen’s University), PhD (Strategic Management, University of Toronto), CMA, CPA
OfficeTRS 1-123

Overview

Dr. Deborah de Lange’s research examines topics related to sustainable development, climate change mitigation, clean technology, the circular economy, sustainable entrepreneurship, international organizations and relations, international trade, stakeholder theory, corporate strategy, sustainable finance, and corporate/urban/international governance. She has published three books including, Cliques and Capitalism: A Modern Network Theory of the Firm (Palgrave Macmillan), Research Companion to Green International Studies (Edward Elgar), and Power and Influence: The Embeddedness of Nations (Palgrave Macmillan). She has published in many peer-reviewed academic journals such as the Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Urban Affairs, Journal of Small Business Management, Business & Society, Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of International Management.

Sustainable development, clean technology, renewable energy, climate change, sustainable entrepreneurship, strategy and organizations, high tech strategy, globalization, corporate/urban/international governance, smart cities and sustainable transportation, international business and organizations, international relations, sustainable finance, financing start-ups via venture capital, angel investing and institutional investing, strategic partnerships, stakeholder theory.

Research and Professional Contributions
Academic books, peer reviewed

de Lange, D. E. 2011. Cliques and Capitalism: A Modern Networked Theory of the Firm. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Winner of the Academy of Management, Organizations and the Natural Environment Book Award, Honourable Mention. Nominated for the Academy of Management 2012 George R. Terry Book Award and the AoM SIM Division best book award.

Book Jacket Comments:
"The financial crisis has brought about a great deal of reflection, about the efficiency of markets, the effectiveness of governments in smoothing economic cycles, and the ability and willingness of profit-oriented actors to police themselves. Cliques and Capitalism contributes to this reflection by thoughtfully critiquing the American model of corporate governance: Did it contribute to the crisis? Has it outlived its usefulness? Is the worst yet to come? de Lange suggests yes, yes, and perhaps yes. Drawing on theory and a variety of practices from around the world, she also proposes a 'sustainable' model of corporate governance that might avert future problems. But can we get from here to there?" - Olav Sorenson, Professor, Yale School of Management

''Too big to fail' became the mantra of the recent financial crises on Wall Street. But de Lange's analysis in this book shows that the problems go much deeper. Using support from a variety of academic theories, and grounding her work in the practical realities of toady's model of the firm, she points out that American capitalism has systemic problems that won't go away easily. She is not afraid to gore some sacred cows, most notably that the democratization of markets is a myth as real power is held by what she calls a 'stock market bureaucracy.' And she is not afraid to offer solutions to this problem by outlining a sustainable model of the firm that is stakeholder and network oriented. This book is a valuable contribution for those that care about an American capitalism that is sustainable for the long term.' - Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan

"This book represents a masterful weaving together of theory and practice, international management and strategic management, corporate governance, network analysis and sustainability, as well as case studies. Readers - researchers, students, and practitioners - interested in understanding the modern corporation will love this book. The author's international management experience and academic background bring a unique and timely perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of large corporations and how to make them work better for all stakeholders." - Avner Ben-Ner, professor, Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota and Affiliated Professor, University of Minnesota Law School

de Lange, D. E. 2010. Power and Influence: The Embeddedness of Nations, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Nominated for the Academy of Management 2012 Public and Nonprofit Division Best Book Award.

Book Jacket Comment: “De Lange builds on and contributes to the growing body of literature conceptualizing the international state system as a network of embedded actors. Her analysis of United Nations voting patterns demonstrates the potential of moving beyond dyadic similarity to a more comprehensive view of the state system in which each state is connected to its peers through multiple overlapping economic, political and social connections. In recent years, we have finally gone from knowing this is true to having the tools to analyze the state system accordingly. De Lange’s analysis offers an important and early reference point in this progression.” --Witold Henisz, Associate Professor of Management, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

de Lange, D. E., ed. 2011. Research Companion to Green International Management Studies. Northampton: Edward Elgar. In paperback.
Invited book chapters, peer reviewed
de Lange D.E. 2020. Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Partnerships for the Goals. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A., Brandli L., Lange Salvia A., Wall T. (eds) Partnerships for the Goals. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
de Lange D.E. 2019. Partnerships for Smart City Retrofits: The Case of Toronto’s Quayside. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A., Brandli L., Özuyar P., Wall T. (eds) Partnerships for the Goals. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71067-9 (external link) 
de Lange, D. 2012. Emerging market research opportunities with agent-based simulations. Chapter in Wang, C. L., Ketchen, D. J. and Bergh, D. D. (eds) Research Methodology in Strategy and Management, Vol 7. West Meets East: Challenges and Opportunities for Research Methodology in Strategy and Management. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 183-212.
Delgado-Ceballos, J., de Lange, D, Gómez-Haro, S., Vidal-Salazar, D. 2012. Environmental nongovernmental organization coalitions: How the green 10 influences European Union institutions, Environmental leadership: A reference handbook, ed. D. Rigling Gallagher, SAGE.
de Lange, D. 2011. High-tech cluster revolution from an organizational ecology perspective. Chapter 8 in Marcus, A., Shrivastava, P., Sharma, S. and Pogutz, S. (eds.) Cross-Sector Leadership for the Green Economy: Integrating Research and Practice on Sustainable Enterprise. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 141-156.
Journal articles, peer reviewed

de Lange, D. 2023. Sustainable transportation for the climate: How do transportation firms engage in cooperative public-private partnerships? Sustainability, Invited for the Special Issue Public Policy and Green Governance, 15(11), 8682. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8682 (external link) 

Note: Was asked by Sustainability journal marketing  to have my article highlighted on the front page of the online journal issue.

de Lange, D., Walsh, P. R., Sheeran, P. 2022. UK-Canada Trade Post-Brexit: Leading with Circular Economy Trade, Invited article for the icRS 2021 Special Issue in Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances, published in Volume 14, October 2022.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667378922000190 (external link) 
de Lange, D., Valliere, D. 2020. Investor preferences for incumbent versus sharing economy firms. Journal of Business Research, 116 (August 2020), pp 37-47.
de Lange, D. E. 2020. International isomorphism, sustainable innovation and wealth for OECD cities. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1-25.
de Lange, D., & Valliere, D. 2020. Sustainable firms and legitimacy: Corporate venture capital as an effective endorsement. Journal of Small Business Management, 58(6), 1187-1220.
de Lange, D. E. 2019. A paradox of embedded agency: Sustainable investors boundary bridging to emerging fields. Journal of Cleaner Production, 226, 50-63.
De Lange, D. E. 2017. Start-up sustainability: An insurmountable cost or a life-giving investment?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 156, 838-854.
de Lange, D. E. 2016. A social capital paradox: Entrepreneurial dynamism in a small world clean technology cluster. Journal of Cleaner Production, 139, 576-585.
de Lange, D. E. 2016. Legitimation strategies for clean technology entrepreneurs facing institutional voids in emerging economies. Journal of International Management, 22(4), 403-415.
de Lange, D., Armanios, D., Delgado-Ceballos, J., Sandhu, S. 2015. From Foe to Friend: Complex mutual adaptation of MNCs and international civil society organizations. Business & Society.
de Lange, D. E. 2013. How do universities make progress?: Stakeholder-related mechanisms affecting adoption of sustainability in university curricula. Journal of Business Ethics. 118(1), 103-116.
de Lange, D. 2013. Embedded diasporas: Shaping the geopolitical landscape. Journal of International Management, 19(1): 14-25.
de Lange, D. E., Busch, T., Delgado-Ceballos, J. 2012. Sustaining sustainability in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics. 110(2), 151-156.
de Lange, D. E., Busch, T., Delgado-Ceballos, J. 2012. Sustaining sustainability in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics. 110(2), 151-156.
Professional publications
de Lange, Deborah, 2023. “Bike and EV charging infrastructure are urgently needed for a green transition”, The Conversation, Aug 27th. https://theconversation.com/bike-and-ev-charging-infrastructure-are-urgently-needed-for-a-green-transition-210506 (external link)  (Republished by Yahoo News https://ca.news.yahoo.com/bike-ev-charging-infrastructure-urgently-133246553.html (external link) ; TVO.org https://www.tvo.org/article/canada-desperately-needs-more-bike-and-ev-infrastructure (external link) ); TechXplore https://techxplore.com/news/2023-08-bike-ev-infrastructure-urgently-green.html (external link) ).
de Lange, Deborah, 2023. “FIFA Women’s World Cup successes reflect gender gap differences between countries”, The Conversation, August 21st. (Republished by the print edition of the Canadian Press and Phys.org (external link) ) https://theconversation.com/fifa-womens-world-cup-successes-reflect-gender-gap-differences-between-countries-211715 (external link)  Also, translated into Spanish: Los éxitos del Mundial de fútbol femenino reflejan las diferencias de género entre países https://theconversation.com/los-exitos-del-mundial-de-futbol-femenino-reflejan-las-diferencias-de-genero-entre-paises-212031 (external link) 
de Lange, Deborah, 2023. “Better collaboration between public and private sectors could improve urban public transportation”, The Conversation, July 11th. (Republished by the print edition of the Globe and Mail, July 17, 2023.) https://theconversation.com/better-collaboration-between-public-and-private-sectors-could-improve-urban-public-transportation-208722 (external link) 
de Lange, Deborah. 2022. “Why Emmanuel Macron’s peace efforts with Vladimir Putin are probably pointless”, The Conversation, May 16th. https://theconversation.com/why-emmanuel-macrons-peace-efforts-with-vladimir-putin-are-probably-pointless-182838 (external link) 
de Lange, D. 2022. “We must stop investing in the fools gold that is fossil fuel”, iPolitics, April 1. See https://www.ipolitics.ca/opinions/we-must-stop-investing-in-the-fools-gold-that-is-fossil-fuel (external link) 
de Lange, D., Valliere, D. 2020. Study: With policy development, the sharing economy can be part of a green recovery post-COVID-19, ScienceX, May 26th. https://sciencex.com/news/2020-05-policy-economy-green-recovery-post-covid-.html (external link) 
de Lange, D. 2020. International collaboration on green innovation increases the wealth of OECD cities, a new study finds, ScienceX, April 13th. https://sciencex.com/news/2020-04-international-collaboration-green-wealth-oecd.html (external link) 
de Lange, D., Valliere, D. 2020. Sustainable start-ups should consider corporate venture capital first. The Conversation, February 27th. https://theconversation.com/sustainable-start-ups-should-consider-corporate-venture-capital-first-131962 (external link) 
de Lange, D. 2020. In defence of Michael McCain: Speaking out is what strong leaders do. The Conversation (Invited contribution by editor), January 16th. https://theconversation.com/in-defence-of-michael-mccain-speaking-out-is-what-strong-leaders-do-130011 (external link) 
de Lange, D., Walsh, P. R., Sheeran, P. 2019. The Future of UK-Canada Circular Economy Trade. Knowledge Synthesis Evidence Briefing for UKRI ESRC and SSHRC. https://esrc.ukri.org/news-events-and-publications/evidence-briefings/knowledge-synthesis-grants-evidence-briefs/ (external link) 
de Lange, D., Walsh, P. R. 2019. Post-Brexit, the U.K. and Canada can fuel global sustainability. The Conversation, January 1st, 2019. https://theconversation.com/post-brexit-the-u-k-and-canada-can-fuel-global-sustainability-108133 (external link) .
de Lange, D., 2018. Capitalism needs a reboot so that no industry is too big to fail. The Conversation, October 18, 2018. https://theconversation.com/capitalism-needs-a-reboot-so-that-no-industry-is-too-big-to-fail-104822 (external link) 
de Lange, D., 2018. Building housing on flood plains another sign of growing inequality. The Conversation, August 21st. https://theconversation.com/building-housing-on-flood-plains-another-sign-of-growing-inequality-101552 (external link) 
de Lange, D., 2018. Toronto needs more beauty in its waterfront designs. The Conversation, August 9th. http://theconversation.com/toronto-needs-more-beauty-in-its-waterfront-designs-100871 (external link) .
de Lange, D., 2017. Why Canadian pension plans must divest of fossil fuel investments. The Conversation, November 22nd. https://theconversation.com/why-canadian-pension-plans-must-divest-of-fossil-fuel-investments-87659 (external link) .
de Lange, D., 2017. Canada has the opportunity to be a climate leader in Bonn. The Conversation, November 5th. https://theconversation.com/canada-has-the-opportunity-to-be-a-climate-leader-in-bonn-86384 (external link) .
de Lange, D., et al. 2015. TAP GTA Summit report. Toronto Region Board of Trade.
Stabile, M., de Lange, D. 2005. Competition in the health care sector: Theory, evidence, and options for reform in Canada. Report for the Competition Bureau Canada.
de Lange, D. (June/July 2003). The energy retrofit challenge. Management (CMA magazine).
Courses
Research Methods for PhDs
Climate Change for Masters & PhDs
Global Issues for MBAs
Sustainable Business Strategy
Teaching cases
de Lange, D. 2019. DECA Ryerson management consulting case for DECA Ryerson. GreenSource Power: Choosing a Western Canadian office location, August 2019.
de Lange, D. 2018. Challenges for leading firms in the solar industry: Why did SunEdison fail? SAGE Business Cases (Peer reviewed).
de Lange, D. 2017. DHL and the National University of Singapore establish the Sustainable Supply Chain Centre of Asia Pacific in Singapore. SAGE Business Cases (Peer reviewed)

Honour / Award
Winner of Women in Energy Transformation Series Fall (September) 2022, sponsored by WiRE (Women in Renewable Energy), Pembina Institute, and Globe Series https://womeninrenewableenergy.ca/women-in-energy-transformation-series (external link) 
TRSM Dean's SRC Activity Award (Tenured), 2020-21
TRSM Outstanding Research Recognition Award, 2020-2021
TRSM Outstanding Research Recognition Award, 2019-2020
Visiting Scholar, Massey College, University of Toronto, 2019-2020
Affiliate Researcher, Centre for Research in Sustainable Supply Chain Analytics – CRSSCA, Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie University
TRSM 2017 Research Recognition Award, June 2017
Dean’s Service Award, Ryerson University 2015-2016
Academy of Management, Organizations and the Natural Environment 2012 Book Award, Honourable Mention for Cliques and Capitalism
Academy of Management, Organizations and the Natural Environment 2014 and Business Policy and Strategy 2010 Best Reviewer Awards

Dr. de Lange has over 30 years of industry and consulting experience. She has a vast range of knowledge and experience in sustainable development, sustainable governance, and across industries such as: clean technology and renewable energy, utilities, banking, pharma & biotech, computers, high tech manufacturing, and retail management.

Dr. de Lange was invited to 2023 Conference Board of Canada conference as an expert panelist to speak on hydrogen. The Ground Truth: Assessing Canada’s Competitiveness in Electricity and Hydrogen Markets.