Mahidol Management Research

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
📢 CMMU collaborative research efforts gain global recognition at Cornell University

BANGKOK, THAILAND. The College of Management, Mahidol University (CMMU) is pleased to announce that a groundbreaking study published by scholars from Cornell University, the University of Notre Dame and Peking University, has prominently cited foundational environmental policy research, collaborative research efforts of Asst. Prof. Dr. Suthep Nimsai of CMMU, Dr. Nattapan Kongbuamai of Mae Fah Luang University, and Dr. Quocviet Bui of Beijing Institute of Technology.

Dr. Nimsai's prominent study in 2021, titled "The effects of renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption on the ecological footprint: the role of environmental policy in BRICS countries", was a highly collaborative, cross-border initiative. Dr. Nimsai worked closely with co-researchers Kongbuamai and Bui. Together, they created advanced frameworks to analyze climate governance in the BRICS economies.

The Cornell-led paper, titled "From Policy to Progress: How Stringent Environmental Policies Drive Global Energy Transitions" by Yongheng Li and Sisi Meng, has been published in the journal Climate. It relies on the collaborative econometric insights to build its global policy framework. The researchers use Dr. Nimsai's research alongside other literature to establish that prior research heavily relies on broad aggregate indices and direct environmental indicators. This CMMU collaborative research allows the researchers to carve out their own research gap: analyzing 13 next-level sub-index policy instruments and utilizing GDP-adjusted intensity measures within G20 countries.

🎤 "Our 2021 study clarified how regulations reduce ecological footprints across emerging economies," stated Dr. Nimsai, CMMU Deputy Dean of Academic Programs & Academic Affairs. "Seeing our data utilized by researchers at Cornell, Peking and Notre Dame to analyze G20 policy instruments is highly rewarding. It confirms that Southeast Asian sustainability insights have direct value for global policy modeling."

To mark this global milestone, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prattana Punnakitikashem, the Dean of CMMU, shared her perspective on the international reach of the CMMU research:
🎤 "This major milestone highlights the exceptional power of cross-border academic collaboration. Seeing Dr. Suthep Nimsai's critical insights on sustainability dynamics explicitly cited by scholars from university like Cornell University proves that our faculty's research directly steers global policy debates. By bridging regional data with top-tier international analytical frameworks, CMMU continues to position itself at the forefront of global climate governance debates. At CMMU, we remain deeply dedicated to producing rigorous, high-impact research that helps both corporate leaders and international governments navigate complex environmental regulations and achieve meaningful energy transitions."

For the Cornell report, click here:
https://doi.org/10.3390/cli14020030

Interested in joining our PhD programs, check out below.
📍 PhD in Management
https://www.cm.mahidol.ac.th/phdinmg/
📍 PhD in Sustainable Leadership
https://www.cm.mahidol.ac.th/phdinsl/

Media Contact:
Sooksan Kantabutra, PhD
CMMU Center for Research on Sustainable Leadership
College of Management, Mahidol University
sooksan.kan @ mahidol.ac.th

📣 CMMU CRSL Sustainability Theory endorsed among 5,000 listed firms in China

One criteria for a world-class research center is having its own recognized theory. In 2022, the refined theory of sustainability organizational culture was introduced as an interim struggle for other scholars to build on. Unique among other sustainability theories, the CRSL theory asserts that a strong sustainability organizational culture enhances the prospect of corporate sustainability via sustainability outputs and outcomes, brand equity included. The CRSL sustainability theory is the only theory of its kind that associates corporate sustainability with corporate brand equity.

Today, the CRSL sustainability organizational culture theory has been tested among over 5,000 listed firms in China by scholars from Tongji University and endorsed. The study has tested whether the corporate sustainability culture strengthens the positive effect of green trade-marks on corporate ESG performance. Findings reveal that a strong corporate sustainability culture provides internal support for the effective use of green trademarks in driving ESG outcomes among the listed companies in China.

Tongji University is among the top-ten research universities in China and consistently ranked among the world's top universities. It is part of the world-class university project by the Chinese government.

At the forefront of the field, the collective body of research produced by CRSL researchers has continued to inform other scholars from leading universities around the world in their endeavors to find an effective approach to deal with the wicked sustainability problems, an indication of the high quality of research we do. Like any world-class research center, CRSL is home to a number of interim sustainability theories that guide the global knowledge production to systematically advance relevant bodies of knowledge in the broad sphere of sustainable development, including Mahidol University's theory of corporate sustainability, the world's first.

Interested in joining the topnotch team of CRSL researchers to create relevant, cutting-edge knowledge for the benefit of mankind, check out our PhD in Sustainable Leadership program here: https://www.cm.mahidol.ac.th/phdinsl/

📌For the Tonji University report, please click here: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10644-025-09954-4

📌For the CRSL Sustainability Organizational Theory, please click here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.05.020