Nataniel Zemla, born in Croatia, grown up and educated in Germany, first completed a commercial apprenticeship and gained a diploma degree in business administration at the FOM Essen, followed by a master's degree in taxation at the University of Münster.
He also gained scientific experience at the University of Berlin.
Professionally, he worked in various industries in national and international accounting. He is currently responsible for subsidiary controlling in the energy industry. Zemla has fluent language skills in Croatian, German and English, so a doctoral study in International Joint Economic Relations and Management at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, Austria, in cooperation with the University Juraj Dobrila in Pula, Croatia, has proven to be very suitable for him. He saw the opportunity to complete a doctoral programme complementary to his job as both an opportunity and a challenge.
Zemla also mentions the very good university organisation under the leadership of Prof. Zavrl as a success factor, as she and her outstanding team were always ready to help with any questions. Speaking of the team: the fellow students should not go unmentioned, with whom he has grown together academically and personally as a team! Yes, he remembers those times together with pleasure.
On the Ambivalence of CSR - The Problem of Determining a Position
In his dissertation in the field of business ethics, he takes up - in current times of discussions about sustainability and its actors - the conflict line of morality vs. market economy, by examining a long-standing debate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from the position of a stakeholder group - unions - and their constellations of interests.
With the concept of CSR, companies are exposed to a field of tension between diverse and in part heterogeneous interests. Against the background of the complex CSR debate in theory and practice - situated within a large circle of participants in which value conflicts and areas of conflict build up - Zemla undertakes an in-depth investigation and comes up with surprising results.
"CSR seems to have upset the economy, the unions as well. They cannot prove a clear role since CSR represents an impressive conglomeration of interests and within these interconnections a concrete positioning is difficult," Zemla concludes. In this context, CSR awakens old and sets new stimuli that an intermediary organization like the unions is confronted with.
Not surprisingly, therefore, one always encountered authors in the literature who mentioned the cautiousness of the unions and that they only hesitantly participated in the CSR debate. Zemla saw the extensiveness of the arguments here as a problem, so he took up the existing assumptions and used them as a connecting point for his scientific investigation and as a transition into his own explanatory approach.
Zemla, of Croatian origin, grew up and was educated in Germany, initially completed a commercial apprenticeship and at the same time a diploma degree in business administration at the FOM Essen, followed by a master's degree in tax sciences at the University of Münster, as well as gaining academic experience at the Free University of Berlin.
He has worked in various industries in national and international accounting. He is currently responsible for investment controlling in the energy industry. Zemla has fluent language skills in Croatian, German and English, so a PhD programme in International Joint Economic Relations and Management at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, Austria, in cooperation with the University of Juraj Dobrila in Pula, Croatia, proved to be very suitable for him. He saw the associated opportunity to complete a doctoral programme while working as both an opportunity and a challenge.
Zemla also cites the excellent university organisation under the leadership of Prof. Zavrl, who, together with her outstanding team, was always on hand to answer any questions. Speaking of the team, he also mentions his fellow students, with whom he grew together as a team both academically and personally! Yes, he has fond memories of those times together.
The ambivalence of CSR - the problem of defining a position
In his dissertation in the field of business ethics, he takes up the line of conflict between morality and the market economy in times of current discussions about, among other things, sustainability and its players by addressing a long-standing debate on corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the position of a stakeholder group - the trade unions - and their constellation of interests.
With CSR, companies are exposed to a field of tension between diverse and sometimes heterogeneous interests. Against the background of the complex CSR debate in theory and practice - situated within a large group of participants in which conflicts of values and areas of tension build up - Zemla undertakes an in-depth investigation and comes to some surprising conclusions.
CSR awakens old and sets new impulses with which an intermediary organisation such as the trade unions is confronted.
It is therefore not surprising that authors in the literature have always mentioned the caution of the trade unions and that they only timidly participated in the CSR debate. Zemla saw the extensiveness of the arguments here as a problem, so he took up the existing assumptions and used them as a starting point for his academic study and as a transition into his own explanatory approach.
