Biography
Colin Higgins is Professor of Management and the Associate Dean: International and Partnerships in the Faculty of Business and Law. For six years Colin managed the Deakin MBA program.
Colin's research focuses on how business organisations use language in their social/environmental and sustainability reports, and how this shapes but is also constrained by institutional drivers in the environments where they operate. Most recently, he has been exploring the role of integrated reporting in meeting business and sustainability challenges.
He is the Co-Editor of A-ranked 'Business & Society' journal and is the 2021 Program Chair for the Social Issues in Management (SIM) Division of the Academy of Management (AoM). He is a fellow and former President and Conference Chair of the International Association for Business & Society (IABS). His work is published in Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of Cleaner Production and Accounting Forum.
Outside of Deakin, Colin is an experienced non-executive Director and a graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is Chair of the Board of Knoxbrook Inc a leading Victorian disability support provider.
Read more on Colin's profileResearch interests
- Sustainability reporting
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Sustainability
- Institutional Theory
- Critical Management Studies
- Discourse, Rhetoric and Narrative
Affiliations
- 2021 Program Chair, Social Issues in Management, Academy of Management
- Co-Editor 'Business & Society'
- Fellow International Association of Business & Society (IABS) (Conference Chair, 2014; President 2016).
- Member, Academy of Management.
- Member, Australian and NZ Academy of Management.
- Member, Centre for Social and Environmental Accountability (St Andrews, Scotland).
Teaching interests
- Strategic Management
- Business Ethics, Sustainability
Professional activities
Media appearances
- MBA microcredentials, Australian Financial Review, Australia, 2018.
Publications
Organisational integrity and transparency
Colin Higgins, Samuel Tang
(2024), pp. 470-484, Research Handbook on Organisational Integrity, Cheltenham, Eng., B1
Building on Its Past: The Future of Business and Society Scholarship
J Brown, F de Bakker, H Bapuji, C Higgins, K Rehbein, A Spicer
(2022), Vol. 61, pp. 967-979, Business and Society, London, Eng., C1
Do Not Forget the "How" along with the "What": Improving the Transparency of Sustainability Reports
S Tang, C Higgins
(2022), Vol. 65, pp. 44-63, California Management Review, London, Eng., C1
On managing hypocrisy: the transparency of sustainability reports
C Higgins, S Tang, W Stubbs
(2020), Vol. 114, pp. 395-407, Journal of business research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
Journey or toolbox? Integrated reporting and processes of organisational change
C Higgins, W Stubbs, D Tweedie, G McCallum
(2019), Vol. 32, pp. 1662-1689, Accounting, auditing and accountability journal, Bingley, Eng., C1
Is sustainability reporting becoming institutionalised? The role of an issues-based field
C Higgins, W Stubbs, M Milne
(2018), Vol. 147, pp. 309-326, Journal of business ethics, Dodrecht, The Netherlands, C1
Stakeholders' perspectives on the role of regulatory reform in integrated reporting
W Stubbs, C Higgins
(2018), Vol. 147, pp. 489-508, Journal of business ethics, New York, N. Y., C1
Improving how sustainability reports drive change: a critical discourse analysis
C Higgins, B Coffey
(2016), Vol. 136, pp. 18-29, Journal of Cleaner Production, C1
The Uptake of Sustainability Reporting in Australia
C Higgins, M Milne, B van Gramberg
(2015), Vol. 129, pp. 445-468, Journal of Business Ethics, C1
P Srinaruewan, W Binney, C Higgins
(2015), Vol. 27, pp. 628-652, Asia pacific journal of marketing and logistics, Bingley, Eng., C1
Integrated reporting and internal mechanisms of change
W Stubbs, C Higgins
(2014), Vol. 27, pp. 1068-1089, Accounting, auditing & accountability journal, Bingley, England, C1
Walking the talk(s) : Organisational narratives of integrated reporting
C Higgins, W Stubbs, T Love
(2014), Vol. 27, pp. 1090-1119, Accounting, auditing & accountability journal, Bingley, Eng., C1
Why do companies not produce sustainability reports?
W Stubbs, C Higgins, M Milne
(2013), Vol. 22, pp. 456-470, Business strategy and the environment, Chichester, England, C1
What do indigenous communities think of the CSR practices of mining companies?
K Kepore, C Higgins, R Goddard
(2013), Vol. 8, pp. 34-50, Journal of business systems, governance and ethics, Melbourne, Vic., C1-1
Ethos, logos, pathos: strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports
C Higgins, R Walker
(2012), Vol. 36, pp. 194-208, Accounting forum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1-1
C Higgins, W Stubbs, M Milne
(2012), Melbourne, Vic., A6-1
W Stubbs, C Higgins
(2012), Sydney, N. S. W., A6-1
Is a responsive business also a responsible business
C Higgins
(2010), Vol. 5, pp. 23-32, Journal of business systems, governance and ethics, Melbourne, Vic., C1-1
UNDERSTANDING DYNAMISM AND FLUX IN THE IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE FOR CSR
Colin Higgins, Ben Neville
(2010), Vol. 21, pp. 57-66, Proceedings of the 21st Annual Meeting of the IABS 2010 conference, Banff, Canada, E1-1
P Lieber, P Lieber, C Higgins, C Higgins
(2009), pp. 366-379, International Media Communication in a Global Age, B1-1
Initiating sustainable development reporting: evidence from New Zealand
J Bebbington, C Higgins, B Frame
(2009), Vol. 22, pp. 588-625, Accounting, auditing and accountability journal, Bingley, England, C1-1
Do you see what I see? Stakeholder understandings of corporate social responsibility
C Higgins
(2008), pp. 27-36, The new 21st century workplace, Melbourne, Vic., B1-1
Segmentation and recognition of phonetic features in handwritten Pitman shorthand
Yang Ma, Graham Leedham, Colin Higgins, Swe Htwe
(2008), Vol. 41, pp. 1280-1294, PATTERN RECOGNITION, C1-1
Constructing the legitimate, responsible corporation: a rhetorical analysis
Colin Higgins, Robyn Walker
(2008), Vol. 19, pp. 217-228, Proceedings of the 19th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Business and Society 2008, Tampere, Finland, E1-1
How useful are Shell's reports for stimulating dialogue
C Higgins
(2007), Vol. 13, pp. 2-8, Journal of the Asia Pacific centre for environmental accountability, Adelaide, S.A., C1-1
Do we know enough about corporate philanthropy?
T Love, C Higgins
(2007), Vol. 27, pp. 18-21, Journal of corporate citizenship, Sheffield, England, C1-1
Teaching climate change in Year 8!
Naim Pee, Peter Blanchfield, Colin Higgins
(2007), pp. 65-70, ECGBL 2007 : Proceedings of the European Conference on Games-based Learning 2007, Glasgow, Scot., E1-1
An on-line recognition system for handwritten Pitman shorthand
Ma Yang, Graham Leedham, Colin Higgins, Swe Htwe
(2006), pp. 2094-2095, TENCON 2005 : Proceedings of the IEEE Region 10 conference 2005, Melbourne, VIC., E1-1
Making a difference : the importance of trust to triple bottom line reporting and partnership
C Higgins, L Lee
(2004), pp. 199-216, Business-social partnership : an international perspective, Calcutta, India, B1-1
Triple bottom line reporting: the importance of reputation and trust
C Higgins
(2002), Vol. 1, pp. 91-115, New academy review, Liverpool, England, C1-1
Corporate volunteering: ad hoc interaction or route to dialogue and partnership?
L Lee, C Higgins
(2001), Vol. 1, pp. 79-90, Journal of corporate citizenship, Sheffield, England, C1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Industry and Other Funding
Regulatory standards vs. non-regulatory guidelines: Financial stakeholders' perspectives on the appropriate route to effective integrated reporting
Prof Colin Higgins, Dr Wendy Stubbs
CPA Aust Grant - Research
- 2014: $12,900
An exploration of the information needs of selected stakeholders of integrated reporting (IR)
Dr Wendy Stubbs, Prof Colin Higgins
CPA Aust Grant - Research
- 2017: $1,869
- 2016: $6,514
The relationship between a company's materiality process and risk process for effective integrated reporting
Prof Colin Higgins, Dr Wendy Stubbs, Ms Meg Fricke, Ms Vanessa Richards
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand - Grants
- 2016: $19,800
Future of environmental, social and governance reporting: Sustainable Development Goals, Integrated Reporting and Global Reporting Initiative
Dr Wendy Stubbs, Prof Colin Higgins
CPA Aust Grant - Research
- 2020: $4,545
- 2019: $8,004
Rationalising Reporting Standards and Guidelines.
Prof Colin Higgins
CPA Australia
- 2022: $11,250
Supervisions
No completed student supervisions to report