I am a doctoral candidate at the King’s College London Department of International Development working under the supervision of Dr. Luciano Ciravegna and Professor Peter Kingstone. My research draws on institutional theory, theory of the firm, stakeholder signalling theory, resource dependence theory and behavioural theories to explore firm strategy regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) schemes.

I am interested in the role of business in development and focus my research in the tourism industry in Mexico. I have long been interested in the role of tourism in development which led me to complete a master’s degree with merit in Tourism, Environment and Development from King’s College London Geography Department. Building on that, I am now exploring CSR as a potential mechanism for the industry to work for the well-being of its labour force, the environment and the society. I am also interested in exploring the links between CSR and the regulatory framework in emerging economies as well as the role of the government in advancing CSR in these economies.

My research, which started in 2014, is funded by the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT). I was also awarded a small grant from the Mexican Ministry of Education (SEP) in 2015.

Beyond my research, I have been a student representative on the International Development Department staff-student liaison committee in 2014 and in 2016. I was a founding member of the Mexican Society at King’s College London in 2012 and have since been an active member of the committee. Since September 2017, I am the president of the KCL Mexican Society. I have also worked in ProMexico linking Mexican and British creative industries by organising events and managing social networks in 2014. More recently, I have been involved in the World Travel Market (WTM) and FITUR connecting clients from Mexican and Spanish organisations with European travel markets.

Back in Mexico I did my Bachelor's Degree in Marketing at the Universidad Autonoma de Nayarit.

Please feel free to contact me at sofia.gonzalez_de_aguinaga@kcl.ac.uk or drop me a line on my social networks.