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- Linda Sama, Ph.D.
Dr. Sama founded the GLOBE (Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs - www.stjohns.edu/globe) microloan academic program at TCB, a student-managed micro-credit fund and experiential learning initiative inaugurated in Spring 2009. She acts as the GLOBE Program Director, Chair of the GLOBE Steering Committee and course instructor. The program has introduced students to microfinance as practiced in some of the world’s most impoverished communities, and earned her the Academy of Management’s Innovation in Entrepreneurship Pedagogy Award in 2012, and the AACSB 2017 Entrepreneurship Spotlight Challenge award. GLOBE was also honored as the first academic program to earn the University’s Spirit of Service Award, which Dr. Sama accepted at the 21st Annual President’s Dinner in 2018. Dr. Sama also was instrumental in the college’s decision to become a signatory of the U.N. PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) initiative in 2011. Serving as the UN PRME liaison for the college, she chairs the U.N. PRME Faculty Steering Committee and writes and submits the biennial PRME "Sharing Information on Progress: (SIP) report. As an outgrowth of that initiative, she launched the TCB Center for Global Business Stewardship, and acts as its Executive Director. She also applied for the college to become a PRME Champion for the 2018-2019 cycle, and was awarded this honor.
Dr. Sama founded and launched the TCB Global Destination Course (GDC) program in 2010, and runs 6-8 academic GDCs per year, with participating students and faculty traveling to destinations that have included China, U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Bermuda, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
Dr. Sama earned a Ph.D. in Strategic Management as well as a Masters in Philosophy from Baruch-CUNY. She also holds an MBA in International Finance from McGill University, and a BA in French and Mathematics from The University of Albany. Her doctoral dissertation addressing the twin impact of governance mechanisms and strategic slack on corporate social response strategies earned her the 1999 Lasdon Dissertation Award.
She made a transition to academe after a lengthy career in industry, where she acted as Director of Market Planning and Logistics for an international subsidiary of Transamerica Corporation that operated in the intermodal transportation space.
Dr. Sama teaches primarily in the areas of International Business, Strategic Management and Business Ethics. In addition to GLOBE, Dr. Sama has taught in the Executive-in-Residence Program (EIRP) since she arrived at St. John’s in 2007, and is honored to have worked with over 500 talented students in the program and many generous corporate sponsors. Her research has resulted in the publication of over 90 articles, proceedings papers and book chapters that address issues of corporate social responsibility, business and the natural environment, integrative social contracts theory, and global business ethics dilemmas in the new economy. Most recently, her research has focused on the connections between micro-lending and women empowerment, sustainability, religiosity, food security, and post-conflict resolutions in the developing world’s Base of Pyramid (BoP) markets, as well as exploring pedagogical innovations in the “post-truth” era classroom, and faculty well-being. In addition to serving on several not-for-profit boards, Dr. Sama devotes leisure time to her avocation, choral singing, which has allowed her to grace the stage of Carnegie Hall on over 40 occasions as a member of the Cecilia Chorus of New York City.
Teaching Interests
Research Interests
Courses Taught
Select Publications
Journal Articles
Casselman, R., Sama, L. M., and Stefanidis, A. (2015). Differential Social Impact of Religiously Affiliated Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Base of Pyramid (BOP) Markets. Journal Of Business Ethics. vol. in press,
Casselman, R., and Sama, L. M. (2014). THE ROLE OF MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS IN POST CONFLICT SETTINGS. Journal of Business, Peace & Sustainable Development.
Sama, L. M., and Casselman, R. (2013). Profiting from Poverty: Ethics of Microfinance in BOP. South Asian Journal of Global Business Research. vol. 2,
Sama, L. M., and Casselman, R. M. Profiting from Poverty: Ethical Dilemmas for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Base of Pyramid (BOP) Markets. South Asian Journal of Global Business Research.
Casselman, R. M., and Sama, L. M. Microfinance, Mission Drift and the Impact on the Base of the Pyramid: A Resource-based Approach. Business and Society Review.
Rusinko, C., and Sama, L. M. (2009). Greening and Sustainability across the Management Curriculum: An Extended Journey. Journal of Management Education. vol. 33, pp. 271-275.
Sama, L. M. (2006). Interactive Effects of External Environmental Conditions and Internal Firm Characteristics on MNE's Choice of Strategy in the Development of a Code of Conduct. Business Ethics Quarterly. vol. 16, pp. 137-165.
Reisel, W. D., and Sama, L. M. (2003). The Distribution of Life-Saving Pharmaceuticals: Viewing the Conflict between Social Efficiency and Economic Efficiency through a Social Contract Lens. Business and Society Review. vol. 108, pp. 365-387..
Sama, L. M., and Shoaf, V. (2002). Ethics on the Web: Applying Moral Decision Making to the New Media. Journal Of Business Ethics. vol. 36, pp. 93-103.
Sama, L. M., and Papamarcos, S. D. (2000). Culture's Consequences for Working Women in Corporate America and Japan, Inc.. Cross-Cultural Management: An International Journal. vol. 7, pp. 18-29.
Banai, M., and Sama, L. M. (2000). Ethical Dilemmas in MNCs' International Staffing Policies: A Conceptual Framework. Journal Of Business Ethics. vol. 25, pp. 221-235.
Sama, L. M., and Papamarcos, S. D. (2000). Hofstede's I-C Dimension as Predictive of Allocative Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review. International Journal Of Value Based Management. vol. 13, pp. 173-188.
Sethi, S. P., and Sama, L. M. (1998). Ethical Behavior as a Strategic Choice by Large Corporations: The Interactive Effect of Marketplace Competition, Industry Structure and Firm Resources. Business Ethics Quarterly. vol. 8, pp. 85-104.
Sama, L. M., Kopelman, R., and Manning, R. (1994). In Search of a Ceiling Effect on Work Motivation: Can Kaizen Keep Performance Risin'?. Journal Of Social Behavior And Personality. vol. 9, pp. 231-237.
Books Chapters
Sama, L. M., Welcomer, S., and Gerde, V. (2004). Who Speaks for the Trees? Invoking an Ethic of Care to Give Voice to the Silent Stakeholders. In: New Perspectives in Research on Corporate Sustainability: Stakeholders, Environment and Society. Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar. pp. 140-165.
Sethi, S. P., and Sama, L. M. (1998). The Competitive Context of Ethical Decision-Making in Business. In: Ethics in International Management. Berlin - NY: Berlin - NY: de Gruyter. pp. 65-86.