Helen Mussell

Helen Mussell is a Senior Lecturer in Organizational Studies and Director of Online Learning at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. She joined Cardiff in 2020 after serving as Director of the Master's in Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge. Her educational background includes a BA (Hons) in Women’s Studies from Lancaster University, an MPhil, and a PhD in Gender Studies (philosophy and economics focus) from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust Scholar (2012–2016).

• Education:
  • BA Hons in Women’s Studies, Lancaster University
  • MPhil and PhD in Gender Studies, University of Cambridge

Research Interests
Helen's work focuses on organizational ethics, particularly fiduciary duty, trust, and power dynamics in organizations. Her research bridges philosophy (ethics, epistemology, ontology), heterodox economics, feminist ethics, and social psychology, analyzing intersections between ethical behavior, economic theory, and political ideology. Her monograph Ontology, Relational Ethics, & Corporations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024) explores how realist social ontology and relational care ethics inform corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investment, and fiduciary legal concepts.

Publication Trends
Her recent articles examine epistemic vices, relational ethics, and fiduciary duty through interdisciplinary lenses, blending feminist philosophy, political economy, and social positioning theory. She has contributed to leading journals such as Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, and Feminist Economics.

Scientific Awards

• Gavin C Reid Best Paper Prize 2022 for 'Theorising the Fiduciary: Ontology and Ethics' (Journal of Business Ethics, 2023)

Teaching and Supervision
Helen leads the module International Business Ethics and Political Economy (BST464) for the MSc International Management and has taught Organizational Behavior on the Executive MBA. She serves as an External Examiner at King's Business School, London. As a postgraduate supervisor, she mentors PhD candidates in organizational ethics, feminist philosophy, and social ontological approaches.

Labs and Teams
She is a member of the Cambridge Social Ontology Group and collaborates with the Centre for Business Research at Cambridge’s Judge Business School.