His research and teaching explore sustainable business practices and the role of corporations in society with particular attention to the U.S. and Nordic contexts. More recently, Robert is focusing on contrasting varieties of capitalism in the U.S. and Nordic contexts and working on the book project “Sustainable Vikings: Nordic Leadership in Sustainable Capitalism.” He was a United States Fulbright Scholar to Norway.

Robert was first drawn to the Nordics as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Norway out of desire to understand how the Nordics were achieving such strong and balanced economic, environmental, and social performances at the macro country level – and he wanted to understand the role of business in this. He soon identified a heightened focus on cooperation rooted in democratic ideals as a fundamental reason among other related institutional and cultural factors. 

Prior to joining academia as a professor with the Copenhagen Business School, Strand spent a decade in industry with IBM and Boston Scientific in a range of roles in manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, strategy, and investor relations. He holds a PhD in corporate social responsibility from the Copenhagen Business School, an MBA in international business from the University of Minnesota (completed at HEC-Paris), and a BS in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin.