Daniel Beunza
Beunza is Assistant Professor of Management at the London School of Economics. His research in the social studies of finance explores how social relations and technology shape financial value. As examples, Beunza has studied a derivatives trading room in a Wall Street bank, financial analysts’ valuation of dot-com stocks, the automation of the New York Stock Exchange, and the role of NGOs in responsible investment. He’s currently writing a book on the role of bank culture in the reform of Wall Street and London. Beunza co-edits Socializing Finance, the leading academic blog in the social studies of finance. After earning his Ph.D. from NYU, he taught at Columbia Business School before joining LSE.
Biography
Dr Beunza is Assistant Professor of Management at the London School of Economics. His research in sociology explores the ways in which social relations and technology shape financial value. His award-winning study of a derivatives trading room on a Wall Street bank traces the roots of extraordinary returns to the use of space and internal organization. His study of financial analysts examined the ways in which social dynamics shaped the valuation of dot-com stocks. Dr. Beunza has also conducted a five-year ethnography on the automation of the New York Stock Exchange (profiled in The Wall Street Journal; see here). These articles are part of an emerging literature known as the “social studies of finance.”
Following the financial crisis that started in 2008, Beunza’s research turned to explore the ongoing efforts to reform the financial industry. His study of shareholder engagement received the 2014 Sustainalytics award. He has also examined the standardization of financial data on environmental and social performance, as well as the role of non-profit and non-governmental organizations in responsible investment. Beunza is currently authoring a book on the role of bank culture in the reform of Wall Street and the City of London.
Beunza’s research has had an impact on practice in the areas of market microstructure and responsible investment. In 2012 he contributed to the Foresight Report on Automated Trading commissioned by the British Government. His Comment Letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2013 contributed to changes in the regulation of information exchange between brokers and designated market makers (NYSE Rule 104). Since September 2014, Beunza serves as Chair of the Academic Network of a United Nations-sponsored organization, the Principles of Responsible Investment Initiative. Since 2007, Beunza has co-edited Socializing Finance, the leading academic blog that disseminates the findings of research on the social studies of finance.
Dr Beunza obtained his PhD from New York University and taught at Columbia Business School in New York City before joining LSE.
Research Interests
- Management
- Social studies of finance
- Organization theory
- Sociology of finance
Dr Beunza's current research centres on financial exchanges and socially responsible investment. His non-academic writings can be accessed through his blog, Socializing Finance.
Selected Publications
Ferraro, Fabrizio and Beunza, Daniel (2014) Why talk? A process of model of dialogue in shareholder engagement. Working paper series, Social Science Research Network (SSRN), London, UK.
Beunza, Daniel and Millo, Yuval (2013) Folding: integrating algorithms into the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Working paper series, Social Science Research Network (SSRN), London, UK.
Beunza, Daniel and Stark, David (2012) Seeing through the eyes of others: dissonance within and across trading rooms. In: Knorr Cetina, Karin and Preda, Alex, (eds.) Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Finance. Oxford handbooks in business and management. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 203-222. ISBN 9780199590162
Beunza, Daniel and Stark, David (2012) From dissonance to resonance: cognitive interdependence in quantitative finance. Economy and Society, 41 (3). pp. 383-417. ISSN 1469-5766
MacKenzie, Donald, Beunza, Daniel, Millo, Yuval and Pardo-Guerra, Juan Pablo (2012) Drilling through the Allegheny mountains: liquidity, materiality and high-frequency trading. Journal of Cultural Economy, 5 (3). pp. 279-296 ISSN 1753-0350