Yuliya Darmenova

Dr Yuliya Darmenova BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA

Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Business

Dr Yuliya Darmenova is a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Business at the Executive Business Centre, University of Greenwich. Her research explores the relationship between business and society, with a particular focus on how sustainable and responsible business practices are shaped by social, cultural and institutional contexts.

In 2020, she completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, where her research examined corporate social responsibility in its social and cultural context. Before moving into academia, Yuliya spent over 12 years in the corporate sector in operational and strategic management roles. This combination of academic and industry experience continues to inform her approach to sustainable business research.

Yuliya welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in research in sustainable business and related fields.

SDG4SDG8SDG12SDG16SDG17

Business and management

Responsibilities within the university

Teaching

  • Leading Sustainable Business & Risk Management for Executive MBA and SLA programmes
  • Teaching on Ethics & Global Corporate Citizenship, and Dynamics of Global Business and Practices across the MBA programme

Research

  • Sustainable and responsible business across social and institutional contexts
  • Social norms and market exchange in contemporary business

Research / Scholarly interests

Yuliya’s primary research interests lie at the intersection of business and society, with a particular focus on sustainable and responsible business. She is interested in how social values, norms, and local contexts shape the way businesses understand and put responsibility into practice. This interest extends across corporate social responsibility, sustainable business models and practices, and the ways established business concepts take shape in different social and cultural settings.

Recent publications
  • Berman C., & Darmenova Y. (2025). “Kazakh Sharing Practices: a critical inquiry into Sharing Economy models from the vantage of ownership”. Business & Society / doi.org/10.1177/00076503251364163
  • Darmenova Y., & Souza C. (2025). “Student-as-Partners in Higher Education: Exploring Perceptions and Experiences” in “Educational Transformation in Global Higher Education” – Vol 1. Educational Development, Pedagogic Change and Democratic Emancipation During the Era of Artificial Intelligence”, Palgrave / doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97999-6_18
  • Costales E., & Darmenova Y. (2025). “Aligning Principles: Students as Peers in the Landscape of Responsible Management Education” in Educational Transformation in Global Higher Education” – Vol 1. Educational Development, Pedagogic Change and Democratic Emancipation During the Era of Artificial Intelligence, Palgrave / doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97999-6_10
  • Darmenova Y., & Koo E. (2021). “Toward local sustainability: Social Capital as a community insurance in Kazakhstan”. Journal of Eurasian Studies, SAGE, 12(2), pp. 113-131 / doi.org/10.1177/18793665211038143

Presentations
  • Berman C., & Darmenova Y. (2026). Kazakh Sharing Practices: A Critical Inquiry into Sharing Economy Models from the Vantage of Ownership. Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Cambridge, UK.
  • Darmenova, Y., & Costales, E. (2025). Reimagining Corporate Social Responsibility: Navigating the Formality-Informality Nexus. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2025, No. 1). Academy of Management / doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2025.15054abstract
  • Darmenova Y. (2021). Social Capital as a Community Insurance in Kazakhstani Communities. Fifth Annual Tartu Conference on Russian and Eastern European Studies.
  • Darmenova Y. (2018). The Driving Forces of Corporate Social Responsivity in the Context of SMEs in Kazakhstan. Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Cambridge, UK