Alexander Pepper

Alexander (Sandy) Pepper (born 1958) is a management scholar, academic and emeritus professor of Management Practice at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).[1] His research focuses on senior executive pay,[2] corporate governance, behavioural economics, and the theory of the firm.[3] He is known for his book If You’re So Ethical, Why Are You So Highly Paid? Ethics, Inequality and Executive Pay.[4] Currently he is a chair of Governing Body at the University of Portsmouth.

Education and career

Pepper studied at Durham University before qualifying as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand.[5][6] He later undertook further study at Oxford University and HEC Paris and completed his Doctorate in Business Administration at the University of Surrey.[7]

Pepper worked for PwC for 27 years, eventually becoming Joint Global Leader of the firm's Human Resource Services consulting practice.[3] He joined the London School of Economics in 2008, where he taught and conducted research until his retirement in 2023.[8] Following his retirement, he was appointed emeritus Professor of Management Practice at LSE. He also serves as Chair of the Governing Body at the University of Portsmouth.[9]

Research and contributions

Pepper's research focuses on organizations and management theory, with central interests in the theory of the firm, corporate governance, business ethics, and the determinants and consequences of executive pay.[10][11]

A major contribution is his development of behavioural agency theory (BAT), formulated as both a critique and an extension of classical agency theory.[12] Traditional agency theory (Jensen & Meckling, 1976) assumes rational, utility-maximizing, risk-averse agents, Pepper argues that these assumptions fail to account for how individuals actually behave in organisational contexts.[13]

In his later research, Pepper applies concepts from institutional sociology to explain the persistent escalation of executive pay. Drawing on the framework of isomorphism, he argues that pay inflation is not merely the result of individual board decisions but emerges from broader systemic pressures.[14] Together, these mechanisms create what Pepper describes as a “market failure” in executive pay: a self-reinforcing arms race in which each firm attempts to match or exceed others, driving compensation levels steadily upward.[4]

Selected publications

Books

  • Pepper, Alexander (2015), "New Design Principles for Executive Pay", The Economic Psychology of Incentives, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 129–143, ISBN 978-1-349-68142-6, retrieved 2026-02-24{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  • Pepper, Alexander (2018-11-20), "Agency Costs, Coordination Problems, and the Remuneration Committee's Dilemma", Agency Theory and Executive Pay, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–14, ISBN 978-3-319-99968-5, retrieved 2026-02-24{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  • Pepper, Alexander (2022). If You're So Ethical, Why Are You So Highly Paid? Ethics, Inequality and Executive Pay. LSE Press. ISBN 978-1-909890-94-7.
  • What's a Company For? A Problem in Business Ethics (or...when Socrates met Milton Friedman). LSE Press. 2026.
  • Sallai, Dorottya; Pepper, Alexander; Open Textbook Library, eds. (2025). Navigating the 21st Century Business World. Open textbook library. London, England: LSE Press. ISBN 978-1-911712-39-8.

Articles

References

  1. ^ Potts, Elinor (2023-12-13). "Inequality and Systemic Reforms in the UK". LSE Press. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  2. ^ HighPayCentre (2020-12-09). "Report launch: High Pay Centre analysis of 2020 pay ratio disclosures". High Pay Centre. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  3. ^ a b Gore, Julie (2016-10-01). "The Case Against Long-Term Incentive Plans". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  4. ^ a b Olie, René. "If You're So Ethical, Why Are You So Highly Paid? The latest book from Prof Alexander Pepper explains spiraling executive pay as a market failure and argues this ultimately requires an ethical response". Global Alliance in Management Education. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  5. ^ "Prof. Sandy Pepper as an ESRC/FME Fellow. He was appointed Senior Fellow in September 2011". Global Benefits Vision. 2000-01-01. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  6. ^ "Sandy Pepper". Board Agenda. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  7. ^ "Professor Alexander (Sandy) Pepper". The London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  8. ^ Micheler, Eva. "If You're So Ethical Why Are You So Highly Paid? Market Failure in Executive Pay". The London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  9. ^ "Who is who on the board of governors". University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  10. ^ Soane, Emma. "How to Become a Transformational Leader A two-part, practical guide to becoming a transformational leader—based on a talk at the LSE Festival with Dr Rebecca Newton, Professor Sandy Pepper, and Dr Emma Soane". www.iedp.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-15. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  11. ^ Sikka, Prem (2024-03-25). "High Pay Centre teams up with professors Danny Dorling and Prem Sikka over fat cat pay". The Canary (website). Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  12. ^ Pepper, Alexander (2015), Pepper, Alexander (ed.), "Behavioural Agency Theory", The Economic Psychology of Incentives: New Design Principles for Executive Pay, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 26–58, doi:10.1057/9781137409256_3, ISBN 978-1-137-40925-6, retrieved 2026-02-24{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  13. ^ Pepper, Alexander; Gore, Julie (2015). "Behavioral Agency Theory: New Foundations for Theorizing About Executive Compensation". Journal of Management. 41 (4): 1045–1068. doi:10.1177/0149206312461054. ISSN 0149-2063.
  14. ^ "London School of Economics' Alexander Pepper: The debate around CEO pay rise". Investment Week. 2024-09-06. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
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