Research Seminars

• Topic: The winding road of leadership and culture: reflections on practice and research in Entrepreneurial, Ecclesiological, Health and Educational settings.
• Speaker: Professor Will Foster
• Date: 25th August 2021
• Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
• Venue: Online Event

Watch Professor Will Foster's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

In this talk, Professor Will Foster reflects on his diverse experience of leadership and culture, both in his practice and his research:

• Fog lifting moments: Rolls-Royce, the MBA and the spark of passion for leadership and culture.
• Building with heart: transitioning a small owner-managed entrepreneurial organisation of £1.5m turnover to £87m.
• Bringing in a culture led values approach to restructure – revelations in education transition and change.
• Long-deep Ethnographic research – exploring the 100-year journey of leadership and culture in a major UK denomination in the context of a trilateral lens - bringing the fields of ecclesiological, sociological/historical and organisational/business into dialogue to explore founding values and critical incidents.
• Special measures and leadership and organisational culture in the NHS – exploring the hidden voices.
• When is HE like BL? Comparing and contrasting British Leyland’s (BL) journey to becoming Rover group with reflections on a 16-year Higher Education journey in leadership.

Speaker biography

Will Foster is Professor of Leadership and Director of MBA and Executive Programmes with Keele Business School.

Prior to joining Higher Education, Will had a rich career in the commercial sector including nine years as a senior consultant working with a diverse range of clients from CEOs and Directors of global corporations to local SME business owners.

For the past 15 years he has also served as a volunteer Director on various charitable boards. Will is Principal Fellow of the HEA and a member of BAM’s leadership special interest group.

• Topic: Decent Work in Social Care
• Speaker: Dr Stephen Gibb
• Date: 8th September 2021 Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Stephen Gibb's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

In 2020, the COVID-19 virus pandemic has highlighted the long-standing challenges of resourcing and managing social care, in particular old age care.

Better supporting the social care sector has become a commitment which few do not embrace. However, besides the quality of social care, the job quality of care workers is important. Do they enjoy ‘decent work’?

Decent work is about pay that allows a life without the risk of poverty, about job security and paid sick leave, about being in a job that is socially recognised and valued. It's about having supportive managers and colleagues and about having a say about what is done at work and how. It is about purpose and meaning and a work environment that is safe for physical and mental health and that allows people to progress and use their skills and abilities.

In this session, Stephen will be discussing how ‘decent work’ for social care can become a reality via his research.

Speaker biography 

Dr Stephen Gibb is a Reader in Human Resource & Organisation Development at the University of the West of Scotland. He has a breadth and depth of research and publications, alongside extensive experience in consulting and advising organisations and managers.

Stephen’s recent research includes decent work in Scotland, critically exploring what matters most and who can make a difference. Social care work became a major focus of this in the last year.

He is also the director of the UWS Social Innovation, Leadership & Management (SIL&M) research group, addressing global challenges of fairer, wealthier, dynamic economies and thriving societies through leaders and managers in the private, public and third sectors as agents of change.

• Topic: What do Doctoral Researchers need to flourish? The science of getting from where you are to where you want to be
• Speaker: Dr Paul Joseph-Richard
• Date: 22nd September 2021 Time: 1pm to 2.30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Paul Joseph-Richard's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Doctoral researchers’ wellbeing has become as an important area in doctoral education research, policy and practice.

Recent research (Hazel et al. 2020; Nature, 2019; Evans et al. 2018) indicates that there has been an increase in mental health challenges faced by PhD students as they navigate “the traditionally isolated and highly competitive doctoral environment” (Pretorius, Macaulay & Cahusac de Caux, 2019, p. 289).

In the literature, the majority of research focusses on non-completers who have given up their studies. However, in this presentation, Paul focuses on his research undertaken with successful PhD students and presents what helped them to complete their studies (McCray & Joseph-Richard, 2020; 2021).

The content will include the stressors the doctoral students experienced, and how they learnt to cope with them, sustained their well-being and flourished during the Doctoral programme. As part of the session, Paul will identify four of the most well-established protective factors of resilience.

Speaker Biography 

Dr Paul Joseph-Richard is a lecturer in Human Resource Management (HRM) at Ulster University Business School. His research seeks to extend our understanding of leadership development, programme evaluation, research-informed teaching, and doctoral researchers' development.

He is a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy and a Certified Management and Business Educator

• Topic: Dementia Research: Everyone’s Business
• Speaker: Professor Debbie Tolson
• Date: 6th October 2021 Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Professor debbie Tolson's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Dementia touches all of our lives. It's one of the most feared conditions associated with ageing, giving rise to disease burden and everyday challenges in living. Over 50 million people globally have some form of dementia, predicted to increase to 82 million by 2030.

But not all who have dementia are old, in the UK, of the 850,000 people living with dementia, 40,000 are diagnosed under the age of 65 years.

In the early stages of illness, people with dementia can live relatively well and independent lives. As dementia progresses and both brain and bodily health deteriorate the complexity of symptoms increase as does dependency.

At the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice (ASCPP), we believe that people with dementia and family carers deserve the best possible care and support. We invite you to join with us in making the world a better place for people affected by dementia, through pioneering new approaches and innovations to help people to live the best life possible.

If you feel your research and enterprise expertise and interests could potentially contribute to developing interdisciplinary collaborations that would support people affected by dementia to live the best life possible, or you just want to know more, this talk is for you.

Following a scene setting introduction about dementia and dementia care, we will highlight the key messages for academics and business within Scotland’s first national Brain Health and Dementia Research Strategy. Innovative current project examples, presented by Dr Louise Ritchie and Dr Rhoda Macrae will help you to see how your ideas can be developed with and for people affected by dementia.

Speaker biography 

Professor Debbie Tolson is an Alzheimer Scotland Professor of Dementia and Director of the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice in the University of the West of Scotland.

Professor Tolson has an international reputation as a nurse leader, educator and applied researcher. She joined UWS in 2013 as the inaugural Director of the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice.

Professor Tolson is a Fellow of Royal College Nursing, Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and recipient of personal and team awards for dementia education, research and innovation. The most recent being a prestigious Advance HE (UK) CATE2020 (Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence) for Class in a Bag: Understanding Dementia.

• Topic: Publishing in Business and Management: Insights from the Editors
• Speaker: Professor Stephanie Decker and Professor Laura Galloway
• Date: 20th October 2021 Time: 1pm to 2.30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Professor Stephanie Decker and Professor Laura Galloway's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

The event “Publishing in Business and Management: Insights from the Editors” is designed to support scholars and practitioners by creating a space for discussion and reflection on submitting articles in peer reviewed journals. This will be an opportunity to meet the editors of highly ranked peer reviewed journals in Business and Management.

The event will focus on the publishing process and what editors and reviewers of journals are looking for in the articles they accept. Stephanie and Laura will provide more insight on the process of publishing high quality research, selecting appropriate channels, common grounds for rejection and strategies for learning from academic journal rejections.

Speaker biographies 

Professor Stephanie Decker

Professor Decker is the joint Editor-in-Chief of Business History. She is Professor of History and Strategy at the University of Bristol School of Management and visiting Professor in African Business History at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Her work lies at the intersection of organization studies and historical research, with a focus on the use of historical methodology in organization research. She has published in the major organisation studies and business history journals. She also serves on the editorial board of Organization Studies and on the council of the British Academy of Management.

Professor Laura Galloway

Professor Laura Galloway is the joint Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She is Professor of Business & Enterprise at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University and Director of the EBS Incubator.

Professor Galloway’s background is in research into entrepreneurship and small business start-up and growth. Much of this research focuses on peripherality both regionally and demographically including examination of minority composition, their entrepreneurship-based economic contribution and the role of entrepreneurship in reducing social and economic barriers for peripheral groups.

She has research interests also in the use and impact of ICT in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education.

• Topic: Developing the hidden curriculum for PhD students
• Speaker: Dr Abeer Hassan
• Date: 3rd November 2021
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr abeer Hassan's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary 

The doctorate is a huge and complex undertaking which requires a range of support beyond academic foundations.

The exchange between official and hidden curriculum is therefore key, not just for achieving the qualification, but to also achieve transformative growth.

The “hidden curriculum” highlights the unofficial channels of genuine learning typically acquired by doctoral students independent of the physical and metaphorical walls of academia. It explains in detail how the training and learning process that have taken place during the PhD journey, highly evaluated as genuine pedagogical spaces of learning can be expanded to meet learners’ academic, personal, social, and physiological needs.

Abeer Hassan will be sharing how her research is useful in preparing PhD students for the teaching/administration experience and increasing their employability after graduation.

Speaker biography 

Abeer Hassan is Reader in Accounting at UWS Business and Creative industries. She is a leading scholar in the field of Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, Private equity and venture capital as sources of finance for SMEs, Female entrepreneurship, Higher Education, Gender in Accounting Integrated Reporting, Biodiversity and Extinction Accounting.

Her innovative, evidence-based research has appeared in highly regarded outlets. Abeer has published more than 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. Before joining academia, Abeer worked as an auditor for 10 years at the National Authority of Auditing and Performance Evaluation in Egypt.

• Topic: Using mixed methods in management research: A tale of two studies
• Speaker: Dr Karen Maher
• Date: 17th November 2021
• Time: 1pm to 2.30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Karen Maher's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary 

Using mixed methods can provide researchers with a better understanding of a phenomena than a single method in isolation with the central premise that the strengths of each method offset the weaknesses of the other.

However, there are methodological decisions to navigate prior to embarking on mixed methods research to avoid it being used as a catch all and attempting to reconcile conflicting philosophical and theoretical lenses.

In this session, Karen will illustrate how she has used mixed methods in her own research using two studies to illustrate different approaches to data collection and integration.

When designing and conducting her mixed methods research there were general and personal challenges to overcome, and she will discuss how she came to a resolution which will be of use to those new to mixed methods research when designing their own projects.

Speaker biography 

Dr Karen Maher is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and a Senior Lecturer in Occupational Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Her work specialises in Occupational Health Psychology, in particular the link between health/wellbeing and work, how they interact, interventions to improve health/wellbeing in the workplace especially in high-risk occupations, and the interface between work and non-work. Her most recent work has assessed the wearing of body armour in the UK Police Service with a particular focus on female officers (funded by HSSRC), explored problematic substance use in midwifery, and evaluated the impact of extended shift working on Firefighters’ wellbeing and operational performance. Prior to training as a psychologist, Karen was employed as an Occupational Health and Fitness Advisor working to support and maintain a well workforce within the emergency services.

• Topic: BAME employees’ work experience in the UK public sector: An empirical study of academic and research libraries
• Speaker: Dr Mohammed Ishaq
• Date: 1st December 2021
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Mohammed Ishaq's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

The research was aimed at gauging the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff working in academic and research libraries across the UK, part of the higher education and public sector significantly under researched.

Using an essentially qualitative approach involving a series of in-depth interviews, the research design captured the lived experiences of BAME library employees.

In this session, Mohammed will be discussing about the challenges and its implications for the work experience and career development of BAME library staff.

Based on real life experiences of BAME staff, his research plugs a gap in a neglected area of the public and higher education sector and provides an opportunity for managers of academic libraries to reflect on the issues raised and consider interventions based on the recommendations.

Speaker biography 

Dr. Mohammed Ishaq is a Reader in Human Resource Management at the University of the West of Scotland and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

Mohammed has engaged in multidisciplinary research over the past 20 years spanning the disciplines of sociology, politics, and the wider discipline of business and management incorporating HRM.

Mohammed’s main interests are in the areas of equality, diversity and inclusion particularly within a workplace context and with specific focus on the public sector. Mohammed is engaged in research of a practical and applied nature with implications for organisations, societies and communities. Mohammed has published widely in peer reviewed journals and conducted consultancy for the Scottish Government, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and SCONUL. Mohammed is also a member of a number of groups and organisations including the Diversity and Equality Alliance Renfrewshire Group and the Scottish Football Association Equality and Diversity Advisory Board.

• Topic: Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: Getting it done
• Speaker: Eileen Conlan, Jim Johnston and Ron Livingstone
• Date: 15th December 2021
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Eileen Conlan, Jim Johnston and Ron Livingstone's seminar (YouTube)

EVENT SUMMARY

Knowledge Transfer Projects (KTPs) and Management Knowledge Transfer Projects (mKTPs) are government funded projects that develop academic access to live businesses where the academic support team brings new skills and resources to the company. The government backed scheme is proposed to help businesses innovate and grow.

Each KTP is a three-way partnership between a business, an academic institution and a graduate. The academic institution employs the recently qualified graduate who works at the company. The graduate, known as the ‘associate’, brings new skills and knowledge to the business.

A KTP can last between 12 and 36 months depending on the project and the needs of the business. It is part-funded by a grant. The amount businesses need to contribute is different for SMEs and larger companies.

In this session, Eileen, Jim and Ron will speak about Knowledge Transfer Projects (KTPs) and Management Knowledge Transfer Projects (mKTPs). They will outline:

• the application processes
• the challenges and benefits of working on both KTPS and mKTPs
• keeping all stakeholders happy (Government, Company, UWS and the associate)
• research opportunities
• tips for a successful project.

Speaker biographies 

Eileen Conlan

Eileen Conlan is a Lecturer in Digital Marketing in the School of Business and Creative Industries in the University of the West of Scotland.

She has a vast wealth of experience of delivering KTPs from both an associate and academic perspective. Eileen is also a Chartered Manager (FCMI) and Chartered Marketer (MCIM).

She has extensive industry experience in the Transport sector and the Promotional Merchandise sector. Her skill set includes General Business Operations, Market Planning and Multi-Channel Marketing. She is also a member of the British Academy of Management.

Jim Johnston

Jim Johnston is a Lecturer in the School of Business and Creative Industries in the University of the West of Scotland and has led several KTPS. He is also the KTP Lead of the School of Business and Creative Industries.

His research expertise is Knowledge Management in practice, Knowledge Transfer and Knowledge Mobilisation between Universities and wider society, Strategic Management and Management Consultancy, Information Management, Management of New Technology in Business, Social Media, Web 2.0, Customer Relationship Management and Big Data applications.

Jim is also a member of the British Academy of Management and has served in the executive council for several years.

Ron Livingstone

Ron Livingstone is the Head of the Management, People and Organisation Division in the School of Business and Creative Industries of the University of the West of Scotland.

His principal area of research and consultancy is strategic management. He has conducted research and consultancy work in tourism, electronic manufacturing, education, agriculture, aquaculture and voluntary/third sector organisations and also led on KTPs.

He is currently involved in a government funded project exploring the development of enterprises in remote and rural areas. He is also active in researching University to industry links and has been a full member of Scottish and UK committees for Business Schools.

• Topic: Entrepreneurial leadership: a skill-based analysis
• Speaker: Dr Christian Harrison
• Date: 12th January 2022 Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Christian Harrison's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Entrepreneurial leadership is an emerging paradigm from the domains of leadership and entrepreneurship.

While both fields of leadership and entrepreneurship have developed considerable bodies of research spanning several decades, independently the concepts have achieved little definitional consensus.

Although entrepreneurial leadership has received little attention, it has been acknowledged as an evolving approach to leadership towards achieving strategic value creation.

However, despite the growing interest and developing perspectives related to entrepreneurial leadership, empirical development of the concept has been hindered by the lack of focused research and the absence of adequate tools towards assessing a leader’s entrepreneurial skill set.

To address this gap, Christian’s study provides a critical examination of the concept of entrepreneurial leadership. He will be providing the associated entrepreneurial leadership skills required for success. His study offers the first empirical skill-based model of this phenomenon and has had strong implications in theory and practice.

Speaker biography 

Dr Christian Harrison is Reader in Leadership in the School of Business and Creative Industries in the University of the West of Scotland.

He is the author of numerous published peer-reviewed papers on Entrepreneurial Leadership which is his major research interest and serves as the Director of Studies of several doctoral students.

He is also the Chair of the Leadership and Leadership Development Special Interest Group of the British Academy of Management. Christian works extensively as a consultant on leadership development within organisations. He is also the author of the book entitled ‘Leadership Theory and Research: A Critical Approach to New and Existing Paradigms’, which is published by the globally renowned publishing company; Palgrave MacMillan.

• Topic: Business Model Innovation
• Speaker: Professor Mark Loon
• Date: 26th January 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2.30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Professor Loon's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

The growth of research on business model innovation (BMI) has been on an upward trajectory since the early 2000s. A quick search on Scopus shows that publications on the topic has increased annually, except in two years, in the last 21 years.

BMI also appears to be a highly popular topic on the Internet. A quick search on Google of the term results in returns with 2.3 million, whereas ‘business model’ returns with about 177 million hits.

BMI is quite a ‘versatile’ topic as well. Whilst it has been largely studied in the field of strategic management and innovation, researchers from other fields (for example, entrepreneurship, marketing and tourism) have also used the construct in their investigations. BMI has been used as the central focus in studies and as a secondary construct e.g. moderating variable (quantitative study) and contextual setting (qualitative research).

Given the research published in this area, has studies on BMI reached ‘saturation’? Is it still a fruitful area of research? If so, what are the promising research trajectories in relation to the topic? Mark will be exploring these questions and more.

Speaker biography 

Professor Mark Loon is a Research Chair of Management and Organisation Studies with the University of Northumbria at Newcastle. He was previously the Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at Bath Spa University.

He has published in Academy of Management Learning and Education, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Human Resource Management Journal, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Research and Journal of Management Studies.

He was a recipient of the Outstanding Paper Emerald Literati Awards for Excellence for a co-authored paper on leadership.

He is a Co-Vice Chair of the British Academy of Management’s Management Knowledge and Education Committee and a member of its Peer Review College. He was commissioned by the Oxford University Press to contribute an article on ‘Critical Thinking in Business Research’ published in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia.

He is currently a Visiting Professor of Strategy and HRM with Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management, Université d'Aix-Marseille and an honorary scholar at the University of Liverpool.

Prior to academia, he had a career in management consulting for over 10 years. He was employed by firms such as Ernst & Young, Cap Gemini and KPMG. Mark has a PhD and a DBA. He was awarded a scholarship by the Australian Federal Government, the highly competitive Australian Postgraduate Award, to complete a PhD.

He is a Principal Fellow of the HEA, Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, and a Chartered Scientist, registered with the Science Council, UK.

• Topic: How to influence employees’ innovative behaviour through entrepreneurial leadership?
• Speaker: Dr Afsaneh Bagheri
• Date: 23rd February 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2.30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Afsaneh Bagheri's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Based on the published paper: Bagheri, A., Newman, A., & Eva, N. (2020). Entrepreneurial leadership of CEOs and employees’ innovative behavior in high-technology new ventures. Journal of Small Business Management, 1-23, Afsaneh will be providing more insights about what entrepreneurial leadership is and how it influences employees’ innovative behaviour.

The event will examine entrepreneurial leadership and creative self-efficacy and passion for inventing. Practical implications and a future research agenda which is pertinent especially in today’s world will be provided.

Speaker biography 

Dr Afsaneh Bagheri is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, at the Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Iran.

She obtained her PhD on “Developing entrepreneurial leadership competencies in university students” from Faculty of Educational Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia in 2011.

After one and a half years of being a postdoctoral research fellow at the University Putra Malaysia, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran in 2013. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017.

She has been a visiting Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Ferrara, Italy in 2016 and 2018 and a visiting Associate Professor at Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, Canada in 2019.

Afsaneh has published 71 papers on different areas of entrepreneurship including 20 papers on entrepreneurial leadership. She has been one of the most cited authors in entrepreneurial leadership (h-index=21, i10-index=32; 10, Oct 2021). She has been teaching entrepreneurship and SME leadership for over nine years.

• Topic: Imagination for Action: nurturing professional values and guiding good actions
• Speaker: Dr Aleksandra Webb
• Date: 9th March 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Aleksandra Webb's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

This presentation will showcase a relationship between imagination and responsible actions of leaders working in the cultural sector in a northern European country. Findings are drawn from the qualitative interviews with 21 leaders which were interpreted using a framework of Imagination for Action.

In this session, Aleksandra will illustrate through her findings how imagination is simultaneously a necessary condition and the most valuable resource for a renewal of professional calling and motivation for driving change in value-driven setting challenged by a crisis. This presentation will also share some reflections on the challenges and opportunities of reinterpreting original data sources.

Speaker biography

Dr Aleksandra Webb is a lecturer in the Division of Management, Organisations and People at the University of the West of Scotland.

She has research interests in the changing nature of work, occupations and labour markets, and the ways people learn and develop in their chosen vocational and professional pathways.

Dr Webb has written a number of reports and published in areas of skills and labour markets, employability, women’s work, careers and employment, and digitalisation in the Higher Education. She is currently investigating digitalisation-related opportunities in the performing arts, focusing on development of skill for digital performance.

A related theme of Aleksandra’s interest focuses on individual and collective work practices that champion responsible actions and drive positive social change. She has explored those interests with a particular attention to leadership in the arts sectors.

• Topic: Enterprising institutions & ecosystems: post-pandemic implications for classrooms and communities
• Speaker: Dr Robert James Crammond
• Date: 23rd March 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Robert James Crammond's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

With the progression of contextual and practical studies of enterprise and entrepreneurship in recent years, business schools and universities overall are embracing both skills-based and venture creation forms of entrepreneurship education.

This encourages a shift in the resources allocated towards enterprise-related teaching and research activities, the creation of new academic programmes and teaching teams, and the nature and modes of course delivery: whether it be on campus, hybrid, or distance.

However, the impact of the recent COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected how forms of this education was delivered and has widened the debate on the strengths of the university across academic and support departments, in becoming productive entrepreneurial institutions, as a social and economic change agent for its students and region.

During this seminar, Robert shall discuss the advancing concept of the entrepreneurial university and the higher educational relationships with stakeholders and communities, with a particular focus on the Scottish and wider UK context.

He will also highlight, as universities engage in post-pandemic approaches to both on and off campus delivery and support to students, the impact this shall have on various aspects of entrepreneurship education and a university’s ongoing entrepreneurial efforts. This reflects on recent, empirical investigation concerning student experiences, pedagogical perspectives gauged from academics and researchers, as well as addressing the viewpoints of surrounding stakeholder groups within education, industry, and governmental policy.

Speaker biography 

Dr Robert James Crammond is a Senior Lecturer in Enterprise at the University of the West of Scotland. Originally from an accountancy background, his academic interests lie in enterprise and entrepreneurship education, and progressing contemporary, enterprise-centric stakeholder theory.

To date, he has presented at numerous international conferences and published in many journals, with a focus on the educational and industrial contexts associated with entrepreneurship.

In early 2020, Dr Crammond released his debut book with Palgrave Macmillan, Advancing Entrepreneurship Education in Universities, appreciating aspects of teaching delivery and institutional support.

Dr Crammond also supervises a number of doctoral studies and is an editorial board member and reviewer for multiple journals spanning entrepreneurship behaviour and education, management, intellectual capital and property management, knowledge management, and teaching practice fields.

In recent years, Dr Crammond has been involved in a national, cross-university ‘Scale Up’ project, aiming to implement an educational and training programme for Scottish businesses.

A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE), Dr Crammond also teaches and coordinates across many disciplines. His second book, titled Entrepreneurship and Universities: Pedagogical Perspectives and Philosophies, is due for release in late 2022.

• Topic: Developing academic impact through executive education
• Speaker: Dr Mike Kennard
• Date: 6th April 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Mike Kennard's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

This interactive research seminar will consider the options available to develop academic impact through executive education.

Mike will take a multi-stakeholder approach to discuss the benefits of executive education for academics, institutions and external organisations, as well as some of the common barriers to engaging with executive education and how to overcome them. At the end of the seminar, participants will be able to:

• Understand why external organisations commission business schools to deliver executive education.
• Characterise the main types of executive education programme and common topics and themes.
• Identify the potential advantages of undertaking executive education from the perspective of both individual academics and business schools.
  Recognise the common barriers to undertaking executive education and how to overcome them.
• Consider the steps that they can take to successfully develop their executive education activities to enhance academic impact, and access additional resources to support this.

Speaker biography

Dr Mike Kennard is an Executive Education Programme Director and Senior Lecturer in Innovation, Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Alliance Manchester Business School.

Mike’s teaching, research and consulting interests centre on innovation management capabilities, organisational barriers to innovation and developing entrepreneurial growth strategies. He is author of The A to Z of Innovation Management and the forthcoming Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Mike has worked with a wide range of organisations including Airbus, Arriva, BAE Systems, the Civil Service, KPMG, GKN, Nat West, the NHS, Rolls-Royce, SABMiller etc.

He is a regularly invited speaker on innovation, including events held by The Royal Aeronautical Society, Marketing Week, International Society for Professional Innovation Management, Institute of Materials, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Previously Mike was Programme Director for the MSc Management and MSc Advanced Engineering Management programmes at the University of Birmingham, MBA Director at Aston Business School, and an Innovation Research Fellow at Nottingham University Business School. Mike also worked for over 10 years in various technology management positions at Rolls-Royce plc.

Mike holds a BEng and PhD from the University of Birmingham, and an MBA from Nottingham University Business School. Mike is also a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Member of the British Academy of Management, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Teaching and Learning, and Distinguished Fellow of the Teaching Academy.

• Topic: Teaching and Research: Internal and External Engagement: Impact and Interdisciplinarity
• Speaker: Dr Sandro Carnicelli
• Date: 20th April 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Sandro Carnicelli's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

The demands of an academic job seem to have increased in the last decade.

You are expected to be an extraordinary teacher, a creative and critical pedagogue, a world-leader researcher with projects that will transform communities and organisations, an attentive personal tutor in your pastoral care activities, an income generator, and an effective administrator. Indeed, the multiplicity of roles within the same job have the potential to scare some brilliant people away from Higher Education.

In this seminar, Sandro will explore ideas for potential converging agendas that can help you to keep bureaucrats ‘away’ while you shape your own career path as you wish. Now, he may fail miserably in this attempt, but you will only know if you come along!

Speaker biography

Dr Sandro Carnicelli is Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland and the Marketing, Events and Tourism Unit Leader.

Sandro has been developing research and working in the fields of Tourism and Events for over 15 years in Brazil, New Zealand and the UK.

Sandro has delivered a significant number of projects in partnership with public and private organisations including Caledonian Railway, DFConcerts, National Cancer Research Institute, and the Renfrewshire Council.

Sandro had projects funded by organisations such as the Carnegie Trust, the Leisure Studies Association, the UK Department for Transport, the Moffat Trust, and the UKRI-GCRF.

He is a member of the Facilitating Group of the Young Academy of Scotland/Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Parana (Brazil).

Sandro is on the Editorial Board of Tourism Management Perspectives and Leisure Studies. He is also an Associate Editor for the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, and for the Event Management journal.

• Topic: Managing during pandemic times: rethinking people management practices from developing countries’ perspective
• Speaker: Dr John Mendy
• Date: 4th May 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr John Mendy's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Although the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic registered unimaginable challenges, suffering, pain, stress, depression, mental health problems and death globally, the extent to which lessons could be drawn to inform current People Management practices from developing economies’ contexts and perspectives has been a neglected area of mainstream western Management discourse.

In this talk, John highlights the key challenges to SMEs in both developed and emerging economies. He focuses more on the latter, with the aim of rethinking and reconceptualising management practice in situations that are infrastructurally, materially, financially and humanly challenged.

Potential lessons of how not to manage are drawn using case studies and some innovative insights of how to manage during a pandemic are extracted to inform current management practice and theory reflections on a future research agenda are considered.

Speaker biography

Dr John Mendy is Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for MSc HRM based at the University of Lincoln, UK. John is interested in resilience research, the intersection between International HRD, HRM and International Business.

John’s research also spans across Organisational Studies, Strategy, employment relationships, autism and employment/HRM policies and practices with specific foci on SMEs and MNEs in developed and emerging economies.

John is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA, UK) and a Chartered Member of the CIPD (MCIPD, UK).

John is the Chair of the Organisational Transformation, Change and Development Track at the British Academy of Management and has authored several peer-reviewed articles and policy papers in respected journals and other publication outlets.

John has also won several awards, the most recent of which is the Best 2020 Special Issue on ‘The Impact of Resilience in Developing Individual and Organizational Capacity to ‘Bounce Back’ from Challenges’ in Advances in Developing Human Resources Journal.

He also currently serves on the Editorial Boards of a number of journals, the exam boards of a couple of Higher Education institutions both in the UK and abroad and a Visiting Scholar.

• Topic: Improving organisational sustainability in response to crisis: Lessons for future pandemics
• Speaker: Professor Dominic Elliott
• Date: 18th May 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Professor Dominic Elliott's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

As the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on organisations globally, now more than ever, it has become imperative for leaders to possess qualities and expertise to lead organisations through crises.

The pandemic has created opportunities for organisational innovation and creativity and leaders must be able to take advantage of these opportunities for survival.

In this session, Dominic will engage in a crisis management discourse that is informed by theory and practice. The importance of managing crisis in these unprecedented times of great risks and threats will be discussed.

Speaker biography 

Professor Dominic Elliott is the Dean of Business and Creative Industries, at the University of the West of Scotland, leading an exciting array of arts, business, law and media subjects.

Previously, he spent 16 years at the University of Liverpool where he was the Paul Roy Professor of Strategic Management.

Dominic has more than twenty years’ experience in the industry, combining research, publishing and practice. His interest is in how organisational success is achieved and, on the downside, how organisations deal with minor and major interruptions that are an inevitable part of life.

With extensive teaching in the areas of strategy, marketing and crisis, his approach to research is grounded in protecting knowledge assets and the value adding elements of organisations.

Dominic has published widely in many highly ranked journals and was the founding editor of the Academic Journal – Risk management: An International Journal. He has taught 'Strategic Management' and 'Crisis Management' on a variety of Executive MBA programmes, across Europe, USA, Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

• Topic: The messiness of IT service delivery: A knowledge/knowing-based explanation
• Speaker: Dr Wojciech Kwiatkowski
• Date: 1st June 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Wojciech Kwiatkowski's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

IT services firms fall underneath the umbrella of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms.

In short, such firms can been defined as business organisations which collect, transform and apply technical and/or professional knowledge to solve strategic problems faced by their clients, who often participate in the development of the service solution (Bettencourt et al., 2002; Lehrer et al., 2012).

However, the view of KIBS as ‘knowledge providers’ has been criticised for being rooted in a naïve and functional understanding of knowledge. This limitation also contributed to a rather simplistic portrayal of the service delivery process (Alvesson, 2004).

In this session, Wojciech will build on the above critique by discussing the results of an abductive analysis of the organising of service delivery in a specialist IT consultancy.

With the help of three theoretical lenses derived from cognitive-subjective (e.g. Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995) and practice theory-based (e.g. Lave & Wenger, 1991, Nicolini, Gherardi & Yanow, 2015) literature on organisational knowledge and learning, he will explore the messiness of IT service delivery, which stems from the uncertainty and complex power relations inherent in the knowledge and knowing involved in the service delivery process.

Speaker biography

Dr Wojciech Marek Kwiatkowski is a Lecturer in Business and Management at the School of Business & Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland.

Having become disillusioned with managerialist accounts of organisational life in course of completing his PhD at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, he now draws on practice theorising to explore organisational knowledge and learning, technology design, effects of new technologies on work and organising, and the power relations inherent in all of them.

He also has an interest in scrutinising the harmony and dissonance between scholarly accounts of knowing and the knowing involved in research practice.

• Topic: Litigating Children’s Rights: Use of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in UK courts
• Speaker: Dr Samuel White and Susannah Paul
• Date: 15th June 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Event summary

The UK has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

But, apart from Scotland, where an attempt to incorporate the UNCRC into domestic law was stalled by legal challenge, the UK has not attempted to translate the rights protected as a matter of international law into the domestic setting. This means that the rights protected by the UNCRC are not enforceable in UK courts. Nevertheless, courts sometimes use the instrument in limited circumstances.

In this session, Samuel and Susannah will explain these circumstances by combining doctrinal analysis of what the law says with insights from quantitative socio-legal research and qualitative empirical research. They will develop a detailed understanding of the current legal position.

Through this presentation, more knowledge will be gained to encourage and enable wider and more successful use of the UNCRC, leading to improved outcomes for those seeking to secure children’s rights.

Speaker biographies

Dr Samuel White

Dr Samuel White is a Lecturer in Law in the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland. He completed his LL.B. (Hons) at the University of Dundee before working in risk and compliance in the financial services sector.

In 2017, he returned to academia to complete a PhD at the University of Dundee funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. Samuel’s doctoral research investigated the impact of incorporation of human rights treaties in UK domestic law, examining the changes brought about by the Human Rights Act 1998 on human rights protection in the UK.

He has presented this research at conferences around the world, and evidence based on this research was recently cited by the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights in its report on an inquiry on the Government’s Independent Review of the Human Right Act.

Samuel’s research interests include the interaction between UK constitutional law and the protection of human rights as well as the interface between domestic and international law in respect of human rights. In addition to research on the UK’s human rights treaty compliance, he is developing research into the use of unincorporated treaties by UK judges in their decision-making.

Susannah Paul

Susannah Paul is a Lecturer in Law in the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland. She completed her LL.B. (Hons) at the University of Glasgow. Following her LL.B., Susannah received a 1+3 scholarship from the Arts and Humanities Research Council Project ‘Researching Multilingually at Borders’.

Susannah received thorough training in qualitative research methods during her MRes in Equality and Human Rights and is currently writing up her PhD at the University of Glasgow. Her PhD research examines adversarialism in the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and employs observational and interview data to consider how hearings are conducted in reality.

Susannah is interested in using socio-legal methodologies to produce impactful research and enjoys engaging in projects which consider questions relating to human rights and access to justice.

• Topic: Getting Personal: the issues of trust and distrust in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Speaker: Dr Kingsley Omeihe
• Date: 29th June 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Kingsley Omeihe's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

There is a pronounced paucity of empirically rigorous study that focuses on the impact of trust on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in a developing market context.

In this session, Kingsley offers a fresh perspective on the simultaneous relationship between trust and distrust by exploring the complex process through which they are developed.

Constructed in the assumptions of multidimensionality and the inherent tensions of relationships, the design of his study is interpretive, following an emergent iterative process, where three distinct types of trust, cognitive-based trust, affect-based trust and calculus-based trust were considered as critical components for successful SME relationships.

Kingsley through his findings facilitates a better understanding of the distinct types of trust and distrust that underpin SME relationships, particularly in Africa. This event contributes to the ongoing debate over the two contrary yet complementary opposites of trust and distrust, and their ability to provide explanations to economic activity.

Speaker biography

Dr Kingsley Omeihe is Head of Discipline (Business Management) at the Business School of the University of Aberdeen.

He received his diploma from the University of Cambridge, his MBA from the University of Aberdeen and PhD from the Doctoral College of the University of the West of Scotland.

His previous posts include Head of Graduate Apprenticeship Programme at Edinburgh Napier University and Executive Administrator at the Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development. He is a selected fellow of the West African Transitional Justice Centre and a fellow at the Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management.

He advises startups, business leaders and policy makers on entrepreneurship, innovation and business resilience. His current roles include:

• Chair of African Studies at the British Academy of Management
• Chair of Entrepreneurship in Minority Groups at the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• member of the Cross-party Group on International Development at the Scottish Parliament
• member of the Centre for European Labour Markets
• member of the Africa-Asia Centre for Sustainability Research.

Previously, through his role in banking and financial services, he led the growth of the commercial and private banking portfolio at Standard Bank, Access Bank, Zenith Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

• Topic: Crisis management and Business continuity of family firms: Are African Businesses in the UK conscious of their environmental opportunities?
• Speaker: Dr Bernard Boateng
• Date: 13th July 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Bernard Boateng's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Family businesses are known to be effective when it comes to crisis management and business continuity due to the flexibility and emotional attachment to their operations (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2011; Berrone et al., 2010).

In the case of UK family businesses, the environmental strengths and opportunities provide businesses with additional reasons to survive the crisis and continue to operate. Conversely, African family businesses which are mostly micro businesses have a high failure rate in the UK.

In this session, Bernard will explore how these African micro businesses are using their strengths as family businesses and most importantly how they are utilising the environmental opportunities provided in the UK. The discussion will be informed by theory and practice.

Speaker biography

Dr. Bernard Boateng is a Lecturer in Business and Management at the University of the West of Scotland. He has over 10 years teaching experience combining research and practice.

He has previously lectured in universities in the UK such as Queen Margaret University, University of Suffolk and Buckingham New University. He has taught varying business and management modules for both undergraduates and postgraduates including Strategic Management, Financial Decisions and Family Business Management.

His overarching interest is on how businesses strategise and survive for the long term. This has led to research in areas such as family business management, strategic and financial decisions of SMEs and migrant entrepreneurship.

Bernard has published in the Journal of Family Business Management and a reviewer for many highly ranked journals. He is also a recognised financial adviser in the UK and has vast industry experience by previously working for companies such as British Airways, Lloyds Bank etc.

• Topic: Financial Education Planning and Management: A Necessity for Well-Being and Financial Stability Speaker: Dr Enkeleda Lulaj
• Speaker: Dr Enkeleda Lulaj
• Date: 14th September 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2.30pm

Event summary

With the current global economic recession, it has become inevitable that financial education planning is paramount for survival.

Financial education planning refers to the combination of credit, financial, and debt management skills that are necessary for making informed financial decisions.

Financial education planning includes understanding how to avoid debts, how checking accounts works, using credit cards, and the right investment choice. In general, financial education planning has a material impact on individuals and families as they balance between their daily budget, children’s education, buying a home, and saving for retirement.

In this talk, Enkeleda will be providing a pragmatic path to financial management. Lack of financial education affects people’s ability to avoid financial pitfalls, manage financial risks, and understand the financial landscape. Innovative insights on financial education planning frameworks will be provided.

Speaker biography

Dr Enkeleda Lulaj is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Management in Tourism, Hospitality and Environment, University “Haxhi Zeka” Peja-State of Kosovo. She has a Doctor of Science in Finance and Accounting (Economy) and is the co-founder of B.O.R.N., Ambassador for Financial Evaluation, Ambassador for Women-Tech, as well as the Ambassador for Research and Innovation.

She is the Country Director of International Young Society and Country Director of World Voice International. She is a Member of the Editorial Board of many magazines in different countries such as USA, Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Denmark, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Philippines etc.

She has a great experience in International Conferences as a supervisor, as a member of the scientific committee, as a member of the editorial board, as a session chair in Universities, Institutes and various countries such as Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, United Kingdom, South Korea, India, Italy etc.

She is a reviewer in prestigious journals on Scopus and Web of Science. She also has an excellent experience as a visiting professor to lecture on economics, finance, accounting, education, teaching, research, and many other topics relevant to economic development, financial stability and quality enhancement in higher education at many Universities, Institutes, NGOs, Symposiums, Summits, Workshops, Webinars, around the world.

• Topic: Digitalisation experience of UK resource-constrained firms
• Speaker: Dr Narayan Bhattarai
• Date: 28th September 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm

Watch Dr Narayan Bhattarai's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

This presentation will shed light on the digitalisation experience of UK resource-constrained firms.

The everchanging digital innovation and the unprecedented pandemic shock forced business transformation through digitalisation, an essential developmental step within the corporate sector. However, it is currently a necessary innovation for ethnic entrepreneurship.

Many studies have focused on digitalisation compulsion, but due to lack of technological knowledge and limited resources, ethnic minority-led businesses that are already deficient in resources are also added with technostress. Regardless, they are pushed to adapt to the cutting-edge technologies and have thus started learning their deployment by force.

Dr Bhattarai investigates the digital behaviour of ethnic minority entrepreneurs in the UK to address the potential that digitalisation holds within entrepreneurial business activities by describing the interconnection with the concept of innovation as a foundation.

This basis was supported by interviews of 31 ethnic minority entrepreneurs pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their cultural, digital experience and technology knowledge-related challenges and progress during digital entrepreneurial practices were thus, identified and explored.

The findings showed that a lack of awareness about the digitalisation process is a major hindrance they currently face, and effective digitalisation relies on cultural belief, digital experiences and technological knowledge.

Speaker biography

Dr Bhattarai is a lecturer in Business and Management in the Division of Management, Organisations and People at the University of the West of Scotland. He is a well-recognised contributor to promoting research, teaching, administrative, consultancy and enterprising activities within and beyond the United Kingdom.

He has over 20 years of experience teaching and leading in further and higher education both in the UK and overseas. Before UWS, he taught at Royal Holloway University of London and Leeds Trinity University. His teaching comprises a range of modules in Business and Management for undergraduates and postgraduates. In addition, he supervises PhD students around entrepreneurship and business digitalisation.

He has successfully delivered Southeast Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS)-Economic Social Research Council (ESRC) funded industry engagement project and provides consultancy services to digitally empowered entrepreneurs in professional services in the UK.

He also engages in a knowledge transfer project (KTP) at UWS. His research focuses on entrepreneurship and business digitalisation, including ethnic minority and migrant-owned businesses, family businesses, and SMEs.

• Topic: Mapping the Food Supply Chain for Disadvantaged Communities in the UK
• Speaker: Dr Emmanuel Sawyerr
• Date: 25th October 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Emmanuel Sawyerr's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Despite many efforts by the government and citizens of the United Kingdom to address food insecurity and poverty, available data on diet-related health, food quality, affordability and accessibility indicate the situation to be worsening.

The effects of recent events such as the country’s final exit from the European Union, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict have further accentuated this.

Emmanuel will discuss the role logistics and supply chain management could play in addressing this challenge by presenting a map of the food supply chain that serves disadvantaged consumers to identify the infrastructure, processes, key challenges and supply chain solutions.

Speaker biography

Emmanuel has expertise in supply chain resilience, procurement, supply chain excellence in developing countries, sustainable supply chain management and food supply chains. He obtained his PhD at the Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, London.

He has lectured at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels on subjects such as Sustainable Global Growth, Sustainable Business, Operations and Digital Business, Project Management among others.

Presently, Emmanuel works as a Research Fellow in the Centre for Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain Management at Cranfield University’s School of Management where he is providing supply chain expertise on the BBSRC-funded Food Systems Equality project

• Topic: Are the policies of “Trickle Down” Economics compatible with “Levelling Up” in the UK?
• Speaker: Professor John Struthers
• Date: 26th October 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Professor John Struthers' seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

The recent UK “Mini-Budget” has highlighted the conflicts and trade-offs inherent in macroeconomic policy making. This presentation will discuss some of these trade-offs including:

• inter alia: fiscal and monetary policy interactions
• open economy effects such as on the exchange rate and subsequent impact on interest rates
• financial market responses
• future prospects for government expenditure and borrowing
• impact on economic growth and income distribution.

Professor Struthers will discuss these issues in the context of established economic theories including:

• the Laffer Curve
• the Open Economy Trilemma Curve
• the Kuznets Curve, which depicts income distribution trade-offs with economic growth.

Discussion of these concepts will help to shed much needed light on the current challenges of managing the UK economy which have been described by many commentators as a 'perfect storm' of crises.

Speaker biography

Professor John Struthers is an experienced academic and economist with over 35 years working in a variety of universities in the UK and in Africa. He has worked in Nigeria and Sierra Leone and carried out research on Ghana and Ethiopia.

He has extensive publications in a range of economics journals, principally in the field of development economics, especially on “soft” commodities such as coffee and cocoa.

He has previously been a director of a leading Scottish Chamber of Commerce as well as a Local Enterprise Trust (both in Renfrewshire). He was also a member of Waterwatch Scotland, a water industry consumer body. He is a current member of the Westminster Africa Business Group in London.

In academia he has been Dean of a Business Faculty at UWS, Head of Department of Economics and Enterprise, and founding Head of UWS Graduate School. In November 2015 he set up CAREED at UWS, a unique research centre which specialises in a range of key economic issues across the continent of Africa.

For the last 10 or more years he has been researching, along with other UWS colleagues, in the area of commodity price volatility in developing countries. In this context he has collaborated with a number of UN organisations such as the FAO in Rome and UNCTAD in Geneva in the area of commodities research.

His publications (some-co-authored) have appeared in the following journals: Development and Change

• Journal of Energy and Development
• Journal of Economic Studies
• Journal of International Development
• Oxford Development Studies, among others.

His recent research has been funded by the British Academy. During 2015, he was appointed Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Scotland. He has supervised 18 PhD students to completion, many of whom came from a variety of African countries and has been external examiner for more than 30 doctorates at several UK universities.

He is also a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Glasgow within the Adam Smith Business School.

• Topic: Dilemmas of Culture Clash in Academia
• Speaker: Dr Hala Mansour
• Date: 9th November 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Hala Mansour's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Commentators agree on the nature of many changes sweeping through the Higher Education sector in the UK. For example:

• increasing student numbers
• growing competition
• new modes of funding
• multifarious performance evaluation
• audit frameworks.

They also tend to agree that universities' responses include becoming more business-like, market orientated, hierarchical and consumer focused; all of which have implications for the role and status of academics.

However, there is considerable disagreement about how to conceptualise these developments. Hence there is reference variously to massification, marketisation, managerialism and the audit society inter alia.

In this session, Hala will explore these issues with reference to a qualitative research study, which unusually concerns the views of university managers rather than academics: in this case, HR Directors.

Speaker biography

Dr Hala Mansour is Associate Professor in Change and Leadership at the University of Northampton and the Postgraduate Research Leader.

Hala is a member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Change Management: Reframing Leadership and Organizational Practice. She is passionate about Postgraduate Research Education.

She was appointed as a trustee for the UK Council of Graduate Education in 2021. Hala is a Member of the British Academy of Management. She has worked in different projects to explore change and leadership and knowledge mobilisation in UK HE sector.

Hala’s research interests focus on Organisational Effectiveness, Organisational Culture, Organisational Change, Leadership, Managerialism and New Public Management.

• Topic: How to Publish Qualitative Research?
• Speaker: Dr Kalyan Bhandari
• Date: 7th December 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Kalyan Bhandari's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Publishing qualitative research is challenging for a variety of reasons, one of which is related to the perception that analysis in qualitative research is inherently subjective.

This is partly because there is no ‘uniform rule’ on how data should be presented and partly because of the key importance of language and writing skills. The meaning and interpretations of data can depend largely on the individual researcher and their proficiency of expression.

The above qualities necessitate a need for serious consideration when preparing qualitative manuscripts. It demands a high level of engagement with previous literature, a rigorous methodology, and requires a very high level of analysis and critical thinking skills, the lack of any of which will likely return a review that the manuscript is descriptive and lacks objectivity.

In this presentation, Dr Bhandari draws from his own experience of publishing qualitative research in well-respected journals and identifies key areas that needs to be considered when preparing qualitative manuscripts for publication.

Speaker biography

Dr Kalyan Bhandari is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Events and Tourism in the School of Business and Creative Industries at University of the West of Scotland.

His research interests are on tourism at heritage sites, governments and tourism public policies, national identity and nationalism, and environment and regional development.

He completed his PhD on Scottish tourism from the University of Glasgow and maintains equal research interest on Scottish tourism and on society and culture of his native Nepal.

He has authored two books on tourism, nationalism and national identity. He has published nearly 20 papers in leading journals like, Annals of Tourism Research, Environment and Planning C and Current Issues in Tourism.

• Topic: A Man's Got to Know His Limitations
• Speaker: Dr Ian Stewart
• Date: 7th December 2022
• Time: 1pm to 2:30pm
• Venue: Online event

Watch Dr Ian Stewart's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Autoethnography is an approach to research that seeks to describe and systematically analyse personal experience in order to understand cultural experience. This approach challenges canonical ways of doing research and representing others and treats research as a political, socially-just and socially conscious act (Ellis et al., 2011)

In this session, Ian will present an autoethnography of teaching post-experience students over almost 20 years. This includes a “failure of established, habitual activities to ensure success” (Laverty, 2003), which came at a high cost to the author and caused him to re-evaluate his identity as a successful teacher of post-experience education.

The comparison of autoethnographic accounts of four specific points in his career leads to an identification of the causes and conditions of his unexpectedly discovered limitations and then, a return to confident performance. From this emerges recommendations for those who are new to teaching post-experience students and those who employ them.

Speaker biography

Dr Ian Stewart is a Reader in Project Management Education and Programme Manager of the MSc in Management of Projects in the University of Manchester.

Additionally, he lectures in Commercial Management of Projects. This subject first brought him to the school in 2001 through teaching on the bespoke UMIST BT MSc in Commercial Management.

A PhD in this area followed, which was a combination of historical research into the descent of the Commercial Manager into project-led organisations such as BT, RR & BAE and the practice of innovation within the commercial role in those firms. From this, he claims the distinction of holding the last UMIST PhD. The history of British industrial management from 1850, particularly social mobility, vertical integration and the resistance of Schools of Engineering to commercial and management education remains a research interest.

Following disenchantment with the I.T. industry and the .com boom, Ian has been falling towards academia and along the way has developed extensive interdisciplinary experience, contextualising business and management education for engineering, projectised and high technology contexts.

Ian holds visiting lectureships at Ecole d'Ingnieurs en Genie des Systmes Industriels, La Rochelle, WMG University of Warwick and Manchester Business School. Ian is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

• Topic: Policy devising measures in crisis management: A study of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Speaker: Dr Isuru Koswatte
• Date: Wednesday 11th January
• Time: 1pm to 2pm

Watch Dr Isuru Koswatte's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

This presentation will discuss policy devising measures under crisis management in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. A key argument in the study is that building policy for crisis requires the understanding of both governance capacity as well as legitimacy.

Through the theoretical lens of crisis management and resilience building, the study explores the key literature on the topic to arrive at a conceptual framework which is further explored through mixed-method research. The study explores the phenomenon in the context of Sri Lanka and its mechanism to deal with the pandemic.

Fifteen interviews were conducted, followed by a survey covering key sectors of tourism, information technology and education to understand the extent to which crisis management strategies were achieved in the policy procedures.

In this session, Isuru will identify some key themes: political capacity, stakeholder involvement, input capacity and throughput capacity in the overall governance system that requires further improvements, including the gender differences in accepting the policy decisions, which can be explored in future work for greater insight.

Speaker biography

Dr Isuru Koswatte is a lecturer in Business and Management in the Division of Management, Organisations and People at the University of the West of Scotland. He is also an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at NSBM Green University in Sri Lanka.

He specialises in organizational resilience, global value chains and business sustainability with active international collaborative research. He completed his PhD from the University of Manchester and is skilled in mixed method research, structure equation modelling and qualitative research.

He was also part of The Nordic Research School of International Business which offers several doctoral courses in International Business at seven business schools in the Northern European countries, including:

• Aalto University (Finland)
• BI Norwegian Business School (Norway)
• Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)
• Leeds University (UK)
• University of Gothenburg (Sweden)
• University of Manchester (UK)
• Uppsala University (Sweden).

Before UWS, he was the head of research at NSBM Green University in Sri Lanka. His teaching comprises a range of modules in the field of Business and Management including International Business, Strategic Management and Research Skills.

• Topic: An ethnographic study into the reality of being a Cast Member at the ‘Mouse House’
• Speaker: Dr Claire Hookham
• Date: Wednesday 25th January
• Time: 1pm to 2pm

Watch Dr Claire Hookham's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

In this session, former Walt Disney World Cast Member, Disney Studies Scholar and Senior Lecturer, Dr Claire Hookham will introduce the key findings of her PhD - an ethnographic study into the reality of being a Cast Member at the ‘Mouse House’.

She will describe the key elements to employee and customer satisfaction success by the Walt Disney Company throughout their multinational businesses, alongside the role of corporate culture, the essential ingredients of recruiting and training the correct staff and the importance of retaining staff through the creation of a strong corporate culture.

Claire will discuss the challenges and benefits of using an ethnographic methodology, with a sprinkling of pixie dust, as Claire weaves in corporate history stories of the Walt Disney Company and how they are re-told throughout the world by Disney employees.

Speaker biography 

Dr Claire Hookham is a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at Leeds Trinity University Business School. She has a wealth of experience in academic leadership, management consultancy and leading creative learning, teaching and assessment strategies within Business Schools.

Claire is a former Walt Disney World Cast Member and often uses her experience at Disney within her lectures and academic research. Her PhD in Management Studies focused on the creation and standardisation of the Disney Corporate Culture and the management of employees through emotional labour methods.

Alongside her teaching and research, Claire is a special advisor to the Management Knowledge and Education sub-committee for the British Academy of Management (where she co-chairs the annual international Teaching Practice conference), a member of the Chartered Association of Business School’s Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Committee and an advisory board member for Enterprise Educators UK.

Claire’s academic qualifications include PhD (Management Studies), MBA (Human Resource Management) and BA Hons (English and Drama). She is also professionally qualified as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Certified Management and Business Educator with the Chartered Association of Business School.

• Topic: Empowering female entrepreneurs for sustainable economic development in Sub-Sahara Africa – Challenges and prospects within the Nigerian economy
• Speaker: Inyene Nkanta
• Date: Wednesday 8th February 
• Time: 1pm to 2pm

Watch Inyene Nkanta's seminar (YouTube)

Event summary

Africa has the highest rate of women entrepreneurs worldwide, and Nigeria has one of the highest female entrepreneurs in Sub Sahara Africa.

However, their contribution to economic growth is not as much compared to the male entrepreneurs because of the lack of human capital and barriers that restrict their business growth and hinder opportunities for sustaining profitable businesses.

In this seminar, Inyene explores and investigates the prospects and challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in Nigeria and how they can be empowered to contribute more to economic growth and development.

The focus is to understand why many female entrepreneurs in Nigeria are mostly concentrated in the informal sector compared to their male counterparts who are dominating the formal sector and how these women can be empowered to engage more in business enterprises in the formal sector which is believed to generate more income. Hence, women being able to contribute more to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.

Speaker biography

Inyene Nkanta is a Lecturer of Business and Management in the School of Business and Creative Industries in the University of the West of Scotland (UWS).

Prior to joining UWS, she was an Associate Lecturer with the University of Wolverhampton, where she is currently undertaking her PhD study.

Inyene received her Bachelor’s degree in Finance from University of Uyo, Nigeria and a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Industrial Management from Coventry University, United Kingdom.

She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom. Inyene is also a member of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Inyene has taught various modules within the School of Business and Creative Industries. She has been a module coordinator and has designed several learning and teaching materials for her students.

Her primary research interests are in the field of entrepreneurship, sustainability, innovation, human capital development and theory. Specifically, she is interested in female entrepreneurship development through human capital development and sustainability in Africa.

Inyene has been awarded two GRCF grants for projects in Africa. This also involved her travelling to Canada and Indonesia to present papers on her evolving research on female entrepreneurs in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Dr Christian Harrison lead this lecture looking at how to conduct systematic literature reviews - join him online from 1pm to 2pm, Wednesday 8th March.

Watch Dr Christian Harrison's seminar (YouTube)

Lately, there has been so much focus on the concept of a systematic literature review (SLR). The traditional narrative literature review approach has been criticised for lacking criticality and a systematic approach to reviewing literature has been proposed.

It is now widely accepted as the most reliable source of knowledge from research. Scholars agree that systematic reviews allow us to refute poorly conducted research that provides a biased, inaccurate and unreliable presentation of evidence.

Although systematic reviews have been associated with health sciences, they have also been applied to the fields of business and management. Similar, to health sciences there is now a clarion call in business and management for evidence-based approaches and solutions. As a result, a systematic literature review is seen as the answer to this conundrum.

In this session, Christian will uncover the concept of the systematic literature review. He will conceptualise the systematic literature review process drawing on the several SLR papers he has published. During the presentation, he would provide a thorough examination of how to conduct a systematic literature review.

Speaker biography

Dr Christian Harrison is Reader in Leadership in the School of Business and Creative Industries and the Chair of the Staff Forum for Research in the University of the West of Scotland.

He is an expert in conducting systematic literature reviews and has published several systematic literature review journal papers. He is also the author of numerous published peer-reviewed papers on Leadership which is his major research interest and serves as the Director of Studies of several doctoral students.

He has successfully supervised several doctoral students to completion and his current students are working on projects on Authentic leadership, Servant leadership, Transformational leadership, Ethical leadership, Distributed leadership etc.

Furthermore, he is an active member of several learned organisations. He is the Chair of the Leadership and Leadership Development Special Interest Group of the British Academy of Management.

He is the Chair of the Academy for African Studies and the co-director of the Social Innovation, Leadership and Management Research Group.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management (FIBAKM). He is also an active member of:

• Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE)
• International Council for Small Business (ICSB)
• Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management (IBAKM)
• Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development (CAREED)
• Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• Protracted Crisis Research Centre (PCRC)
• Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN)
• National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST)

He serves on several review panels and committees.

He is an external examiner to other UK universities such as Heriot Watt University and University of Aberdeen.

Christian is the editor of New Frontiers in African Business and Society by Emerald Publishing. He is also the editor of Routledge Studies in Leadership and Leadership Development, associate editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), associate editor of the Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (HSS) and review editor of Organisational Psychology.

Christian works extensively as a consultant, speaker and trainer on leadership skills development within organisations. He is the author of the bestselling book entitled ‘Leadership Theory and Research: A Critical Approach to New and Existing Paradigms’, which is published by the globally renowned publishing company; Palgrave MacMillan.

• Topic: Exploring Social Responsibility: Perspectives of Scottish Microbusiness Operators
• Speaker: Dr Shaif Ahammed
• Date: Wednesday 5th April 2023

Watch Dr Shaif Ahammed's seminar (YouTube)

Microbusinesses are one of the most important segments of the economy. Dr Shaif Ahammed sees micro businesses as the beauty of the high streets as our high streets would look dead and empty without these businesses.

This presentation particularly focuses on microbusinesses becomes when it comes to Social Responsibility (SR), we tend to buzz more about large corporations and forget about the contributions of microbusinesses in our communities.

In this seminar, Shaif focuses on micro businesses’ understanding, drivers and challenges of SR. The findings are drawn from 20 semi-structured interviews with microbusiness operators focusing on a Scottish context. The study is important as it extends the body of knowledge on SR practices to microbusinesses. It contributes to this vital topic where there has been limited evidence in general, particularly in a Scottish context.

Speaker biography

Dr Shaif Ahammed is a lecturer in Business and Management at The School of Business and Creative Industries of the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). Before joining UWS, he worked at Edinburgh Napier University in the Strategy, Operation and Entrepreneurship division and at the School of Management at UCL.

Shaif gained his first degree in Applied Accounting with First class in 2011 and was awarded an MBA in 2015 and Doctoral Degree in 2019.

He teaches different modules in Business and Management including Strategic Business Projects (Dissertation Module), Enterprise Management, Leading Change, Leadership, Influencing Organisational Culture and Change for postgraduate and undergraduate students.

He is leading the programme in MSc International Management and module co-ordinator of Organisational Change in Practice at UWS.

Prior to joining academia, Shaif gained extensive experience working in retail, fashion retail, the telecommunication sector and the third sector in different managerial positions.

He is interested in microbusinesses, SMEs, CSR, Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Business Ethics, Higher Education, employee rights and entrepreneurship. Shaif supervises several doctoral students in multiple research areas including Labour Laws, Entrepreneurship, CSR and Leadership.

Watch Aron Truss and Hannah Porter's seminar (YouTube)

Video resources as a feature of learning and teaching have become pervasive since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Video usage is assumed to benefit learning through increased learner motivation and engagement, enhanced accessibility; improved flexibility, and ensuring a coherent and consistent learning experience in different contexts (Belt & Lowenthal, 2021; Noetel et al., 2021).

However, simply viewing educational videos does not guarantee that students will achieve learning outcomes (Yoon, Lee & Jo, 2021), and little is known about learner engagement with video as a feature of their studies (Miner & Stefaniak, 2018).

The literature shows a preference for engaging with short video content (Humphries & Clark, 2021), but equally there is a need for additional active learning (Fyfield et al., 2019) and self-efficacy from students (Nagy, 2018).

Aron and Karen will discuss the student perceptions of the use and value of video resources used on Business School courses in the Faculty of Business and Law between September 2020 and April 2022.

• Topic: How to get started with literature searching
• Speaker: Joshua Cheyne
• Date and time: Wednesday 3rd May 2023, 1pm to 2pm

Watch Joshua Cheyne's seminar (YouTube)

A comprehensive and systematic literature search will underpin your literature review and, by extension, your entire dissertation project. So, it’s important to construct one which appropriately reflects your topic.

Developments in technology have improved accessibility of research, but still must apply a rigorous, structured, effective, repeatable, and achievable methodology.

During this session, Joshua will take a deep dive into the process of constructing a comprehensive search strategy to support your literature review. He will explore developing a search strategy, identifying suitable keywords and indexing headings, resources to search, running your searches, and successfully managing your results.

This session will involve a practical element, so if you have any questions you’re currently working on, that’s great! By the end of this presentation, you should be able to:

• Approach a UWS librarian who will help you identify evidence for your work.
• Develop a search strategy for your research question and select the appropriate terms based on your chosen topic.
• Select appropriate resources (books, bibliographic databases and indexes, supplementary resources).

Speaker biography 

Joshua Cheyne is an Academic Support Librarian for the Business Divisions in Business and Creative Industries school. He is based at the University of the West of Scotland’s Paisley Campus. He is your first point of contact for Marketing, Innovation, Tourism and Events, Management, Organisations and People, and Accounting, Finance and Law.

He is a highly skilled Knowledge and Information Specialist/Librarian with ten years hands-on specialist knowledge and research management experience, skills and training, all demonstrated working within the NHS, academic, primary third, and independent sectors.

He has extensive experience conducting in-depth research, researching new emerging health innovations, search strategy construction/ troubleshooting, search methods consultancy, and delivering complex information in actionable and accessible information with concise evidence-based research reports to client’s requirements.

You can book an on campus or online appointment with Joshua or any other member of the Academic Librarian team at UWS by heading to the Library Skills Guide and selecting ‘Academic Librarian Appointments’.