Also in the news
Election to Council of the Royal Economics Society
Professor Julia Darby, Department of Economics, has been elected to the Council of the Royal Economics Society see: https://res.org.uk/res-council-election-results/
This is Julia’s second term on the Council, the first being from 2004-2008. Julia is one of six new members who joined the Council in May, subject to ratification at the Annual General Meeting next month.
International partners’ visit
Strathclyde Business School welcomed our International Partners from Bahrain, Malaysia, UAE and Oman in early May. It was the first time at the University for some of the partners and it has been over six years since we have had all our International centre partners together at Strathclyde.
SBS department hosts visit from South Africa academic
Dr Irma Booyens and Professor Tom Baum (Department of Work, Employment and Organisation) recently hosted a visit from Professor Diana Abrahams PhD, Director of the School of Tourism and Hospitality in the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa.
Both Irma and Tom have well-established links with UJ and Diane’s visit was an opportunity to meet with colleagues in SBS relating to common research interests as well as possible student mobility opportunities. Diane was also able to join a number of Engage events on campus and develop new links as a result. Our thanks to all colleagues who were able to meet with Diane during her visit.
SEED programme news
Ahead of our new Scottish Impact Investor Readiness (SIIR) Programme starting in August, Director of Growth programmes, John Anderson from Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, and Executive Director of Partnerships and Engagement, David Ritchie, from The Scottish National Investment Bank, discuss Scotland’s innovative entrepreneurial spirit, the evolution of Scotland’s SME landscape and the increase in responsible business and impact investment in The Herald: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24293849.get-course-invest-ethical-economic-environment-scotland/
New dates are available and applications are open for our Help to Grow: Management Programme with the next intake starting on August 20.
A 12-week, part time programme aimed at leaders and senior decision-makers of SMEs to boost performance, resilience, and long-term growth. Nearly 250 companies have graduated from the programme since its launch in 2021.
Described as a “mini MBA”, Help to Grow content covers key areas for businesses to consider when looking at opportunities for growth. This includes, leadership, innovation, digital adoption, employee engagement, marketing, responsible business, and financial management.
To be eligible, applicants must be:
- Must be a Small or medium- sized enterprise based in UK.
- Employing between 5 and 249 people.
- Must be owner / senior decision maker of the company.
- Company must be operational for at least one year.
- Open to any business sector.
- For organisations with 10 or more employees, two people can attend for an additional £750 in a separate cohort
The cost for the programme is £7,500 per participant but government covers 90% so the cost to the individual is £750.
Applications are also now open for the Growth Advantage Programme (GAP) with the next intake due to start on October 8.
GAP is designed to deliver relevant, accessible, and practical learning for the leaders of ambitious businesses in Scotland looking to grow substantially. Focused much more on the leader of the business to enable growth, the programme has seen nearly 100 ambitious business owners graduate.
GAP is a six-month programme structured around six intensive sessions comprising of a one-day orientation session, followed by four two-day workshops - Market Advantage; Operations Advantage; Leadership Advantage and Resource Advantage - and a final day of Reflection and Celebration.
The course is open to:
- Established businesses with a minimum £1 million turnover and with real growth ambitions.
- Managing director, chief executive, or principal of the business with a significant ownership interest.
- Open to any business sector.
The programme costs £5,000 per participant
All the above SME Growth programmes benefit from practical innovation support from the University, including Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and access to talent with opportunities to secure project support from the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation undergraduates and MBA students, product design resource from the Engineering Faculty and the use of the University Careers Service. All graduates of our programmes will also receive tailored one to one support in accessing the university’s resources, based on the growth needs of the business.
Research shared at Engage events
Strathclyde Business School held a number of events under the Strathclyde Engage banner which ran from April 29 to May 10. Hundreds of people attended the series of events which featured academics and researchers from across the business school.
The events covered a wide range of topics, reflecting our active involvement in key areas and featured speakers from industry partners alongside our own academic staff, ensuring diverse perspectives and valuable insights.
Third year PhD student Shayesteh Moghadas, Department of Marketing, was involved in one of the events, Enhancing Sustainability Initiatives in the Hotel Sector, co-organised by Professor Iain Davies and Dr Andrew Davis. Shayesteh said of the experience, “My focus is on sustainability within the hotel industry, a field in which I have decades of experience, primarily in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. My goal is to make significant contributions to this important area.
“On May 8, I had the privilege of sharing my research findings with hoteliers and academics at this event. I was thrilled to see 89 participants join us both online and on campus, with attendees from the UK, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The event featured excellent keynote speakers from both industry and academia who shared their challenges and success stories in this evolving landscape.”
Shayesteh wrote a blog about her PhD experience - "PhD: an opportunity for change". You can read it on the SBS blog page: https://www.sbs.strath.ac.uk/blogs/SBS/post.aspx?id=1580
Academic presents to consumer financial protection taskforce
Dr Livia Pancotto, Department of Accounting and Finance, recently attended a roundtable discussion on Consumer Credit organised within the G20/OECD Task Force on Consumer Financial Protection which took place on March 18-20 in Paris.
Livia was invited to give a presentation on her work on 'Buy Now, Pay Later'. This is the outcome of a project carried on with co-authors at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and which was published within the BIS quarterly review last December.
Help to Grow at Glasgow Tech Week
The Help to Grow team had a busy week during May 13-17 with Cohort 15 completing their penultimate module, and being part of Glasgow Tech Week, organised by Glasgow City Innovation District.
As a proud sponsor of the week, Help to Grow was delighted to see this event showcasing the innovation, talent and growth of tech companies within Glasgow, and help highlight the breadth of support available to those seeking to scale.
Director of Growth Programmes at Strathclyde Business School John Anderson hosted the sold-out Scale Up Britain event at the start of the week. This event, in partnership with the ScaleUp Institute and the London Stock Exchange, focused on support for scaling business leaders and founders in their local communities, and brought together experts from across the business community including Innovate UK, The Scottish National Investment Bank and the British Business Bank.
10th International Research Conference in Marketing
The Department of Marketing held the 10th International Research Conference in Marketing on June 15 and 16. After a decade this conference, which brings colleagues and PhD students together to showcase post-graduate research, remains a highlight of the year for the Department.
Keynote presentations were delivered by two globally recognised academics within the field of Marketing: on Day 1 Professor Lisa Peñaloza (KEDGE Business School) shared her research on 'Market Sensemaking for Consumers’ Collective Political Agency' and on Day 2 Professor Pervez Ghauri (University of Birmingham) presented 'Creating Competitive Position through Engaging with Marginalized Communities in Emerging Markets'.
As well as keynotes, the Department enjoyed presentations from eight PhD students as well as a PhD Poster Session, highlighting emerging research themes in Marketing ranging consumer culture, sustainability and digitalisation. Both Professor Peñaloza and Professor Ghauri noted the high quality of post-graduate research and took on the difficult task of selecting Best Presentation winners based on originality of research, conceptual focus and clarity, and the significance of contribution to theory. Congratulations to the winners:
- Betül Çal won first prize with ‘Contemplative Consumer Activism’
- Hirudini Cooray won second prize with ‘Identity Consequences of Consumer Vulnerability: Living with Risk and Uncertainty’
- Marwa Aly took third place with ‘How are Markets Maintained Under the Conditions of Institutionalised Permanent Liminality?’
Colleagues from the Department voted for Best Poster, taking into consideration conceptual focus and clarity of communicating the main research idea. Congratulations to:
- Marsaili Mainz who presented a poster on ‘Dressing Our Way To Extinction: The Yummy Mummy Myth In The Shadow of Ecological Responsibility’.
Professor Aliakbar Jafari and Chloe Trevor (Marketing) were responsible for organising another successful and highly enjoyable Research Conference.
Marketing Editorial Board Appointment
Dr Keith Pyper from the Department of Marketing has recently been appointed to the editorial board of the International Marketing Review (IMR). IMR (CABS3*) is a leading academic journal dedicated to advancing knowledge in international marketing theory and practice.
Research results in journal article
The Leverhulme Early Career Researcher Francis Portes Virginio (Department of Work, Employment and Organisation), alongside co-authors Brian Garvey and Paul Stewart, have published the results of their participatory research with 300 refugees in Brazil’s Amazon.
The article “From securitisation to martialisation: Logistics of
humanitarian protection in Brazil’s Amazon” has been published in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space and can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1177/02637758241256824
European Management Review: Call for Papers
A special issue call for papers for European Management Review has issued a special issue call for papers on the topic “The Future of Management education and Research: the role of institutions”.
Professor Peter McKiernan, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation, is one of the guest editors which also includes Stewart Clegg, University of Technology, Sydney; Kathrin M. Moeslein, Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat, Germany; Howard Thomas, Singapore Management University, Singapore; and Sibel Yamak, Wolverhampton University.
The submission deadline is January 31, 2025.