Left to right - Dr Ghazal Zulfiqar, Belinda Zakrzewska and Dr Alexandra Bristow

Belinda Zakrzewska with Dr Penelope Muzanenhamo

Dr Belinda Zakrzewska, lecturer in Marketing at the Business School has recently won two awards in the Critical Management Studies (CMS) category at The Academy of Management conference in Boston.

The ceremony was held on 5 August in the Newbury Room, Park Plaza, where she was presented the awards by Dr Alexandra Bristow, Dr Ghazal Zulfiqar and Dr Penelope Muzanenhamo, who are members of the CMS division.

Belinda Zakrzewska won Best Critical Management Studies Dissertation award for her thesis ‘Anti-manual for the organizational construction of authenticity in postcolonial contexts’, as well as Most Developmental Reviewer award for her feedback and comments on submissions to the program this year.

Dr Zakrzewska said:

“It is truly an honour to receive the Best Critical Management Studies Dissertation award. My dissertation examined how remnants of colonial power structures operate through organizational claims of authenticity. Specifically, I focused on the Peruvian culinary field where local elite chefs are spearheading a new cuisine based on the cultural appropriation/appreciation of indigenous products and knowledge. I want to thank my supervisors, Michael Beverland and Stephan Manning, for all their support. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers that assessed my application for their kind words on my dissertation as well as Richard Longman, co-chair of the AOM CMS Division, for all of his support throughout the submission process.

“The CMS Division has also awarded me the Most Developmental Reviewer for my feedback and comments on submissions to the program this year. I am grateful to be recognized for my contributions as a reviewer and happy to give back to the division by assisting in the selection of high-quality submissions and helping authors improve their research papers which have the potential to advance our field of research.”

Professor Michael Beverland, Head of Department for Strategy and Marketing, at the Business School, and one of Belinda’s supervisors added:

“I couldn’t be more pleased when I heard Belinda won these awards. Belinda and I began the PhD journey at the onset of Covid and we never met in person until most of her research was complete. We had a mutual interest in marketplace authenticity and it was so wonderful to have such a fresh perspective on the topic that challenged the predominate romanticized view in the literature (much of which I’ve been responsible for). Belinda was a great student and is now a fantastic colleague and co-author (along with Stephan) and has a great future ahead of her.”