Research impact, strategy and vision

Podcast: Understanding how trade affects people's lives

Strategy

2018-19 marked the first year of the Business School’s new Research Strategy. During 2019-2020, despite the turbulent year, as we implemented the second year of the research strategy, we have looked to consolidate our successes and carry their momentum forward.

In particular, we will have strived to:

• establish a more comprehensive internal peer-review process for grant applications
• refresh the School’s research webpages
• introduce a comprehensive suite – a one-stop-shop – of online research resources
• complete the current programme of work around improving our PhD offering
• establish a mentoring scheme/network specifically for Business School researchers
• undertake a review of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion matters as they pertain to research
• enhance administration and project management support for funded research projects
• formalise the research induction process for new research staff
• host networking events to further foster interdisciplinarity and collaboration.

Our Research Mobilisation Groups, which aim to catalyse and facilitate research activity in specific areas by bringing together cross-departmental, multi-disciplinary groups, have developed over this year. Each group engages around a specific subject area that is of strategic importance to the School and/or in which we have a critical mass of interested researchers. The mobilisation groups will allow us to prepare for – and ‘mobilise’ in response to – research collaboration and funding opportunities.

Research Mobilisation Groups

• Accounting & Society

  Mobiliser: Galina Goncharenko 

  The Accounting & Society Research Mobilisation Group undertakes impactful interdisciplinary research in the areas of accountability, governance, and performance management that meets the emerging agendas of the wider community of business, education and government. The group’s main research themes include the political economy of accounting; social, environmental and ethical accountability and sustainability; accountability, governance, and performance management; public sector accounting reforms; and data and analytics in accounting. 

  In 2020, members of the group have had research published in several books and journals, including Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Financial Accountability & Management, the Journal of International Accounting, and the International Journal of Public Sector Management. Group members have also received four research grants, for projects including Project X and The impact of harassment reporting technology on organisational accountability and psychological safety in the workplace. In June 2020, the group hosted an international online seminar with Professor Yves Gendron from the University of Laval, Quebec, as part of the Business School’s distinguished visiting professor scheme. In March 2021, the group will host the NGO Day 2021: NGO Performance, Governance and Accountability in the Era of Digitalisation. 

• Artificial Intelligence

  Mobilisers: Frederique Bone 
  

  The Artificial Intelligence Research Mobiliser Group brings together 45 members of the University of Sussex Business School around topics such as AI policy, management, economics, or the use of Machine Learning in research. The aim of the RMG is to understand how the development of AI affects society through exploring a wide range of interconnected topics and establishing a bridge between academics active in diverse domains. The group’s research is interdisciplinary in nature, and spans interests of how AI will affect industrial dynamics through innovation, together with the role that science plays in this development; how AI-related policies are designed and implemented building on balancing economic, ethical and societal considerations; and finally how AI impacts on employment and the workforce.  

  In the year 2019/20, group members have presented their research both internally and externally. Maria Savona presented AI research to the European Commission Joint Research Center and the OECD workshop, while Frederique Bone and Simone Vannuccini discussed the implication of AI for society at Shoreham Wordfest and Barclays Eagle Lab.  

• Business Finance 

  Mobiliser: Ranko Jelic 

  The Business Finance research mobilisation group combines traditional corporate finance with entrepreneurship perspectives to provide a unique understanding of Business Finance in post-crisis Europe. The group focuses on company finance in both public and private companies as well as the evolution of start-ups to different types of public and private companies, examining the roles of venture capital and other intermediaries such as accounting firms and investment banks in facilitating this transition. The group brings together a wealth of expertise from across the Business School and is in conversation with a wider network of over 30 practitioners and academics from a range of global institutions. 

  Since 2020, the group has had research published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Money Credit and Banking, Journal of Economic Perspective, Journal of Banking, and British Journal of Management. Group members have been involved in large research projects, such as ESRC: Understanding how constraints on access to finance and under-investment impact on productivity growth in smaller firms and the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre. The research of group members has been widely covered by media outlets such as: Financial Times, BBC, Guardian, The Washington Post, and Times Higher Education.

• Circular Economy 

  Mobiliser: Odul Bozkurt

  The Circular Economy Research Mobilisation Group takes a fresh approach to long-established topics in sustainable development, materials management and value retention. The term Circular Economy concerns the status quo of industrial economy as an extractive process generating waste and pollution as an externality, and has been adopted by numerous businesses as a driver for innovation. The group is inherently interdisciplinary and brings together scholars from a wide range of fields, including marketing, supply chains, design, engineering, law, politics, and development studies.  

  Over the past year, the group has established interdisciplinary links with researchers at the University of Brighton School of Architecture and Design, School of Computing, Engineering and Maths, and School of Environment and Technology, to research circular economy practices in the built environment. In partnership with the national Clean Growth UK platform, letters of support from more than 50 industry and policy partners have been received, creating a foundation for future research projects.  

• Consumer Wellbeing 

  Mobilisers: Dominik Piehlmaier and Maja Golf Papez 

  The Consumer Wellbeing Research Mobiliser provides a forum for research, debate and knowledge exchange on consumption-related issues that facilitate or threaten wellbeing. Focusing on different dimensions of wellbeing (i.e., emotional, economic, social, physical, spiritual, environmental and political), the mobiliser brings together mostly early-career researchers to meet, discuss and collaborate on research projects that benefit consumer wellbeing. The mobiliser covers current issues impacting wellbeing and supports research endeavours of its members by providing an outlet to discuss (re)submissions of current and future research projects in a supportive and collegial environment. 

• Economic Theory & Behaviour of Agents 

  Mobiliser: Matthew Embrey 

  Agents are the key decision-makers in theories of economic and social behaviour, whether that be consumers, households, firms or governments, or some other individual or organisation. The Economic Theory and Behaviour of Agents research group combines the tools and techniques from microeconomics, game theory, behavioural and experimental economics, and microeconometrics to better understand the behaviour of agents, how such behaviour should be modelled, and the implications for policy. 

  Current research themes include: a) bounded rationality in choice; b) family economics (intra-household inequality, intertemporal consumption decisions, household formation); and c) strategic behaviour, bargaining and cooperation. 

  As well as providing a forum to connect researchers working on these themes, and to discuss ideas and research proposals, the research mobiliser runs a number of regular reading groups. These include the Experimental Lab Group, the Theory Reading Group and the Family Economics Reading Group. The research mobiliser also looks to coordinate researcher visits where leading academics can present their research, meet with PhD students and faculty from the school to discuss research projects and ideas, and attended workshops and seminars

• Economics of Innovation 

  Mobiliser: Ed Steinmueller 

  The Economics of Innovation Research Mobilisation Group is a platform for advancing the economic theory of innovation, whilst also resetting the foundations of orthodox economics and advancing the fields of evolutionary and institutional economics. The group seeks to understand the structure and dynamics of innovating firms and industrial systems, how to enhance innovation capabilities of firms and other stakeholders in developed and developing countries, as well as how to steer structural changes towards sustainable growth. In an era of financial crisis and austerity coupled with serious global issues such as rising unemployment, climate change, poverty, the group believes it is critical to address the pressing challenge of reigniting and redirecting economic growth and driving the innovation needed for sustainable, inclusive growth. 

• Energy 

  Mobiliser: Benjamin K. Sovacool 

  The Sussex Energy Group aims to understand and foster transitions towards sustainable, low carbon energy systems. The group’s research is clustered under six broad themes: energy innovation and transitions; economics and finance; energy justice; energy demand and behaviour; smart infrastructure; and energy supply technologies. They work with policymakers, industry and civil society across the globe in order to open up routes to an inclusive and sustainable energy future. 

  Sussex Energy Group members are currently involved in 23 research projects worth a total of £7.7m. Projects include the UK Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS), Fuel and Transport Poverty in the UK’s Energy Transition (FAIR), and Fracking, Framing and Effective Participation. Recent Sussex Energy Group research has been published in Environmental Research Letters, Energy Journal, and Energy Research and Social Science. 

• Future of Work Hub 

  Mobiliser: Divya Sharma
  

  The Future of Work Hub is a platform for research, discovery, debate and collaboration on the topic of work and employment. It brings together Sussex researchers that draw from different disciplinary areas, such as human resources, employment relations, sociology of work and the professions, organisations studies, economics and science and policy studies. Key research areas include Decent Work; Emotions; Identity and Values at Work; Well-Being and Mental Health at the Workplace; Connected Leadership and Followership; Sustainable Futures and Green Work; Technolog(ies) and Work. The Hub seeks to provide the Business School with a vantage point (and an external reference) on the complex tide of transformations that Work is experiencing. 

  In 2019/20, The Future of Work Hub won an ESRC Festival of Social Science award and hosted the Sussex Future of Work Hub CoLab in Brighthelm Centre, with over 20 participants, including stakeholders from the world of practice. The event was also publicized on radio with Ödül Bozkurt as a guest on Sussex BBC. Three Roffey Park - Future of Work scholarship holders started study at the School.  

• Innovation & Project Management 

  Mobiliser: Kat Lovell 

  Innovation and project management are key engines for change and for supporting improved economic, social and environmental outcomes. The Innovation and Project Management Mobilisation Group supports a unique set of research activities focused on management of innovation, technology and projects connecting with societal and policy concerns. Key research themes include infrastructure and project delivery, innovation in creative industries, healthcare and social innovation and projects in practice.

  In 2021/22 the group is hosting internal and external seminar speakers, has launched a series of paper development workshops and will be holding a mixture of structured and social meetings.

• International Business & Development 

  Mobiliser: Vasiliki Bamiatzi 

  As the world economy is experiencing constant crisis and challenges, the struggle to identify ways to stimulate business activity is intensified globally. With a cross-disciplinary view of the critical phenomena and key questions in global business and management, the International Business and Development Hub promotes novel research focusing on the interactions between large MNEs, small and medium-sized enterprises, their partners in global value chains, and the institutional environments within which they operate. They also focus on broader issues related to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. With initiatives that improve collaborations with alumni, corporations, and policy makers, the centre prioritises on both quantitative and qualitative research projects that are able to address cutting-edge research questions, as well as complex policy and practice challenges. 

  In 2021-22, the group successfully collaborated with our School’s Responsible Business RMG, as well as the International Business Group at Surrey Business School, in hosting guest speakers from industry and academia to share their knowledge and experience on current topics in International Business research and practice. For example, academics from the universities of Texas, Amsterdam and Urbino, King’s College London, as well as the Villanova Business School, joined experienced practitioners from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, KFC and Yum! to discuss current research advances in Global Strategy and International Business, including climate change, energy transition, digitalisation, corporate social responsibility, global market entry and leadership. Furthermore, editors of International Business Review, Journal International Management, Multinational Business Review, and the Journal of World Business have been invited to share their views on how to succeed in publishing in IB journals and with ever evolving global academic expectations.

• International Trade & Foreign Direct Investment 

  Mobiliser: Ingo Borchert  

  The Research Mobilisation Group on International Trade & Foreign Direct Investment consolidates expertise from a wide range of perspectives and fields, including strategic motives and impact of investment, the political economy of trade and investment, and FDI as part of free trade agreements.  The group’s interdisciplinary approach to trade and investment reflects the trend for goods, services and capital flows to become ever more closely intertwined in value chain activities. Members collaborate with other Research Mobilisation Groups in areas of mutual interest, e.g. on the international dimension of additive manufacturing. 

  In 2019/20, a team led by Alan Winters and Palitha Konara won a project on disinvestments commissioned by the Department for International Trade (DIT).  This project attempts to understand causes of foreign direct disinvestment and the impact of foreign direct disinvestment on the UK economy. Another cross-departmental group of academics, brought together by the RMG, secured Sussex involvement in a larger project on the ASEAN Digital Trade Connectivity, commissioned by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).  The aim is to create a research study that will provide information on the impact, feasibility and support needed to develop a roadmap for business-led ASEAN Digital Trade Connectivity. 

• Labour Economics, Education & Health 

  Mobiliser: Amalavoyal Chari
  

  The Labour Economics, Education & Health Research Mobilisation Group is interested in a diverse set of policy-relevant topics within labour, education, and health economics. Examples of current research interests include the impact of minimum wage on unemployment and poverty; decision making and resource allocation within families; determinants of educational outcomes; and evaluating NHS initiatives to improve access to primary care. In particular, the group seeks to apply state of the art econometrics to the analyses of large data sets to answer questions of academic and policy value, and establish credible causal chains.   

• Research Pedagogy

  Mobiliser: C. Rashaad Shabab 

  The Research Pedagogy Group is a platform to disseminate best practice and discuss issues such as attainment gaps, and BAME and gender inequalities. Current research areas include gender attainment gaps in economics; BAME attainment gaps in economics; and value for money in Ethiopian education. Research interests include understanding attainment among different groups,  creating a ‘community of practice’ that would enable better teaching, and generating qualitative data from our students. 

• Quantitative Fintech (QFIN)

  Mobiliser: Carol Alexander 

  QFIN aims to provide excellent research on issues currently faced by financial markets, including digital assets and their derivatives; bitcoin swaps; futures and options; climate change finance and risk management. The group brings together expertise in quantitative finance, climate change, crypto asset market microstructure, big data analysis, machine learning and computer science. QFIN aims to promote stronger links between academic institutions and business and industries, and collaborates with business and industry on research initiatives and projects. 

  In 2019/20, the group has met regularly for Finance and Stochastic (FAST) seminars. The group leader Carol Alexander has spoken on many industry and academic conference and panels, and her work on crypto currencies has been frequently quoted in the media. QFIN research has also appeared in European Journal of Operational Research, International Review of Financial Analysis, Journal of Futures Markets and Energy Economics. 

• Responsible Business 

  Mobiliser: Stephan Manning 

  The Responsible Business Research Mobilizer Group stimulates inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration and exchange around responsible business practices. Businesses increasingly engage in providing public goods, in economic and social development, and in sustainability initiatives. Specifically, we seek to better understand when, how and why businesses get involved in tackling so-called ‘grand challenges’, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, migration, and healthcare. In that, we focus on the drivers and impact of corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, business model innovation, business-society partnerships, philanthropy and business ethics. We aim to contribute to academic and public discourse, and provide insights for policy and practice. 

• Science, Politics & Decision-Making 

  Mobiliser: David Eggleton and Katerina Psarikidou

  Populist politics have caused many individuals and organisations to rethink how best to construct the relationship between science, research and policy. At the same time, a range of pressures (including environmental challenges, an increasing health burden, failing urban infrastructure and the need for sustainable economic growth) make evident the necessity of developing science policy that delivers high-quality science and scientific advice. The Science, Politics and Decision Making research mobilisation group provides a platform for discussion on the current and future relationship between science, politics, and decision making using a very loose interpretation of those terms. The group is developing a variety of working groups examining new opportunities, including a ‘Research on Research’ group that looks at how the University of Sussex can contribute to new developments in the science policy landscape. 

• Supply Chain 4.0 Hub

  The Supply Chain 4.0 Hub aims to advance cutting-edge research on how emerging technologies are transforming global supply chains. The Hub explores key research themes such as how 3D printing is shortening global supply chains and bringing manufacturing closer to the consumer, and how BlockChain technology is enhancing the traceability of end-to-end supply chains; providing firms with visibility of unethical supply chain practices such as the use of modern slavery and conflict minerals. Other research streams include the use of data analytics and Big Data to enhance forecast accuracy and reduce inventory holding. The Hub works closely with industry partners including companies in pharmaceuticals, automotive and aerospace to develop robust supply chain solutions that capitalise on Industry 4.0 technologies. 

  The Supply Chain 4.0 Hub was launched at the Production and Operations Management Conference in Brighton in September 2019. Since then, group members have had research published in a number of journals, including Production Planning and Control, Journal of Operations Management, and Business Strategy and the Environment, and presented a paper at the Academy of International Business (AIB) conference. Current projects include Exploring the role of digital health platforms in improving healthcare practice and delivery in developing countries: The case of MedicineAfrica, and a new project funded by the European Space Agency to investigate links between global commodity supply chains and deforestation. 

• Sustainability

  Mobilisers Adrian Ely and Adrian Smith

  As recognised in the international Sustainable Development Goals, no policy imperatives are more compelling or expansive than the need for global actions to end poverty and inequality. At the same time, these transformations must also build peace, meet growing needs for water, food and energy, and reverse devastating human impacts on the environment. The Sustainability Research Mobilisation Group aims to challenge and inform established practices in government, business and civil society, and promote the deep changes that are necessary to help the world realise diverse pathways to sustainability. 

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Our research vision

Our vision is to be a School that collaborates across disciplines to shape global issues in business, management, and society, making an impact on policy, practice, and people.

Our approach

Pioneering both innovation studies and development studies several decades ago, the School has a distinctive intellectual focus on science, technology and innovation, and sustainability and development. Across the School, we have world-leading economists, political scientists and management scholars working to understand the interactions between business, policy, and social and economic development. We aim to contribute to the development of a better world through research into issues of significant relevance to policy debate and decision-making. In order to effect change, members of faculty work with external organisations, providing expert knowledge and rigorous analysis to help inform policy development and implementation. As a result, we are a business school with a holistic understanding of modern management because of our applied research and interest in public policy.

Technology and Innovation

Innovation is often viewed as the application of better solutions to meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market demands, but the creation of new products and services is not merely about technological advances. Understanding how innovations arise requires an appreciation of the supporting economic and regulatory environment, as well as an understanding of the role of organisational design and the social context of users. At the Business School, we look both outside and inside the organisation for a deeper understanding of innovation processes. Our work focuses on understanding innovation in all types of organisations, across all sectors, and involves developing and delivering tools to improve the management of innovation both within and between organisations and their suppliers and customers, as well as at national and international policy levels.

Sustainability and Development

The modern way of provisioning our basic needs is not sustainable and is already causing climate change, insecurity and inequality on an unprecedented scale. It is clear that we cannot globalise our current ways of providing food, energy, mobility, healthcare and water. As recognised in the international Sustainable Development Goals, no policy imperatives are more compelling or expansive than the need for global actions to end poverty and inequality. There exists a diversity of ways in which these challenges can be met. But the complexities, uncertainties and political obstacles are formidable. Science and technology – and knowledge and innovation of all kinds – are as fundamental to these problems as to their solutions. Across the Business School, our academics study the economic, social acceptance and broader socio-technical implications of different policy options and mixes, with our key areas of research including energy policy and sustainable growth.

Find out about the Business School’s vision and mission.

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