Research at the Business School

Huddersfield Business School combines a broad base of academic excellence and expertise with a focus on pioneering research which makes an impact on society and improves the way we live.

Our submission to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework focuses on three core themes: Responsibility, Business Improvement, and Entrepreneurship and Enterprise delivered through dedicated Research Groups.

Research Themes

1) Responsibility

• Financial Ethics and Governance
  Professor Chris Cowton’s research focuses on accounting and professional ethics, banking ethics and the financial services sector, and corporate governance and Dr Eshani Beddewela focuses on corporate social responsibility. Dr Julie Drake specialises in the role of doctors in managing primary care.
  
  
• Sustainable and Resilient Communities
  Professor Adrian Wood focuses on exploring the incentives for sustainable use of natural resources and responds to the ESRC grand challenge to reduce poverty in the poorest countries; Dr Julia Meaton and Dr John Lever consider issues such as urban planning problems, corporate social responsibility, and how diverse cultural/political environments and managerial agendas enable or constrain organisational development to bring about change. Dr Lever’s work on animal welfare in the Welfare Quality project is at the forefront of current debates on the challenges of promoting animal welfare without threatening the competitiveness of the animal farming industry.
  
  
• Human Resource Management
  Professor Stephen Swailes’ research provides organisations with evaluation frameworks to enable more socially responsible employee development, and helps Gulf states to further understand how the region can better resolve the key economic problem of employing local labour; Professor Eleanor Davies’ research concentrates on extending working life and responds to the EU grand challenge around healthy aging. 

2) Business Improvement

Research into Business Improvement focuses on internal management process, efficiency and competitiveness.

• Professor David Bamford focuses on operations improvement strategies, specifically in: the application of Operations Management theories in the service sector; strategic organisational change; leadership and quality management; and most recently sports operations management.
  
  
• Professor Samir Dani examines supply chain and logistics management (risk, resilience and sustainability), food supply chains, operations management, systems engineering, human behaviour, and new business models.
  
  
• Professor John Anchor examines strategic thinking and implementation in emerging markets; political risk assessment in international businesses in emerging markets; and human capital theory – as applied to Higher Education funding policy, in both developed and emerging markets.  Professor John Anchor also works with Dr Aaron Tan to examine risk and organisational performance, and with other researchers across Europe on a range of projects.
  
  
• Dr Aaron Tan is investigating credit scoring of banks and bank profitability.
  
  
• Dr Julie Davies leads the 2016-19 Erasmus Plus Project on HRM in SMEs: https://efis.tul.cz/sharpen/
  
  
• Professor Stephen Swailes’ research provides organisations with evaluation frameworks to enable more socially responsible employee development, and helps Gulf states to further understand how the region can better resolve the key economic problem of employing local labour; Professor Eleanor Davies' research concentrates on extending working life and responds to the EU grand challenge around healthy aging. 

3) Entrepreneurship and Enterprise

Sabrina Thornton’s research involves organisational networking whilst Dr Walter Mswaka specialises in social enterprise and small businesses.