Business in Society (CBIS) Issue 3 by Coventry University

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Business in Society

The Centre for Business in Society is the Research Hub for the Faculty of Business & Law at Coventry University

Newsletter Issue 3

February 2016 www.coventry.ac.uk/cbis

CARNiVAL Project

Disability Sport Conference 2016 Why do we ‘dis’ people’s ability?

Investigating the governance of mega-events in Brazil

Building Better Homes and Neighbourhoods Food Waste: The Technological Fix

Mobilizing Institutional Reform for Research and Innovation Systems (MIRRIS) Sports Broadcast Piracy

The Shifting Economics of European Football Investigating The Wild Flower Harvesting Industry in South Africa

Financial Citizenship

Seeking a better outcome for all

R IN Fo TH od E Re se GR Sec JEW ar E u E CI ch I EN rity LL TY mp W : S ER D act EE ierr Y I In EV : Th K 2 a L ND Ec cl OL e 0 e U 1 on ST u o si UT Slo 6 n e R ve o IO w B m Y ie N u s r

Plus... Top tips for early career researchers and how to manage the start of your academic journey

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Centre for

Business in Society Welcome…

hese are interesting times for CBiS. Our new funding strategy is bearing fruit, with a very strong set of bids recently submitted to a variety of funders, comprising a set of corporates and a mix of research councils including the Independent Social Research Foundation, ESPON, Urban Europe, the AHRC, ESRC and Leverhulme. Our current portfolio of live projects - with PIs across the CBiS team - includes high impact work for BIS Automotive, Mondelez International, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Network Rail, the ESRC and the European Commission. We are a growing team, too. A doubling of FT academic researchers to 33, plus 5 sabbatical colleagues based in the Centre, as well as a number of visiting academics. There is a professional services team, project support staff and dedicated business development support. The CBiS PGR (PhD) population is currently 29, with accepted offers taking the total to 37 by April 2016. More bursaries are currently

being promoted and a number of corporately sponsored new-start PhD candidates are eagerly awaited. We have enjoyed nine successful PhD completions since REF 2014. A highlight in recent weeks has been the completion of our cluster planning (see below). This has resulted in the appointment of three new professors into CBiS, bringing with them an inspiring set of skills and extensive track records in research leadership, running large research projects, collaborating internationally and interfacing with corporate practitioners. We will announce further details of these new colleagues in due course. We also saw the departure of a long-term Coventry University professor and stalwart of CBiS’s sports management research, Simon Chadwick. The allure of major sports events impending in Qatar proved too strong, but Simon remains an Associate of CBiS and is supporting several of our PhD students. We wish Simon every success and deeply appreciate his commitment to Coventry University and to growing research in the Faculty of Business and Law.

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CBiS is the Research Hub for specialist researchers within the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL). The behaviour of modern business organisations and policy makers has significant positive and negative effects on individuals, groups, communities, economies, nations and global relations… This is the research mantra under-pinning the work of researchers within CBiS and linking the Centre’s clusters… The exploration of beneficial and detrimental business impact on society, in order to inform sustainable business practices and policy development.

Sustainability in Business & Society Cyber Security & Data Use Resilience

Communities, Consumers & Responsible Business

Finance Policy & Impact

B2B/Supply Chain/ Manufacturing

Foreign Direct Investment

Big Data

Banking

Personal Debt

Economic and Regional Development Societal Behavioural Change Social Marketing

Inclusive Economies

Nudge Intervention

Communities and Engagement

Legacy & Effect in Sports

Economic Impact

Management

Third Sector Engagement Public Sector Impact

Urban Development

Societal Well-Being

Events

Legacy Impact

Economy, Society and History Economic Government/ Convergence/ Corporate Development Relations

A significant focus for CBiS over the next few months is the University’s Mock REF planning exercise, into which all of CBiS’s dedicated research staff have been entered. In conjunction with a very large number of staff in the four Schools constituting the Faculty of Business and Law, there is an impressive contribution looming for both the imminent Mock Ref and the real Ref in 2020/1. The University’s significant investment in research and its commitment to developing a vibrant research culture – typified by the creation of CBiS – are certainly bearing fruit. Our planning is all-but complete, enabling CBiS to focus on delivering its research projects, building further collaborations and addressing our core aim of shaping thinking around business’s impact – good and bad – on society. Our newer clusters, such as cyber, finance/banking, behavioural change interventions and third sector engagement overtly align to this over-arching research mantra for the Centre; joining long-term core research interests in sustainability in terms of ethical consumption and in the supply chain, as well as research examining economic and social development, planning and policy. In this issue of our Newsletter, here in its new format, you will find information relating

Sector Reviews/ Predictive Studies

to our recent activities, forthcoming events, research outputs, our PGR (PhD) programme and to the endeavours of our clusters. In the section focusing on Doctoral research you will find insights into our seminar series, reading group, research projects and recent successes. From SEM training, undertaking research to planning research events, this edition provides useful support for undertaking research and determining methodologies. Whether appreciating the strategic implications of changing TV viewing behaviours, paralympic research, sustainability in Sierra Leone, building better homes and neighbourhoods, financial reforms after the crisis, wild flower harvesting in South Africa, R&D infrastructure in the UK automotive sector, the likely legacy of the Rio Olympics, corporate responsibility in jewellery production and consumption, the work of the Irish business history group, building financial security and inclusion in communities, trade and modern slavery, the economics of football, tackling food waste, addressing cyber security in broadcasting, or the University’s green week, there is something for everyone in this edition. Enjoy!

Professor Lyndon Simkin Executive Director, CBiS

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CENTRE FOR

BUSINESS IN SOCIETY

EVENTS

Our post-event research summaries and forthcoming activity

RESEARCH UPDATES

The latest news on our research projects

FUNDING

Find out which of our new projects have secured funding

CBIS OUTPUTS & NEWS

Read all about our new course, latest outputs and research adventures

INDUSTRY

See what our experts have to say about shfiting football economics and why youngsters prefer to browse the internet over watching t.v (and more).

RESEARCH TOOLKIT

How to organise an event and top tips for early career researchers

OUR RESEARCH STUDENTS

Join us in congratulating our students for their recent PhD completions.

...but firstly Goodbye to Dr Carmela Bosangit Sadly CBiS said goodbye to one of our researchers in February when Dr Carmela Bosangit took up a new post at Swansea University. Carmela was one of the original CBiS team, and has been a key collaborator on research projects within the Sustainability cluster. Her work with co-authors on publications and involvement in supervision, mentoring and research ethics represent important contributions to the success of CBiS. As part of the CBiS commitment to enduring partnerships, Carmela will retain strong ties with CBiS as an external Associate, and she will continue to collaborate with Professor Marylyn Carrigan, and other Coventry colleagues on a number of live research projects.

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Events

FORTHCOMING DAY

MONTH

LOCATION

TIME

MARCH

External Research Seminar | The importance of housing and neighbourhood resources for urban microbusinesses Guest speaker: Professor Donald Houston

Jaguar Building JA126

4-6PM

MARCH

Internal Research Seminar | Consumer Activism Guest speakers: Eva Kipnis, Aurelie Broeckhoff

Jaguar Building JA129

1-2PM

MARCH

Sustainability Research Cluster Launch ...in conjunction with Green Week 2016 @CU

Jaguar Building JA125

3-5:15PM

External Research Seminar | ‘Big data’ and digital Guest Speaker: Professor Sally Dibb

Jaguar Building JA125

4-6PM

The Techno Centre, Coventry University

9-5PM

MAY

27-29

JUNE

EVENT DETAILS

Disability Sport Conference 2016

17th European Conference on Knowledge Management 2016 1-2 September

ini Track on Social Media Technologies for Knowledge Management and Innovation in SMEs

Chairs: Dr. Pedro Soto-Acosta, University of Murcia, Dr Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena, Spain and Dr Alexeis Garcia-Perez, Coventry University, UK The extent to which today’s Social Media Technologies (SMT) are affecting the

nature of work is striking. SMT help people share knowledge through social networks and communities of knowledge. With appropriate training and education, SMT can make it easier for organizations to acquire, store or disseminate knowledge. One of the main characteristics of SMT is that they are founded on the democratization of knowledge, so they facilitate the appearance of natural flows of collaboration and knowledge sharing which in turn, may favour creativity and innovation in organizations. The specific characteristics of SMEs (flat and flexible organizational structures) may facilitate the implementation of SMT for knowledge management (KM) and innovation in these organizations. This Mini Track aims to contribute to the growing body of literature examining SMT and their increasingly important role for knowledge management and innovation by studying their application in the context of SMEs.

Specific areas of research interest for this Mini Track (but not limited to) are: SMTs for KM in SMEs SMTs for innovation management in SMEs SMTs for open innovation in SMEs Economic impact of SMTs for KM in SMEs Cultural aspects of SMTs for KM in SMEs Authors of selected best papers presented in this mini track will be invited to submit extended versions of their papers for possible publication in a special issue of

Information Systems Management published by Taylor & Francis ISSN: 1058-0530. In the first instance a 300-500 word abstract is to be submitted by 11th February 2016. For more information visit the website.

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HOSTED CBiS welcomes sustainable supply chain academics

n January 18th and 19th Professor Marylyn Carrigan

are organisers

hosted a visit by two research colleagues working of the upcomin the field of sustainable supply chains. Dr Anne

ing EuROMA

Touboulic of Cardiff University Business School has research in- Forum terests that lie at the intersection of sustainable development and

2016

special session

operations management with a primary focus on implementing on Innovative sustainable inter-organisational relationships and driving change Engaged Methfor sustainability in production and consumption networks. Dr

odologies and

Lucy McCarthy of Queens University Belfast studies sustainability,

Anne will be

particularly social sustainability, with a focus on the role of non- returning as a traditional organisations in the supply chain. Both academics are visiting speaker working with Marylyn on research that connects their mutual

later in the year to present a seminar about her experiences with

interests regarding SME sustainable supply chains. Anne and Lucy action research and participative research methods.

Like what you see? If you would like to team up and get invovled with any future CBiS events, just get in touch: cbisproservices.fbl@coventry.ac.uk

Events

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HOSTED

Dr Ian Brittain presents Carnival research at Nippon Foundation Paralympic Research Group

r Ian Brittain, Research Fellow in CBiS, was recently invited by the Nippon Foundation Paralympic Research Group to present at a

symposium in Tokyo about the potential legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on 19th December 2015. Ian presented a critical evaluation of the legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. This work forms a part of EU funded the Carnival Project for which he is the Co-ordinator and Co-PI. Following his presentation Ian was requested by Yasushi Yamawaki, President of the Japanese Paralympic Committee, to provide him with the text of his presentation. Whilst in Tokyo Ian also attended a symposium on sport for peace and development run by the University of Tsukuba and a symposium on how universities could potentially leverage the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games run by the British Council in Tokyo. He also had a meeting with staff from

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Brazil’s 31st International Congress on Physical Education CARNiVAL: The first project to take a comparative perspective on the issue of legacy and megaevents

Legacy, the Paralympic Games and Rio 2016

r Ian Brittain, Research Fellow in CBiS, was recently invited by the Federal Council for Physical Education (CONFEF) in Brazil to present at the Brazilian Olympic Academy, which formed part of Brazil’s 31st International Congress on Physical Education from 9th to 13th January 2016. The Congress was held in Foz do Iguacu in the south of Brazil next to the borders with Argentina and Paraguay. Dr Brittain’s presentation was entitled ‘Legacy, the Paralympic Games and Rio 2016’ and gave a critical analysis of what has happened since the London 2012 Paralympic Games and the potential ramifications of this for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. This work forms a part of EU funded the Carnival Project for which he is the Co-ordinator and CoPI. As well as presenting to a live audience the presentations were also webcast live on the internet.

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PROFESSOR TO

FOOD SECURITY AND SUSTA Food security and sustainability in a post-conflict Freetown, Sierra Leone: Examining the role of urban and peri-urban agriculture:

the honour of being named an

vision for urban agriculture, link-

within the developing world?

African Chief in 2014 by the Para-

ing this to local food systems and

Urban agriculture (UA) is an im-

mount Chief and Section Chief of

markets; a crucial step towards

portant activity in most African

Sandor Chiefdom in Kono Dis-

creating sustainable cities. The

cities and provides valuable food,

trict, Eastern Province in Sierra

session was well attended from

income and employment, par-

academics and

ticularly for poor households. Its

PGR researchers

importance in urban livelihoods

from across the

demands that it should be better

faculty and gen-

recognised by governments, local

erated some inter-

authorities and planners. Support-

esting discussions

ing more local food production

around urban ag-

and reducing ‘food miles’ should

riculture in Africa,

be a key priority.

comparisons with

What role should entrepre-

the Gambia, and

neurship and formal business

the importance

play in supporting the prac-

Leone. The seminar

“Supporting more local food production and reducing ‘food miles’ should be a key

then pre-

Tony Binns from the Department

search from

of Geography at the University

urban farm-

of Otago delivered a seminar

ers in Free-

around food security and sus-

town show-

tainability in Freetown, Sierra Le-

ing it provided food, income and

of urban agriculture for local,

tice of urban agriculture?

one. Prof. Binns has been work-

employment for urban house-

national and international food

There are many indigenous local

ing with communities in Sierra

holds. Prof. Binns highlighted

systems.

entrepreneurs in Africa’s towns and

Leone for over 40 years and this

how important it is that the sus-

Tony, why do you believe that

cities, but they often need support

seminar provided an overview

tainable development strategies

urban agriculture should be

and guidance. In the case of UA,

of his involvement which led to

for cities should incorporate pro-

supported by governments

two key constraints are security of

or the first CBiS Ex-

sented find-

ternal Seminar series

ings from

of 2016 on the 14th

recent field-

January, Professor

based re-

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ONY BINNS

TAINABILITY: SIERRA LEONE land tenure and the availability

bulk of the population. UA farmers

career?

tial for Coventry University, and

of unpolluted water for irrigating

often have a good knowledge of

I have always enjoyed field-based

particularly the Centre for Busi-

crops. Other issues involve getting

production and marketing trends

research and working with indi-

ness in Society, to become more in-

fresh vegetables and fruit to the

and opportunities, but they fre-

viduals and communities in their

volved in communities overseas, in

market, when refrigeration is of-

quently need advice on business

home areas. This has not changed

supporting business initiatives that

ten unavailable. Formal business

innovation, formulating business

over my 40+ years as an academic

lead to a better quality of life for

could assist in drawing up business

plans and marketing strategies.

teacher and researcher. It is always

local communities. Communities

plans with UA farmers, and provid-

There are many opportunities for

exciting when a community-based

could benefit considerably from

ing them with contacts that can

private sector

development

the networks and contacts that

effectively incorporate them into

business to

initiative ac-

CBiS could offer, and the Centre

valuable networks. Formal busi-

get involved

tually leads to

could play a key role in brokering

ness could usefully act as ‘brokers’

in communi-

tangible im-

links between communities and

for UA farmers, in obtaining mar-

ty-based local

provements

local businesses in initiating and

ket and production information

development,

in the qual-

supporting development initia-

and in facilitating both production

but this is an

ity of life for

tives. CBiS could organise training

and marketing.

all-too-rare

With particular reference to

phenomenon

‘business-society’ relation-

ships, what do you see as the

towns and

major challenges and oppor-

cities. Companies could pay more

in recent years I have undertaken

tunities for African countries

attention to developing ‘Corporate

field research in Vietnam and in a

as they seek to progress in the

Social Responsibility’ and uplifting

number of Caribbean and Pacific

21st Century?

communities through developing

countries.

Many African economies have

strong economies and worthwhile

What opportunities do you

recently experienced world lead-

community development strate-

perceive for Coventry Univer-

ing economic growth rates. The

gies.

sity and the Centre for Busi-

Africa’s

“Communities could benefit considerably from the networks and contacts that CBiS could offer, and the Centre could play a key role in brokering links between communities and local businesses in initiating and supporting development initiatives.”

poor people. My work has been mainly in Africa, but

ness in Society in contributing

main challenges are to ensure that such economic growth leads to the

What inspires you to do your

the Overseas Development

alleviation of poverty and an im-

research and has this changed

agenda?

provement in livelihoods for the

from the early stages of your

There is very considerable poten-

workshops in developing countries Professor Binns and could disseminate good pracwas awarded tice among both businesses and communities. The University of the an honorary Western Cape in South Africa has chieftainship of developed a strong reputation in this area in recent CovenKayima, a years. small try’s greater involvement overseas town in the far could raise the University’s and CBiS’northeast profile and could leadof to an increase in recruitment of internaSierra Leone tional students.

Watch his chieflaincy ceremony here

#CBiSSeminar

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City devolution: who is responsible for poverty? Social Market Foundation Dr Paul Sissons took part in a Roundtable Discussion on ‘City devolution: who is responsible for poverty?’ organised by the Social Market Foundation (3 December 2015). The discussion focused on approaches to poverty reduction in the context of devolution of powers to cities, and was attended by local policymakers, civil society groups and academics. Paul provided some introductory comments to the event alongside Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP and Mark Rogers (Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council)

How can we build better homes and neighbourhoods?

Oxford Summit Experiences of the housing market: a dynamic perspective of Leaders: Professor Glauco De Vita chairs View Dr Paul Sissons’s online profile working session at Oxford Town Financial Reform After the Crisis: Promoting Hall Dr Paul Sissons gave a presentation on ‘Experiences of the housing market – a dynamic perspective’ at an event focused on How can we build better homes and neighbourhoods? which was organised by the Understanding Society Policy Unit at the University of Essex and held at the Royal Institute of British Architects. Paul’s work with Donald Houston (Glasgow University) on the private rented housing sector was also featured in the annual Insights publication (https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/2015/12/10/ insights-2015)

s a member of the Oxford Academic Union Board of

Directors (Academic Council), and Head of the Committee for Management and Economics, on December 15 2015, Professor Glauco De Vita (CBiS) was invited to The Oxford Summit of Leaders at Oxford Town Hall, to chair and moderate the working session ‘University Cities and Cooperation of Local Administrations, Investment Companies and University Administration’. Over twenty CEOs and other representatives from investment companies around the world made presentations on their projects. Professor De Vita was joined in the ‘Europe Business Assembly’ Panel by Mrs Christina Briggs, Head of the International Relations Department of Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Mr Heinz Wehrle, President of ‘The Prime Business Destinations’ project.

stability, fair taxation, ethics and financial inclusion Over 30 delegates from across Europe attended a final oneday event of the FinCris project (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) held on 3 February 2016 in Brussels, Belgium.

The key findings from the three project workstreams were presented by: Tom Sorell (University of Warwick) on the challenges of ascribing responsibility for events such as the financial crisis; Lindsey Appleyard (Coventry University) on responsible lending and borrowing for people on low and middle incomes in the UK; and Andrew Mullineux (University of Birmingham) on using taxation as a measure for changing behaviour in the financial sector. This was followed by lively debate in sessions on: Balancing the Regulation and Taxation of Banking, with presentations from: Sajid M. Chaudhry (University of Birmingham); Arthur Kerrigan (Former EU official, now with KPMG in Ireland); Donato Raponi (Head of the VAT Unit at the European Commission). Consumer Protection & Subprime Borrowing, with presentations from: Chris Clarke ((University of Warwick); Mark Hannam (Fair Finance / University of London). Responsibility, taxation and financial exclusion after the financial crisis, with presentations from: Juri Viehoff, Centre for Ethics, University of Zurich; Peter Grasmann (European Commission). Moving forward, Lindsey Appleyard (CBiS) and Karen Rowlingson (University of Birmingham) from the responsible lending and borrowing workstream are looking to implement our responsible lending and borrowing recommendations into practice with key partners. Some of our key findings have been recently published: Rowlingson, K. Appleyard, L. and Gardner, J. (2016) Payday lending in the UK: the regul(aris)ation of a necessary evil?. Journal of Social Policy, Available on CJO 2016 doi:10.1017/S0047279416000015 For more information on the project, please visit: www.fincris.net

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CBiS invites you to the launch of its Sustainability Research Cluster

uring Coventry University’s

in the broad fields of sustainability,

Green week (14-18 March 2016) to

ethical business and consumption

promote environmental awareness

and corporate social responsibility.

the Sustainability Research Cluster

This cross-disciplinary team of CBiS

of CBiS will present some of their na-

staff are at the forefront of national

tionally and internationally leading

and international research in their

research in the field of sustainability,

fields, with expertise that intersects

ethical business, consumption and

across a number of key industries that

corporate social responsibility. Or-

include cocoa production, food, flow-

ganised by Dr Amanda Berlan, CBiS

ers, coffee and jewellery. The session

researchers will present their find-

will provide an overview of some of

ings in an informal session covering

the projects that staff are working

a range of key industries including

on and which link to the key themes

cocoa/chocolate, waste, flowers, cof-

of Green Week at CU, including CSR,

fee, jewellery and gardening/com-

marketing and consumer ethics, fair

munity engagement.

trade and child labour, sustainable

The Sustainability Research Cluster is led by Professor Marylyn Car-

communities, waste and responsible supply chains.

rigan, and represents those CBiS Dr Amanda Berlan, CBiS

researchers and associates working

Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) The Guardian Roundtable ‘How much does consumer understanding and action affect progress towards a sustainable palm oil industry?’ Dr Amanda Berlan was invited to take part in The Guardian Roundtable discussion sponsored by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) titled ‘How much does consumer understanding and action affect progress towards a sustainable palm oil industry?’ held on Monday 5 October 2015. The event brought together leading industry experts from major UK and international companies such as Boots, Marks & Spencer, Mondelez International and the British Retail Consortium. A full-page write-up of the event was published in the Guardian on the 26th October 2015 as well as World Finance.

Following this event, Amanda has been invited to take part in a further Roundtable discussion at the Guardian sponsored by Mondelez International exploring certification in supply chains to be held on the 25th Feb 2016. A full write-up of the event will appear in the Business section of the Guardian newspaper and online in Sustainable Business on the 10th March 2016. Amanda has also recently been interviewed by World Finance magazine on the future of palm oil and interviewed by the US-based FACES magazine on her work on sustainability in cocoa production in the Dominican Republic.

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Disability Sport Conference 2016 CBiS are committed to high quality research that is of both practical and academic use. This conference epitomises the core value of CBiS: “Business in Society: Seeking a better outcome for all”. JUNE

Visit Dr Ian Brittain’s online profile

Where: The Centre for Business in Society will be hosting its third Disability Sport Conference in June 2016. The event is chaired and organised by Dr Ian Brittain, who is renowned as one of the world’s leading experts on sociological, historical and development aspects of Paralympic and disability sports. The conference, aimed at academics and practioners, will be centred around four main themes: • • • •

Sport and health for people with disabilities Paralympic Legacies Disability sport for peace and development Disability sport and social inclusion

Following on from the legacy of London 2012, the conference is timely because the Rio 2016 Games will follow on a little more than two months after the conference. This year’s keynotes will include Dominic Reid, Managing Director of the Invictus Games Foundation, which were founded by Prince Harry and whose second edition take place in Florida this May. He will

be accompanied by a member of the British Invictus Games team. This conference is unique to Coventry and 2014 saw practitioners and academics attend from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Nepal, Philippines, Spain, Sweden and the UK, along with Sir Philip Craven, the President of the International Paralympic Committee who gave an open public lecture as well as doing a telephone interview on BBC C&W. In addition, CBiS is currently advertising a PhD studentship around Paralympic legacy, Rio 2016 and the Invictus Games that directly relates to the conference themes.

Techno Centre, Technology Park, Coventry University When: 27th - 29th June Enquiries Email us For more information and to register visit the website

CBiS is committed to research with impact that builds on relations and networks that leads to the sharing of ideas and collaborative working

@CBiS_CovUni

#DisSportConf2016

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RESEARCH UPDATES

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Investigating The Wild Flower Harvesting Industry In South Africa’s

Cape Floristic Region

r. David Bek is currently in the Western Cape of South Africa undertaking research for a project ‘Investigating the Wild Flower Harvesting Industry in South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region’. David will be interviewing flower pack-shed managers and wild harvesters with the intention of mapping the scale and structure of the wildflower industry. The research is funded by WWF-SA and is being co-ordinated

via industry promotion body CapeFlora-SA and local conservation NGO, the Flower Valley Conservation Trust. David will also be collecting data as part of a research project entitled, ‘Ethical Flowers: Promoting the Value of Certification throughout the Supply Chain to Improve Working Conditions’. The Prinicipal Investigator on this project is Dr. Jill Timms who recently secured funding via the Coventry University pump prime scheme.

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The Automotive R&D infrastructure in the UK Final Report

n the last few years, the UK automotive sector has witnessed a remarkable renaissance with output up over 50% between 2008/09 and 2014. Further announcements of major UK investment by vehicle producers have hit the headlines in 2015 and 2016, and the industry remains critical both to the future prosperity of Coventry and to the success of the ‘Midlands Engine of Growth’. However, new lower cost locations for vehicle production have continued to come on stream globally, signalling a need for new investment in research, development and design to secure the UK’s stake in producing the next generation of road vehicles and the technologies underpinning them. Within this context, between June 2015 and January 2016, the Centre for Business in Society’s Nick Henry, David Jarvis and Andrew Jones completed a project in collaboration with ICF International for the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to identify investment propositions that have the potential to build on the UK’s automotive renaissance; and to highlight options for further government R&D investment in the sector. Through a process of key stakeholder engagement with major manufacturers, suppliers and research organisations, the study re-affirmed the key automotive technology roadmaps and strategic technologies identified through ‘Driving Success’, the previous government’s industrial strategy for the automotive sector, and subsequently provided an overview of recent developments. In addition, the study mapped UK automotive R&D activity framed by the strategic technologies, and provided a range of data on current and recently announced activity. In parallel an international evidence base for potential investment choices was developed by reviewing international automotive R&D research in Germany, Japan, South Korea, and USA against the UK technology roadmaps. To this end, the study sought to identify international technology trends in major competitor economies and, based on key informants’ views, an understanding of global market drivers, competitive positions and international specialisation in R&D to inform proposals for further UK investment. The mapping of UK automotive R&D capacity in this report demonstrated the assets and R&D infrastructure that have been developed by industry supported through existing policy interventions – whilst the international case studies highlighted the continued competitive challenges, global technological trajectories and parameters of future investment choices. Supported by this evidence base, the report’s recommendations on future investment are now being taken forward by BIS and its Automotive Unit through the next policy and investment round.

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Slow Burn Impact By Kevin Broughton

ot all research has immediate impact – some can be a slow burn, taking quite some time to evidence. This should be borne in mind in the next few years regarding REF2020. It is definitely worth going back to previous clients, contacts and colleagues to see if the impact of your research has had further impact since last you were in touch. This thought came about when a former client of ours was contacted regarding an enquiry about the impact that our research has had – primarily for a PhD by Portfolio application (to evidence impact of the Portfolio Outputs). The response was very positive, as illustrated later. In 2009, my colleagues and I undertook an evaluation of a ‘neighbourhood regeneration programme’ for an outlying housing estate in Braunstone, Leicester. Nearly £50 million of government funding was spent over a 10 year period in the Braunstone neighbourhood, aimed at improvements in housing, educational attainment, employment support, health outcomes, community development and reductions in crime and anti-social behaviour. This programme was part of the then Labour Government’s “New Deal for Communities” (NDC) programme which aimed to narrow the gap in inequality between the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods and the England average. The Braunstone Community Association – a local partnership of residents, local agencies and other stakeholders – delivered the NDC

programme, and asked Coventry University to evaluate its impact in 2008/09, towards the termination of NDC funding. The Braunstone NDC programme has resulted in a dramatic turnaround for the Braunstone neighbourhood across a range of quality of life outcomes, though there was still much to do to following the closure of the NDC programme. Braunstone Community Association were forward-thinking here, and invested in assets and expertise which have provided resources for a ‘successor’ organisation – The Braunstone Foundation. This charitable organisation has a wholly-owned trading arm – B-Inspired. Together, these two developments continue to invest in improving the lives of Braunstone residents, long after NDC funding has gone – something that only a few of the 39 NDC programmes across England can attest to. As a follow up, we returned to Braunstone in 2012/13 to investigate how The Braunstone Foundation and B-Inspired were surviving ‘austerity’ – we found that various organisational innovations were enabling the organisations to survive, and in some cases thrive, during this challenging period of government funding cuts. So to this effect, we developed an academic paper from the findings, in consultation with the organisation’s CEO, which was published in 2013. The CEO of the Braunstone Foundation / B-Inspired – Angie Wright – provided the following evidence of impact of our Evaluation Report and academic paper:

“In terms of impact of the work you carried out for us on the programme evaluation and journal article, I would say that they both definitely had impact. In particular, the New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme Final Evaluation (although 6 years old now) still acts as a reference point and baseline for us in terms of mapping changes in the neighbourhood and monitoring improvements. Immediately after its publication in December 2009 it became the main reference and a significant source of data and analysis for informing the first Braunstone Neighbourhood Action Plan (NAP) – post the end of the NDC programme (in March 2010) and as part of the key ‘Community Anchor’ role created through the formation of the NDC ‘successor’ vehicle – The Braunstone Foundation. That plan has gone on to be refreshed 5 times since. The NAP is intended to provide a picture of the current situation in Braunstone as a baseline and then show how key services in Braunstone should look over the coming year , in terms of already-committed resources to the area. Then importantly it also provides a basis for identifying gaps in service provision. Finally, it offers recommendations for actions to try and close those gaps in service, either through commissioned service interventions by The Braunstone Foundation or by influencing mainstream providers to respond. The Final Evaluation document has also assisted in previous years to cite evidence for funding applications and tendering for contracts. It also provided us with evidence to inform the formation of 2 strategic priority groups for the area in 2011: 1) Raising Attainment in Braunstone and 2) Improving Health in Braunstone. Both groups are still in existence today and include local strategic players e.g. Head teachers, GP’s, Children Centre Leaders, Primary Healthcare professional and many more. The article: “Neighbourhood regeneration in an era of austerity? Transferable lessons from the case of Braunstone, Leicester” (Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal 6, published in 2013) also had impact in helping to review and take stock about where we were a few years after the end of the NDC programme. It served to cast an independent light on how our transition and development looked to the outside world. Likewise it has been cited in local strategic documents and referred to in order to help narrate our story.” - Angie Wright, CEO, Braunstone Foundation / B-Inspired

The legacy of the impact of your research can take time to develop, and it often takes time for previous clients, contacts and colleagues to identify, understand and articulate that impact. The example above is, of course, only

an illustration – the point I’m trying to make is that, in a few years’ time, you may have forgotten about some of the work you did in the ‘early years’ of the REF2020 period – so don’t forget to go back and see if anything further has developed – they can only say no!

Olá Brasil

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r Alessandro Merendino as part of Carnival Project is going to Rio de Janeiro for 7 weeks to undertake interviews to directors and managers of the organising committee of the Olympic Games, namely RIO 2016.

mega-event managers, sponsors and auditors, and how selfinterested directors can impact legacies. In addition, the other participants of this research project which is part of the Carnival project are Dr Jill Timms and Dr David Bek.

The title of his research project is The Emerging Ethical Profile of Mega-Events: Exploring the Governance, Standards and Sustainability Issues that Contribute to Corporate Social Responsibility Legacies. The main objective is to investigate who controls the controllers, investigating the governance composition and connections of

Alessandro is leaving the UK in March up to April thanks to the financial support of the Carnival Project and Coventry University. Carnival project, financed by the European Commission, aims at investigating what factors impact upon the planned and unplanned legacy outcomes of megaevents and their implications for stakeholders.

“I look forward to meeting and interviewing top management and directors of one of the biggest non-profit organisations in the world. I am delighted to have the opportunity to discuss with them about corporate governance and how it actually works in this peculiar context, where different global interests converge on a Brazilian milieu. This is a great opportunity offered by the European Union Framework 7 Marie Curie scheme and Coventry University. To understand different viewpoints that may differ from the research mainstream or from the European or North American perspectives (which dominate the current studies) will definitely provide me with a unique standpoint. Besides, nearly two months in the sun can’t possibly do any harm! Thank you CBiS!”

PLAY ME

In other CARNiVAL related news…

he paper titled “The UPP (Police Pacification Unit) Programme and the mega events in Brazil: Pacification or Peacebuilding?”, sponsored by the Carnival Project was accepted for the 13th International Symposium for Olympic Research, “The Future of the Olympic Event in the Age of

the Mega-Spectacle”, that will be held on July 30-31, 2016, at Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The paper’s authors are Andressa, Leo Mataruna, Silvestre, Marcelo and Prof. Francisco from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Follow the project on Twitter: @CARNIVAL_COVUNI www.coventry.ac.uk/carnival

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Mobilizing Institutional Reform for Research and Innovation Systems (MIRRIS) Being delivered by David Jarvis and Jennifer Ferreira in CBiS, MIRRIS is an FP7 Coordination and Support Action which aims to qualify the issues underpinning the differential performance of EU13 countries in the European Research Area (ERA) generally, and key EU Research, Development and Innovation programmes in particular. Developed through a series of three policy dialogues in each EU13 member state, the project has identified a set of common barriers to the participation of the EU13 research community in programmes such as FP7 and H2020. Utilising this evidence base, the project consortium subsequently worked with key national stakeholders to co-create ‘road

Jennifer Ferreira

Jennifer’s main research interests surround issues related to economic geography, local and regional economic development, varieties of capitalism, labour markets, employment intermediaries, labour market regulation and comparative institutional systems. Online profile

maps’ designed to address the current position, for each EU13 county in turn. Ongoing since June 2013, the project is nearing completion with the drafting of final project reports now taking place. These will be launched at an event in Brussels in the Spring, with strong expectations within the European commission that measures being put in place through the project will have significant direct impacts on the research performance of new member states.

Dr David Jarvis

David’s expertise centres on economic development, modernisation and diversification. This incorporates research into particular sectors or industries and the local socio-economic impacts of individual businesses and business decisions. Online profile

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Corporate responsibility, SMEs and the jewellery industry: new publication

ollowing their 2015 Journal of Business Ethics article examining ethical consumption in the jewellery industry, a team of researchers from CBiS’s Sustainability cluster, led by Professor Marylyn Carrigan, have had another successful publication with their study of corporate responsibility in the jewellery supply chain. Recently accepted for a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Business Ethics that focuses on industry-specific CSR, the paper “The Fine Jewellery Industry: Corporate Responsibility Challenges and Institutional Forces Facing SMEs” presents an analysis of the responsibilities of the high value jewellery industry and jewellery SMEs in particular. The study explores how small businesses within the fine jewellery industry respond to the economic, social and environmental challenges associated with responsible jewellery production, and investigates how they perceive and negotiate the tensions between responsibility and the resistance derived from the operational norms of secrecy and autonomy within the industry. The earlier paper “Understanding ethical performances in luxury consumption through practice theories: a study of fine jewellery purchases”, builds

on existing research investigating CSR and ethical consumption within luxury contexts, and addresses existing knowledge gaps by exploring the ways in which consumers perform ethical luxury purchases of fine jewellery. This paper is the first to examine such issues of consumer ethics by extending the application of theories of practice to a luxury product context.

Birmingham have been working with the industry to research CSR, Gender and Careers in the Jewellery Sector. Papers are currently being written for presentation later in 2016. The jewellery studies represent just one of the key sectors that academics within the Sustainability cluster are researching collaboratively, with further projects investigating CSR, sustainability and ethical consumption in cocoa production, food, flowers, and coffee. A number of researchers within the Sustainability cluster have received Faculty and University pump prime funds as part of the ongoing commitment by Coventry University to support early career researchers, alongside senior academics, to pursue innovative research that will deliver added value in a range of industries. Sustainability cluster staff will be presenting some of their findings at the Green Week event on 15th March 2016.

The studies were supported by a Faculty Pump Prime fund, and the original team included Dr Carmela Bosangit, Dr Caroline Moraes, Dr Carlos Ferreira and external collaborators, Dr Morven McEachern of Salford University and Dr Michelle McGrath of University of Winchester. The findings have impacted beyond academia with invitations to collaborate with jewellery industry trade associations, designers and manufacturers, and present the research findings to practitioners at jewellery conferences and workshops in Moscow, London and Birmingham. Following on from this study a new team of CBiS academics (Prof. Publication details: Marylyn Carrigan; Dr Jenny Ferreira; Dr Carmela Bosangit) Carrigan, M., McEachern, M., Moraes, C. and Bosangit, C. (2016) The in collaboration with Prof. Jo Fine Jewellery Industry: Corporate Responsibility Challenges and Institutional Forces Facing SMEs, forthcoming, Journal of Business Duberley of the University of Ethics

Moraes, C., Carrigan, M., Bosangit, C., Ferreira, C., McGrath, M. (2015) Understanding ethical performances in luxury consumption through practice theories: a study of fine jewellery purchases, Journal of Business Ethics, doi 10.1007/s10551-015-2893-9, http://link.springer. com/article/10.1007/s10551-015-2893-9

Marilyn Carrigan is Professor of Marketing in the Centre for Business in Society (CBiS). Her research interests are consumer ethics, social marketing, corporate social responsibility and the relationships between businesses and their key stakeholders. Her past research pioneered work on implications of attitude-behaviour gaps for ethical consumption. Her current research into CSR and small firms studies the implications for responsible business practices in the supply chain for small businesses/entrepreneurs,challenging assumptions that CSR is mainly about multinational enterprises and upstream activity. She has investigated this in the context of the luxury fashion industry and more recently the UK jewellery industry. View Marylyn’s full online profile.

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Irish quantitative history group annual conference

t the time of writing this, Jason Begley was on route to the Irish Quantitative History Group Annual Conference in Dublin, Ireland. The event programme can be found here. Jason will be discussing 4 papers related to money velocity flows, trade data from the 19th century, creative production in Ireland from 1800-1950 and recent Irish economic forecasts in the build-up to the Credit crisis of 2007/8. The group is dedicated to research relating to Irish economic history and quantitative analysis. Jason has been funded by the MidCareer Research programme at Coventry University. In addition Jason’s other role there is to discuss future research and funding opportunities related to Irish rent indices (alongside other, networking opportunities).

Jason has worked for the last decade in Coventry, focussing on statistical series and economic development. He is currently located in the Centre for Business in Society, where he works as a research fellow. His most recent research has been published in the Cambridge Journal of Economics and relates to the creation of an Irish Wage Index for the 19th Century.

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FUNDING How do cities lead an inclusive growth agenda? Dr Paul Sissons has been awarded funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for research focused on ‘How do cities lead an inclusive growth agenda?’ The aim of the project is review international evidence on inclusive growth policies, to develop city case studies and to provide relevant learning for UK cities. The research is being conducted with Professor Anne Green and Dr Erika Kispeter (Institute for Employment Research/ University of Warwick) and Francesca Froy (Whose city?).

Dr Lindsey Appleyard is an economic geographer with interests in money and finance and how this shapes people and places. Lindsey’s research is policy focused and broadly based around the concept of financial exclusion and inclusion of consumers, as well as commercial and social enterprises. Visit Lindsey’s online profile.

Financial citizenship: building financial security, capability and inclusion in communities

r Lindsey Appleyard (CBiS) and Shaun French (University of Nottingham) have been awarded funding from Coventry University to explore ‘Financial citizenship: building financial security, capability and inclusion in communities’.

International research network Jason Begley (Lead)

o-applicants Dr Ronan Lyons, TCD, DR Aidan Kane, UCG. Prof Frank Geary and Dr Tom Stark (Coventry Associates)

We are applying for funding to create an international research Network with the support of the Leverhulme Trust. We have managed to successfully navigate Stage 1 and have been invited to make a more detailed application within the next 9 months, when a decision will be made over final award or not. The application is valued at £52,700.

The project will explore the concept of ‘financial citizenship’ and the extent to which credit unions are able to secure financial inclusion, financial capability and financial security of their members. This is because individuals are increasingly responsible for their own financial security as the state is shifting further away from providing a universal welfare ‘safety net’. The research will take place over the next 12 months and will involve interviews with credit unions, a workshop to disseminate findings and a policy briefing paper as well as academic outputs. If you are would like to find out more about the research, please contact Lindsey Appleyard: (Lindsey.appleyard@coventry.ac.uk).

“The aim of this network is to bring together Irish and British Economic Historians working on historical national accounts. Funded research has already identified a roadmap for future Irish rental study. The goal of this collaboration will be the creation of Irish rental statistical series for the Nineteenth century. These series are a component of GDP estimates which are central to our understanding of long-term economic growth and development. Rental returns also offer socio-economic analyses of standards of living and are of interest to many academic disciplines. The network will facilitate future collaborative research from the core of partners.” - Dr Jason Begley

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Better Work, Better Businesses: Making the Case for Ethical Trade in the South African Fruit Industry

esearch Fellow Dr. David Bek has been successful in securing £6945 from the Coventry University research Pump Prime scheme. This will enable him to pursue a project entitled Better Work, Better Businesses: Making the Case for Ethical Trade in the South African Fruit Industry.

for measuring fruit farm business performance and for assessing the extent to which good labour practices are embedded within the farm business. These tools will be developed with, and applied to, a sample of farms in the Western Cape. The project has the potential to be a ‘game changer’ for the

The project will focus on fruit farms in South Africa, which are implementing worker and management training with the goal of enhancing compliance with ethical trade standards. The ongoing rollout of ethical trade in South Africa would benefit from an evidence base which clearly demonstrates how ethical compliance contributes to a positive working environment which in turn enhances business performance.

ethical trade movement in South Africa in terms of making a strong business case for ethical trade and providing insights which will enable the enhanced delivery of ethical trade programmes. Furthermore, knowledge from this research can be transferred to other countries and industries thus promoting ethical trade across the world. The research will be conducted during a visit to South Africa in April/May 2016.

This project will seek to: advance understandings of how labour standards improvements are connected to improvements in business performance. More specifically, the project will develop tools

David’s research experience includes undertaking work on social capital formation via Multi-National Corporation CSR programmes, analysing the dynamics of local labour markets and market town regeneration in East Anglia and evaluating social empowerment initiatives in the South African wine industry. During the last five years David has worked with Professor Cheryl McEwan and Dr. Alex Hughes at the Universities of Newcastle and Durham on research and impact projects funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the ESRC. These projects have deployed a cultural-economy approach to enable understanding of the dynamics of ethical trade within commodity supply chains emanating from South Africa. Read his full online profile

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CBiS

OUTPUTS & NEWS OUTPUTS

For live updates on our research projects, new publications, events, fieldwork and more, follow us on Twitter: @CBiS_CovUni

To find out more about our publications, visit our staff profiles.

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Altinay, L., Madanoglu, M., De Vita, G., Arasli, H., and Ekinci, Y. (2016) ‘The Interface between Organizational Learning Capability, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and SME Growth’. Journal of Small Business Management. Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jsbm

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Blokker, T., Bek, D. and Binns, J.A. (2015) ‘Wildflower harvesting on the Agulhas Plain, South Africa: Challenges in a fragmented industry’ South Africa Journal of Science 111 (11/12), 1-7 Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2015/20140160

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Bos, E., and Henry, N. (2015) Demonstrating Quality of Life Impacts: Home Improvement Loans for those experiencing Financial Exclusion. A report for Wessex Resolutions C.I.C, Coventry University

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Brittain, I., and Wolff, E. (2015) ‘Disability Sport: Changing Lives, Changing Perceptions (Editorial)’. Journal of Sport for Development 3 (5), 1-3. Available from http://jsfd.org/2015/12/29/disability-sport-changing-lives-changing-perceptions-editorial/

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Bywaters, P., Brady, G., Sparks, T., Bos, E., Bunting, L., Daniel, B., Featherstone, B., Morris, K., Scourfield, J. (2015) ‘Exploring inequalities in child welfare and protective services: explaining the ‘inverse intervention law’ Child and Youth Services Review 57 98-105 Available from http://pure. qub.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/exploring-inequities-in-child-welfare-and-child-protection-services-explaining-the-inverse-interventionlaw(91d452a4-0455-4b97-95cb-af0fafd94c66).html

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De Vita, G., Lagoke, O., and Adesola, S. (2016) ‘Nigerian oil and gas industry local content development: A stakeholder analysis’. Public Policy and Administration 31 (1), 51-79.

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Henry, N and Jarvis, D. (2015) Social Value: A Reporting Framework for Community Finance

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Hughes A., McEwan C., and Bek D. (2015) ‘Mobilizing the ethical consumer in South Africa’ Geoforum 67, 148-157 Available from http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.07.011

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Hughes A. McEwan C. and Bek D. (2015) ‘Postcolonial perspectives on global production networks: Insights from Flower Valley in South Africa’ Environment and Planning 47 (2), 249-266 Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a130083p

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Jones, A. and Cook, M. (2015) ‘The spillover effect from FDI in the English Premier League’ Soccer & Society 16 (1), 116-139. Available from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2014.882819

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McEwan C., Hughes A. and Bek D. (2015) ‘Theorising middle class consumption from the global South: A study of everyday ethics in South Africa’s Western Cape’ Geoforum 67, pp.233-243 Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.02.011

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Perchard, A. and Gildart, K. (2015) ’”Buying brains and experts”: British Coal Owners, Regulatory Capture, and Miners’ Health, 1918-1946’ Labour History 56 (1), 459-480. Available from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0023656X.2016.1086555

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Rimkute, J., Moraes, C., Ferreira, C. (2015) ‘The effects of scent on consumer behaviour: The effects of scent’ International Journal of Consumer Studies 40 (1), 24-34 Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijcs.12206/abstract

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Roy, S., Devlin, J. and Sekhon, H. 2015 ‘The impact of fairness on trustworthiness and trust in banking’ Journal of Marketing Management 31 (9/10), 996-1017 Available from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0267257X.2015.1036101

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Wong, D. (2015) ‘The EPL drama – Paving the way for more illegal streaming? Digital piracy of live sports broadcasts in Singapore’ Leisure Studies Available from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02614367.2015.1035315

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NEWS Whose business is it anyway... Dr Amanda Berlan’s article “Whose business is it anyway: Children and Corporate Social Responsibility in the International Business Agenda” is due to be published in Children and Society in March 2015 and will be accompanied by a podcast discussing issues relating to children’s rights and CSR.

International Slavery Museum: trade and modern slavery Dr Amanda Berlan has also been invited to speak at a public panel at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool on the 1st March on issues relating to trade and modern slavery. The discussion will focus on the history, policy and practice relating to Fairtrade and supply chains in light of the new modern slavery bill.

Article accepted in the Service Industries Journal Dr Harjit Sekhon, along with colleagues from two continents, recently had an article accepted in the highly respected Service Industries Journal. The basis of the article is a cross-country study of service productivity. Adopting a bottom-up approach the article presents an integrative model, and empirically examines the drivers of service productivity, based on a sample of more than 600 university academics from a number of continents. The study is important and timely given that in most countries universities are deemed to be not-for-profit and receive at least some of their income from the public sector as well as facing an increased demand to justify value for money. The study is also important because, not just in the UK but throughout the world, academic are having increasing demands placed on their time. Interestingly, the findings reveal that there is consistency in terms of what academic perceive to be the drivers of productivity for universities. Harjit will be happy to discuss with colleagues the above research or support research projects that you may have in mind.

New Course

n support of the Faculty’s REF submission we are delighted to let you know that the Deanery is supporting the delivery of a PLS-SEM course. The course will start on Monday 18th July and will be delivered by Prof. Marko Sarstedt, from Universität Magdeburg.

The reason for offering the course is that PLS-SEM is increasingly used in the leading journals, for data modelling. The course is an excellent opportunity for colleagues to work with Marko who is a world-wide leading authority on PLS-SEM having published many papers in 4* rated business and management journals. More details will follow in the next few weeks.

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INDUSTRY The Shifting Economics of European Football

League received from television in 2013/2014 was £60m (Deloitte, 2015). In comparison, the third highest earning club in La Liga (Atletico Madrid) only generated £38m from their La Liga deal, and Bayern Munich were the highest Bundesliga earner at £30m (Swiss Ramble

By Dr Andrew Jones

he 19th edition of the ‘Deloitte Football Money League’ (Deloitte, 2016) provides the latest update of the top European football clubs ranked by income. The data for the

2014/2015 season indicates that the revenue of the top twenty clubs in the ‘Money League’ grew by €400m in 2014/2015. The top twenty clubs generated a record €6.6bn in revenues, with lucrative broadcast and commercial contracts

2015). Of course these figures do not take into account revenues from the Champions League, but for major European clubs outside of this competition there is an increasing difficulty in competing financially with

lower ranking English clubs.

For English football this ever-increasing wealth has seemingly helped the Premier League become more competitive. Clubs such

fuelling this latest growth in the financial

as West Ham, Stoke City and

power of the industry. Deloitte also note

Crystal Palace are now able to

that they expect further growth in the

recruit high profile current in-

near-term as revenues are expected to

ternational players from Mar-

reach €7bn for 2015/2016 and then break

seille (Dimitri Payet), Bayern

the €8bn barrier in 2016/2017.

Munich (Xherdan Shaqiri), and PSG (Yohan Cabaye) (Conn, 2015 ). Even

The composition of the ‘Money League’ highlights the polarisation of European football. On the wider ranking of the top thirty clubs, seventeen were members of the Premier League in 2014/2015, with just one club (Galatasaray) coming from outside of the ‘big five’ European leagues (i.e. Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1). The implication of these findings is that mid-table Premier League clubs such as Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace generated larger incomes than Wolfsburg (who finished second in the Bundesliga), Valencia (finished fourth in La Liga) and Lazio (finished third in Serie A). This difference is simply down to the broadcast contracts in the Premier League. The guaranteed minimum income a club in the Premier

during the leagues earlier growth this would have been a virtually impossible scenario to imagine. Whilst this may seem positive for English football, it further reduces the opportunities for young ‘home grown’ prospects, and thereby further limits the pool of players available for the national team. Also the latest TV deals have opened up a vast gulf between the Premier League and the Football League, with more clubs in the Championship now making ‘high stakes’ moves in the transfer market with no guarantee of success. This rising ‘divisional inequality’ presents a challenge for regulators who are trying to ensure that Football League clubs do not ‘risk everything’ in pursuit of the holy grail of Premier League football.

Zika Virus Fears and Canadian Athletes in Rio

arie Curie International Research Fellow, Dr. Jill Le Clair is completing data collection in Toronto for her twoyear research project on media/ technology and disability in sport, in the context of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games and the London 2012 Paralympic Games. She found that media interest in the Zika virus has been

extensive in Canada as elsewhere, heightened by the fact that the Canadian wrestling team has been competing in Rio. Toronto Star journalist Donna Spencer reported that Bob McCormack, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Chief Medical Officer is “keeping an eye on Zika’s fast-moving developments … But unless an athlete arrives in Rio pregnant, McCormack considers Brazil’s other mosquito-borne viruses

such as Dengue and Yellow fever, Chickungunya and malaria as serious a threat to Canada’s athletes as Zika if not more.” (January 27, 2016). However there has been some news in response to concerns about the health dangers from mosquitoes, and anxiety on the part of athletes both Olympian and Paralympian. The Rio Organizing Committee is now

offering free air-conditioning in the athlete’s village. “That means athletes can close their windows and keep mosquitoes out, McCormack said” (Toronto Star, January 27, 2016).

Dr Jill Le Clair is an anthropologist with a PhD from the University of Toronto and a long term interest in the cultural framing of sport and physical activity.

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INDUSTRY

TACKLING OUR FOOD WASTE AND THE TECHNOLOGICAL FIX

t’s fantastic to see the mo-

Such solutions challenge the ways

allows users to view the contents of waste as a result of circumstance

mentum of media interest in in which we consume food, from their fridge while shopping and a

change. There are also wider conse-

food waste moving from sta- how we shop to how we store and bin camera that posts pictures of bin

quences regarding how sustainable

tistic filled articles and information

cook things. Technology is increas- contents on social media have posi- such advances are. Food shopping

graphics to coverage of innovative

ingly providing tools to facilitate this.

tively affected behaviour (Comber trends have seen a recent shift to-

projects that seek to tackle the waste The awareness raising Love Food

and Thieme, 2013; Farr-Wharton et

problem. In the UK, recent television Hate Waste campaign for example

al., 2014). As this technology contin- tailing and such technological tools

programs have started to draw upon has released an app that facilitates

ues to emerge, can this provide a so- could continue to disrupt traditional

narratives of empowerment to bring

wards more online and discount re-

planning meals, making lists and al- lution for the majority of consumers shopping habits. For food retailers,

together consumers and the wider lows users to store information on and to what extent can this be scaled this may have implications given public in ‘fighting’ the war on waste

the lower level of profits from on-

as set out in Hugh Fearnley-Whit-

line shopping and the increased de-

tingstall’s recent BBC television pro-

cisiveness of shoppers, being more

gramme. But despite this impetus

organised in making lists and poten-

and increased proposition of tech-

tially avoiding promotions and offers

nological solutions, the potential for

on items that are not required. This

such ideas to achieve real change is

feeds into the idea of more thought-

debatable. Research that has sought to understand why we throw away food has delivered one key message; that the wastage of food by individuals both inside and outside the home is a problematic phenomenon, wrapped up in the complexity of our everyday lives. The transition of food into waste is encompassed in the routines and habits of how we consume food across stages of purchasing, storage, preparation and consumption as well as how the schedules we keep to as part of our lifestyles influence what we eat, when and why (Evans, 2015). Further to this, waste is a material that is hidden and absent from thought, removed from the household and also from our consciousness. Therefore any means of tackling the wastage of food has the difficult task of interrupting, changing and establishing new procedures that go beyond reducing food waste material to prevent the wastage of food in the first place.

what they have at home. A further and incorporated in mass food conapplication, OLIO, allows users to

sumption? Currently there are limi-

post unwanted but still edible food

tations in what is available however

online to be shared locally, prevent- there are significant developments ing food from going to waste. These

on the horizon. Samsung are soon

and other tools have shown a high

to release a fridge that allows you

level of uptake, perhaps driven by to view its contents remotely from several campaigns to tackle food a smart phone, and the internet of waste in the public domain. How- things has the promise of more inever questions remain over whether these really influence the routines and habits of ev-

telligence appliances that could or-

“...wastage of food by individuals both

der and replace

accurate

be linked with the

home is a problematic

formation on

wastage of food

phenomenon, wrapped

portioning and

at the individual

up in the complexity of

cooking prepa-

our everyday lives.”

able potentially going against the need to ramp up profitsf or economic recovery. Nevertheless it will be interesting to see how technological fixes to food waste at the individual level play out and whether they are capable of preventing food from becoming waste through establishing more frugal behaviours.

provide more

inside and outside the

Research in the

making consumption more sustain-

food items and

eryday life that can

level.

ful and careful actions as a means of

in-

ration. Further re-

area of Human Computer Interac- search is needed to understand the tion (HCI) has shed some light on implications of such developments how our habits change as a result of on our food consumption and subtechnology however more knowl- sequent food wastage. Specifically edge is required. Through testing how such technologies are incorpohow we interact with technology, ex- rated within our current routines and amples such as a fridge camera that habits as well as help mitigate food

Jordon Lazell is a CBiS Research Assistant. Through supporting the work of the centre, Jordon has made key contributions towards a number of projects in the areas of transport, community gardening, social housing, community finance, motorsport, and the voluntary sector. Read his full online profile here.

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Sport Broadcast Piracy And Cyber Security Risks

long with globalisation, digitisation and technological convergence, access to digital technology is now part of daily life with digitisation of media content now a norm. The advancement in media technology has also seen the expansion of bandwidth and developments in programming software. This significantly widens the distribution channels of media content, where websites offering free and often live streams are commonly available. Consequently, consumption patterns of media content and services across the world have evolved. Increasingly, consumers expect access to digitised media content and services anytime and anywhere. Such emergent online practices have resulted in wide-ranging ramifications. In particular, unauthorised live streaming, i.e. digital piracy, along with the associated cyber security risks associated to accessing pirated live streams.

Greek horizons: the growth of the Mikel Coffee Company By Jennifer Ferreira

y current research project on cafés, focuses

largely on the UK, but given the globalized nature of the coffee and café industry more generally, it’s very difficult to look at just one country in isolation, and I am interested in what is happening elsewhere around the world too. On my travels last year I began to find out more about other café chains such as Balzac Coffee and Coffee Fellows in Berlin, as well as Coffee Inn and Double Coffee in Riga. Another chain I have been meaning to write about for some time is the Mikel Coffee Company in Greece. Read the full article.

Much research has been carried out on the impact of unauthorised streaming on the software, gaming, music, film and television industries. Yet, piracy of sports broadcasts, as one of the most pervasive and problematic forms of piracy to combat, remains under-researched (Hutchins, 2011). Driven by the continual escalation in broadcasters’ bidding war for sports rights and fuelled by technological developments, viewers are turning increasingly to alternative (free albeit illegal) avenues for their sports intake. Digital piracy of live sports events is emerging as a crucial ‘battleground’ between copyright owners and digital pirates (Association of Internet Security Professionals [AISP], 2014). During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a record number of 20 million viewers were reported to be streaming live matches illegally, with as many as 500,000 viewers using the pirated streams per match (Financial Times, 2014).

By Dr Donna Wong

By Dr Alexeis Garcia Perez

The distribution of pirated streams varies in nature where some are free; while others are revenue based which reap profit for those who operate them. These sites rely either on advertising revenue, charge users a fee or request donations from users. Owners of pirate distribution sites are reported to be making massive revenue from malicious advertising on sites sharing stolen movies and television shows while placing users at increasing risk (AISP, 2014). However, although live sport broadcast becomes an ‘efficient’ mechanism for cyber attacks, there is limited availability of reliable information and research on the complexities of the Cyber security risks arising from it. With little material to date, much remains unknown about the manner of transmission, account and impact/danger of the potential exposure to malicious software through users’ engagement in digital sport piracy. There is a need to understand the propagation mechanisms used in the distribution of malware, specific to illegal streaming of sports. This would help to identify the threats associated with using ‘free’ streaming of sports as baits to spread malicious software. An understanding of the cyber security risks stemming from digital sport piracy will be useful in informing users of the personal risks that unauthorised live sport streaming exposes them to. Research is being conducted at the Centre for Business in Society in this area with a view to improving economic and social awareness of the potential impact of illegal sports broadcasting in individuals and businesses.

Economic losses from digital sport piracy are now claimed to have reached ‘epidemic’ proportions (Hutchins, 2011; Kirton and David, 2013). The sale of sports broadcast rights has long been one of the central pillars sustaining the sports industry (AISP, 2014). With the increasing number of viewers turning to illegal live streaming, the decrease in the uptake of live sports subscriptions will inevitably take a Dr Donna Wong toll on both the quality of the sporting events and reinvestment in the future of sports leagues and development of community sports. No doubt the digital piracy may result in diminished sport revenue and threaten the sport and broadcast industries on the whole. However, the greatest and often most neglected impact of digital piracy relates to the cyber security risks associated with it. Legal video streaming providers such as YouTube or Netflix actively monitor the quality of contents not only to avoid copyright infringement but also to protect their users to be attracted to unsafe websites. Providers of illegal live streaming, on the other hand, have no interest on quality of contents. Their use of the peer to peer (P2P) technology often leads individuals to, consciously or otherwise, accessing Dr Alexeis Garcia-Perez external pages or downloading infected images. They have thus become, according to AISP (2014), the number one propagation mechanism for malicious software.

Dr Donna Wong’’s esearch interests relate to various social aspects of sport, in particular, media and youth sports events. In recent years, she has extended her interests to look at the impacts and legacies of the Youth Olympic Games. She was awarded the prestigious International Olympic Committee Postgraduate Research Grant in an open competition to carry out her research in the Youth Olympic Games. Dr Wong has published widely in books, chapters and international journals. She is an active reviewer for a number of peer-reviewed journals and book publishers. Alexeis has 5 years experience of leading Knowledge Management research, successfully modelling experts’ knowledge for the analysis of data to inform decision making in organisations including Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery, General Electric Energy and the Ministry of Defence. Alexeis has three PhD completions. He collaborates with several colleagues and PhD students on the subjects of Knowledge Management and Cyber Security.

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Youngsters Spend More Time Online Than Viewing TV The Challenges And Consequences By Professor Lyndon Simkin

s a child three things brought my family together in the same room: family meal times, the visits of relatives/family friends, and fav TV shows… William Shatner’s Star Trek on Mondays, Corrie on Wednesdays, Top of The Pops on Thursdays, The Sweeney or The Professionals on a Friday night, Bruce’s Generation Game on Saturday tea-times and Esther’s That’s Life on Sunday night. Living a little off the beaten track until a sixth former with wheels, TV, music and landline calls (when permitted!) were my main distraction from homework and chores. And we all huddled around a favourite TV show at the time it was broadcast, dreading an interfering phone call or knock at the door… Until Betamax and VHS appeared, we were destined to await long-off repeats if we missed a programme when it first was aired. The TV dominated our existence and there was just the one TV set and only three channels to fight over for possession. School absences caused by illness were tedious times, with little broadcast in the day of interest to children, and no computer games, web browsing, social media or streaming. Books, comics and toys were the only distraction. The choice and ease of recording programmes provided by Sky, computer games, videos/ DVDs, the Internet and arrival of multiple TVs/PCs/tablets/smartphones in each household revolutionised the situation for my older children. School absence was no longer dreaded… so much choice of distraction or ‘entertainment’… anywhere in the house or garden. With such choice and the increasingly highly pressured lifestyles of many parents came the breakdown of the family as known to me as a child. Family meals in many households are rare, the advances in technology take teenagers and smaller children to their rooms and away from the lounge or kitchen, and of course it is unusual to find a family gathered around the same TV set watching a broadcast in real-time together, unless apparently it’s an episode of X-Factor, Strictly or The Voice!

But now there is evidence that this change in behaviour is advancing. Research by Childwise has observed changing attitudes and behaviours since the mid-1990s, with its latest sample of 2,000 children revealing a step-change in behaviour (http://www. bbc.co.uk/news/education-35399658, January 26). For the first time, youngsters are spending more time online than watching television, coinciding with a 50% surge in tablet ownership for children. Our youngsters now spend on average three hours per day online and 2.1 hours watching TV. For sixteen year-olds, the time online is nearly five hours daily. Even TV viewing is changing, with less than a quarter of teenagers viewing a programme as it is broadcast, instead opting to use catchup or on-demand services so that viewing fits in with their needs and time pressures. A third of teenagers no longer claim to have a favourite TV programme, which is also a rising trend.

a threat. Perhaps Sony chose the wrong time to pull out of computing? For the programme production companies responsible for the delights of X-Factor and so forth, is there a sustainable market or must they diversify their content provision to focus on mobile platforms and viewing? For the advertisers for so long dependent on TV as a media channel for selling their wares, understanding and following youngsters and reflecting their diverse behaviours in media choices become

Clearly there are social and behavioural consequences resulting from such dramatic changes and seemingly growing dependency on mobile devices and digital. Commercially, these changing consumer dynamics provide significant challenges for many organisations and opportunities for others.

increasingly crucial. Is the surge of Apple towards global domination unstoppable? And what propositions will emerge to add to the online products and services now grabbing the attention of our youngsters? No doubt there will be many. For example, the anticipated explosion of virtual reality is likely to immerse them more in a digital world far removed from broadcast TV programmes targeted at families huddled together in a lounge.

What are the consequences for broadcasters and their thousands of employees faced with such substitute competition and switching behaviour? As the BBC seeks to defend the licence fee more members of the public – particularly teenagers and young adults – are non-users of its services, creating greater negotiating hurdles with Government. For manufacturers dependent on large volumes of ever-more technology-laden TVs and set-top boxes, switching to viewing by laptop, tablet or smartphone – or not viewing at all – poses

As a parent in a household jammed to the rafters with youngsters, these changing behaviours are significant, challenging and much closer to home. Have I really updated my understanding of their behaviours? Do I comprehend the implications? Indeed, what are they? And is it really only three hours a day they spend online?!

Lyndon is Professor of Strategic Marketing and Director of the Centre for Business in Society. Lyndon spent over twenty years at Warwick Business School and led the MBA programme there, before becoming Professor of Strategic Marketing at Oxford Brookes and Research Lead, co-creating the new business plan and research strategy for the Faculty of Business. Until his recent move to Coventry, Lyndon was Professor of Strategic Marketing at Henley Business School (University of Reading) and Deputy Head of School. Lyndon is an acknowledged expert in strategy creation, planning processes and implementation management, guiding practitioners with their execution and mentoring CEOs/leadership teams. Visit Lyndon’s online profile

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RESEARCH TOOLKIT Early Career Researchers: tips and suggestions By Dr Carlos Ferreira

ongratulations, you are starting your academic career! It is an exciting time, full of promise and not a little trepidation. So, what to do? And what not to do? Here is a (far from comprehensive) list of tips and suggestions. Write. No, really, I am not being flippant. Please write. The vast majority of important academic outputs are dependent on the written word: academic articles, reports and funding bids all depend on your ability to put your thoughts in writing. Individual experiences may vary, of course, but it is likely that, as a researcher, a great proportion of your time is spent in front of a screen, writing. Or trying to. Telling somebody to ‘just write’ is easier said than done, and few things are as terrifying as a blank page. So, just write. Write whatever comes to mind about the topic, and worry about editing it later. Raymond Chandler used to describe his writing method as ‘Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon.’ – and he published lots! The internet is your friend. Ah, the Internet. Cat videos, twitterstorms, Facebook posts, twitterstorms and sports results. Browse anywhere near your favourite time drain/black hole, and watch in awe as another day goes by while nothing gets done. And did I mention twitterstorms? You should probably avoid

the Internet. Maybe you should write instead, right? Well, not exactly. For all its time-wasting potential, the internet remains the best machine for inspiration and serendipity that humanity has ever created. Stuck for a topic to research? Read the news, apply critical thinking, and you’re off. Need to map out who are the movers and shakers in your area of research? Social networking sites can help. Suffering from writers’ block? There is often good advice and a kind word at hand from fellow academics. So go on the Internet, by all means. But you might want to avoid those twitterstorms, just in case. Take opportunities. At their simplest, universities are a collection of people. Like cafés, for example, they are opportunities for people to come together and do things. It is incredible to see what happens when you let a group of people loose and tell them to explore their ideas. So, take the opportunities to chat with your colleagues, explore common interests, or argue different points of view. That’s what promoting an academic culture means, after all. And how can you do this? I suggest you keep an eye out for all the activities the University tries so very hard to promote: training sessions, research seminars, reading groups – they are all opportunities to develop as an academic, as a

member of the academic community, and as a person. You should also stray away from your own interests every now and then: take some training in a method you have never heard about. Or go to a seminar whose abstract you didn’t understand even after a third read. Academic activities are a type of social networking. Minus the twitterstorms. Say no. This, I think, is probably one of the most difficult things academics must learn to do. Most of us are relatively good at taking opportunities, but comparatively bad at acknowledging when we should back off from them. This may happen for a number of reasons: over-reliance on metrics to infer your performance; varied interests; wish to work with different people; or even good old poor time management. In either case, fail to say no and you’ll quickly find yourself overworked, stressed, and losing the capacity to focus and deliver. And that’s where many problems start. So, what can you do? First, understand that it is not a problem to say ‘no’ when somebody wants something from you but you are unsure you can deliver. The world won’t come to an end, and the work will still get done. Clearly explain that you are afraid you can’t deliver, due to other commitments; it’s better to say no at the beginning, than to say yes and then let colleagues down. And there will be other opportunities – there is always more work to be done. If those four points strike you as potentially contradictory, you are entirely correct. They are contradictory. But that is the nature of academic life: you need to manage conflicting demands all the time. So do your best, use good judgement – and enjoy yourself!

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OUR RESEARCH STUDENTS

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If you would like to present or find out how you can get involved get in touch with us: cbisproservices.fbl@coventry.ac.uk

CBiS Research Students host our 3rd Internal Research Seminar: ‘Inclusive Economies’ Dr Carlos Ferreira Dr Lindsey Appleyard

ecember’s Internal CBiS research seminar focused on two approaches to issues around social investment and responsible lending. Dr Carlos Ferreira outlined the mechanisms of social investment markets, exploring the politics and processes of market creation and the complexities of including noneconomic objectives alongside creating investor profits. From

the perspective of responsible lending, Dr Lindsay Appleyard presented recent research around the recent growth of payday lending and its regulation and regularisation; suggesting that the borrower perspective provides a more nuanced and evidenced-informed picture of the use of these loans.

Research Reading Group

Research Events Bulletin for details of the next reading group event.

Our last reading group took place on Thursday 28th January and looked at Ine Van Hoyweghen’s “On the politics of calculative devices”.

Jonathan Gunson

BiS’S Research Reading Group is open to all postgraduate researchers and staff in the Faculty of Business and Law at Coventry University. These group-led sessions are an excellent way to discuss and debate key texts, within a research environment. It’s also a great way to network with other researchers in the faculty and stay up to date on current issues in the wider research environment.

Keep a look out for the Faculty’s Weekly

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for the reading group, please get in touch. All interested postgraduate researchers and staff are encouraged to attend. Discussion is lively, and debate is encouraged. A different text will be looked at during each new session, so there is no prior-knowledge required and all are welcome.

gunsonj@uni.coventry.ac.uk

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Internal Research Seminar: CSR and SMEs/ Ecolabels consumer co ethical consumption

r Solon Magrizos and Dr Anvita Kumar presented their research findings on issues around CSR for SMEs and Ecolabels. Following on from these presentations delegates were involved in an engaging discussion. Solon presented his ongoing resaerch entitled: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are intrinsically different from large firms in their approach to CSR implementation. Nevertheless, and despite growing recognition of SME importance for the economy, studies on SME CSR remain rare. This research adds to the academic search for a link between CSR and firm financial performance by focusing on SMEs and examining the moderating role of stakeholder salience. The CSR actions of 140 SMEs towards five stakeholders and their link to firm financial performance are

examined. Findings suggest that SME CSR is related to SME financial performance and that this relationship is positively moderated by the salience of the stakeholders, which benefit from each CSR action. A second study was executed one year later to the same SMEs to address the issue of causality in this relationship. Academic and managerial implications are examined and directions for future research are also discussed. Dr Anvita Kumar presented also presented her ongoing research that is centered around ‘The emotional power of eco-labels: an explanatory study of role of emotions and green consumption’. Emotions are an integral part of a person’s internal state and, thus, have profound influences on the choices one makes; yet, our understanding of how emotions interact with decision-making especially when it comes to making ethical consumption choices is limited. Despite the rising interest to

understand the impact eco-labels have on consumer perceptions and buying behaviours, there is limited literature analysing the role of emotions evoked by eco-labels and their impact on green consumption. Extant literature mainly focuses on how negative emotions in advertising (i.e. guilt appeals) affect ethical consumption. This study enquired what role emotions, evoked by ecolabels, play in encouraging or discouraging ethical consumption. The results indicate that the valence of emotions is important and varies across ecolabels (such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance) as well as consumers, hence, highlighting affect regulation as an important factor in encouraging green purchase.

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onfusion and Profiles Dr Anvita Kumar’s research interests are marketing communication strategies, brand placement strategies, emotions and consumer behaviour. She acts as consultant for internet-based marketing strategies for companies in India and UK.

Dr Solon Magrizos is a Research Assistant in the Centre for Business in Society. His main research interests surround issues related to the broader topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Specifically he is interested in the role and activities of Small and Medium Enterprises in their CSR efforts as well as broader issues around CSR implementation and its consequences in the firms’ business benefits.

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PhD Successes Selwyn Seymour Jonathan Kershaw

ongratulations should be extended to two CBiS PhD students who have secured the award of their Doctorates. First, in December 2015 Jonathan Kershaw (supervised by Nigel Berkeley, David Jarvis and Jason Begley) was awarded his PhD for a programme of research titled: ‘How do we go from here? The consumption of the car and the pursuit of a low carbon automobility’. Jonathan sums up his work as appropriating postmodernism, affect and non-representational theory to explore quotidian socio-cultural automotive mores and experiences, assessing how these may impact upon a potential uptake of low carbon vehicles, in addition to ascertaining how low carbon vehicle policy may be better implemented.

Second, in January 2016, Selwyn Seymour (supervised by David Jarvis, Nigel Berkeley and Clive Winters) was awarded his PhD for research titled: ‘Assessing the Role of UK Science Parks in Foreign TMT Firm Site-Selection: Exploratory firm-level evidence from the M4 Corridor, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire’. Selwyn’s exploratory research makes several new contributions to science park research, including a conceptual framework that captures the nexus of issues around Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) firms’ site selection and UK science parks; a clear typology of TMT firms based on a priori knowledge of Science Parks; and a differentiated and improved understanding and explanation of the settlement pattern of foreign TMT firms in the study areas.

Speaking of his successful PhD journey, Selwyn stated: “Before embarking on a PhD at Coventry, I was aware of the importance and value of effective supervision, so the decision was made once the process was confirmed. Once I was assured of good supervision (you get a feel for these things), my journey was greatly facilitated and though punctuated with periods of stress and sometimes frustration, my success in the end was attributable to two levels of support: my supervisory team, without whom my journey would certainly not have been completed in a timely manner and probably not have been completed successfully; and my family, in particular my wife. As I reflect on my journey, I cannot thank my supervisory team enough, in particular, Dr. David Jarvis (Director of Studies) with Professor Nigel Berkeley and Dr. Clive Winters (Supervisors), to whom I will remain eternally grateful. My supervisory team proved to have specific subject knowledge, be research methodology-ready and most importantly, were responsive to my regular requests for help. Finally, my journey could not have been possible without the support of my wife, who shared my peaks and troughs, but in the end, has been so heartened by my experience, she has decided to undertake a PhD! I strongly recommend a CBiS PhD for three main reasons: 1. CBiS has excellent research experts in multiple disciplines across Business and Management, particularly core research areas that make a real impact, such as local and regional economic development. 2. You will have access to comprehensive supervisory support, so make best use of it, in particular, the annual PRP opportunities to have your progress critiqued by others who are not in your supervisory team. 3. Finally, make sure you are mentally ready for a journey to which you can dedicate yourself because there will be ups and downs along the way, but in the end, it is up to you to deliver. “

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Study with Us Doctoral Research in the Centre for Business and Society

he Centre for Business in Society (CBiS) is the research hub for specialist research staff and funded projects in the Faculty of Business and Law at Coventry University. It is also home to half of the Faculty’s PhD community.

CBiS’s research focuses on various areas of modern life which impact on society and on communities, individuals and organisations. Our main research clusters examine sustainability within the supply chain and in terms of ethical consumption; economic development, regionalization, local economies and regeneration; aspects of

finance from FDI, to service delivery in banking to personal debt management; business history and sector reviews; cyber resilience and big data management; corporate strategy and strategy execution; third sector development, communities and engagement; societal well-being, behavioural change interventions and social marketing. If your research interests align to ours, then we would be interested in receiving a research proposal from you. It needs to be focused rather than overly generalized. For further information please visit us online or contact andrew.perchard@coventry.ac.uk.

Since it’s refurbishment in 2013, the Jaguar Building is the focus of the Faculty of Business & Law’s research activity. The Centre for Business in Society is conviniently located in the heart of this newer space. The mix of seminar rooms, break-out areas, quiet spots and recreational facilities provide a purpose built environment for the Centre’s thriving and growing research community.

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The University does not warrant or make any representation regarding the reliability or accuracy of the information and materials contained herein. Whilst Coventry University has taken reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of the information in this document at the time of publishing, the precise content is subject to change. In no events will the University be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from the reliance or use of such information and/or materials.

If you would like to get in touch regarding any of the articles in this newsletter please contact: Mandy Bisla Information & Communications Officer mandy.bisla@coventry.ac.uk