Research Academics as Change Makers - Opportunities and Barriers
Reports on a Middlesex panel discussion on creating external research impact
On 25 June 2021, the Business Ethics, CSR and Governance Research Cluster, based at Middlesex University Business School, organised a panel discussion event that focused on the opportunities and barriers of academics making a real difference with their research for individuals, organisations and wider society.
Chaired by Dr Siân Stephens, the panel featured four presentations from Middlesex University researchers who are engaged in research designed to make a real life impact.
Dr Andrea Werner, Associate Professor (Business Ethics), reflected on her research on the voluntary Living Wage, and her journey of creating a REF impact case study based on her research.
Dr Sepideh Parsa, Associate Professor (Accounting), presented her ongoing work on labour rights reporting and what needs to be done to enable true accountability and social justice in global value chains.
Richard Scarlett, Procurement Development Manager at John Lewis Partnership and DProf candidate at Middlesex University, shared insights from his research that seeks to achieve behavioural change towards sustainability in procurement professionals.
Dr Tim Freeman, Associate Professor (Leadership) presented his joint work with Dr Lilian Miles (Westminster University), Associate Professor (Sustainability and Social Enterprise), which focuses on the Sexual and Reproductive Health of women migrant workers, highlighting in particular the need to create good and long-lasting relationships with NGOs, advocates and other stakeholders, and to take advantage of opportunities to create impact as they arise (‘emergent strategy’)
The four panel presentations were followed by reflections from Prof em. Clive Morton, who has held a range of board level roles at large UK and international business organisations, before the floor was opened up to questions and comments from the seminar participants.
The event drew an audience of academics and PhD students from a range of universities, in the UK and further afield, as well as from non-governmental organisations. Panellists’ slides can be found here [only accessible for Middlesex academics].
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Copyright © 2023 Andrea Werner. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Fri 5 May 2023 08:00
Dr Andrea Werner is Associate Professor at Middlesex University Business School specialising in Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. Her research focuses primarily on ethics in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on which she has published widely in leading business ethics journals. A specific research interest of hers is the Living Wage and its implementation in SMEs and other contexts. In 2016, she won a grant from the Barrow Cadbury Trust to lead pioneering research on the strategies and practices of Living Wage accredited SMEs in the UK, and her research has been used as an invaluable campaign tool by a range of NGOs both in the UK and abroad. Dr Werner also has an interest in sustainable fashion, which she has explored in an AHRC funded project investigating sustainable practices in small fashion design enterprises.
