Business research opportunities

Business research at the University of Wolverhampton Business School is led by the Management Research Centre and is focussed around three established areas: HRM and Industrial Relations; Enterprise and Small Business Management; and Corporate Governance and Ethics.

A newly emerging area of research is International Business, with specific research foci on inequalities in the global economy (led by Professor Haynes) and foreign direct investment in the UK (Dr Cook).

HRM and Industrial Relations

Led by Professor Roger Seifert, research into HRM and Industrial Relations focuses on employee relations in the UK’s public sector, comparative industrial relations, pay and pay determination and human resource development.

Current areas of research interest include:

• The impact of government cuts on the police, fire and ambulance services;
• Union responses to public sector reform; 
• Changes in labour management and labour process;
• Efficiency drives in the civil service;
• Race discrimination in local government;
• Comparative developments in UK and Chinese hospitals;
• The impact of organisational change;
• Labour flexibility and team-working;
• Mid-life career change,
• Effectiveness of mentoring relationships.

Enterprise and Small Business Management

Specialising in research on family business, entrepreneurial learning and knowledge transfer and rural entrepreneurship, our Enterprise and Small Business Management research acknowledges the importance of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as agents of innovation, wealth-creation and employment. It is led by Drs Yong Wang, Ian McKeown and Graham Tate.

Current research interests include:

• Small Business;
• Family Business;
• Entrepreneurship;
• Entrepreneurial Learning;
• Marketing for Small Business;
• Small Business Strategy;
• International Cultural Issues;
• Change Management and Enterprise Education;
• Rural Entrepreneurship and Green Enterprise.

Corporate Governance and Ethics

Research into Corporate Governance and Ethics is led by Dr SIlke Machold and centres on promoting responsible business practices that are of value to organisations and their stakeholders.

Current research projects include:

• Board roles and performance;
• Consequences of board diversity;
• Leadership in boards;
• Personality traits of directors and board effectiveness;
• Boards and dynamic capabilities;
• Comparative corporate governance;
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and performance;
• Ethical decision-making in organisations;
• Environmental and social reporting.