Business and Management Studies (PhD)

Employees increasingly take wage-paying jobs while pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities (i.e., hybrid entrepreneurship). Hybrid entrepreneurs can contribute to wage-paying employers by sharing knowledge gained in the entrepreneurial endeavour. However, hybrid entrepreneurship presents challenges for wage-paying employers to reconfigure their human resource management (HRM) practices and incentive designs to create new forms of person-organisational fit, which can lead to desirable outcomes such as knowledge sharing and employee well-being. This research aims to explore how wage-paying employers design HRM practices in response to hybrid entrepreneurship with employee motivation and abilities in mind, and how such practices affect employees’ person- organisation fit and subsequent behaviours (e.g., benefit sharing & turnover).

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

http://www.hud.ac.uk/researchdegrees/howtoapply/

• Mr Zhuang Ma

A Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) is a vehicle that can understand its surroundings, move, navigate and behave responsibly without human input, and at the same time has connectivity functions enabling it to be proactive, cooperative, well- informed and coordinated (Nikitas et al., 2021a). CAVs, despite a wealth of potential benefits spanning from increased accessibility levels and productivity improvements to congestion, emission and noise reduction (Liu et al., 2020) threaten to kill millions of driving-based jobs (Nikitas et al., 2021b). This could generate serious labour market disruptions and new unprecedented layers of employment-related social exclusion. The proposed study will pro-actively explore expert and public attitudes referring to CAVs and their impact on future employment to inform equitable policy planning and propose skill enhancement programmes that will safeguard human employment.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

http://www.hud.ac.uk/researchdegrees/howtoapply/

• Dr Elena Alyavina
• Dr Alexandros Nikitas
• Professor Abhijit Sharma

This PhD project will be of interest to applicants with a background in consumer research and marketing, and an interest in the natural environment, sustainable living, and responsible consumption. The research is premised on the assumption that if we are to preserve the planet for future generations it is imperative that contemporary consumer culture shifts radically to engender a more compassionate relationship with the natural world.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

http://www.hud.ac.uk/researchdegrees/howtoapply/

• Dr Fiona Cheetham

A 'digital human', a highly realistic digital entity, resembles humans in look and behaviour and can converse with humans (Silva & Bonetti, 2021). Digital humans can present information, help humans learn skills, and support people with disabilities (Alsokkar et al., 2023). Research suggests that performing a task with digital humans improves humans' attention and memory abilities (Fabio et al., 2021). While computer manipulation allows rendering human-like gaze for digital humans to communicate warmth (Cuello Mejía et al., 2023), competence is influenced by the anthropomorphism of a digital human (Pizzi et al., 2023). Further, even if digital humans have human-like appearances and voices (Tastemirova et al., 2022) and are high in behavioural realism (Guadagno et al., 2007), humans still only trust digital humans when guidance is for a predictable outcome (Lin et al., 2023). Moreover, in several cultures and religions, humans seek emotional support, connection and guidance from the same sex (Liu & Yao, 2023). The existing literature, therefore, builds on the idea that humans suspend their disbelief that digital humans are inherently false (Golf-Papez et al., 2022). The research question that guides this study is: How do humans perceive receiving emotional support, connection and guidance from digital humans?

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Araz Zirar

Does travel by non-Western immigrants aid or hinder social integration into the host communities, such as the UK? Assimilation by migrants into host communities is a multi-faceted process that can be accelerated or inhibited by several factors (McKercher & Yankholmes, 2018). One of those factors is pleasure travel. How quickly, how fully and the process of travel learning undertaken by migrants may be a key indicator of successful social-cultural assimilation into a new home community.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Jialin (snow) Wu

Increasing numbers of people fleeing war, persecution or economic crisis pose a grand challenge to the British government and local communities. In response, a number national and local level policies were initiated to foster refugees’ long-term integration into society and the labour market in particular, especially when the number of arrivals peaked since 2015 (McCollum & Findlay, 2015). For instance, The Refugee Employability Programme (REP) is a Home Office initiative for the specific needs of refugees. Similarly, the Refugee Employment Network (REN) brings together local authorities and business to ensure refugees in UK have access to paid work. However, a report reveals that refugees in the UK have a disproportionately low employment rate of 51%, compared with economic migrates who have an employment rate of 88%. Such gap narrows over time but remains present even after more than 25 years of residence in the country (Kone et al., 2019). An vital limitation seems to be various actors taking initiatives at a local, regional and national level without any kind of coherent strategy or actual exchange of information (Fernández-Reino & Brindle, 2024).

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Mr Qiu Wang

The decision-making process for corporate sustainability in Multinational Corporations (MNC) are driven by strategic priorities identified at either the global and/or regional levels. However, the implementation of these globally and/or regionally designed corporate sustainability strategies takes place at the national/country-level across different subsidiaries of the (MNC). In such instances there could be dichotomous differences between local stakeholder issues and those which are being addressed through the MNCs sustainability strategy, specifically in relation to social sustainability. As such, questions arise as to how subsidiary managers could utilise their managerial agency to influence the local-level implementation of corporate sustainability strategies.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

http://www.hud.ac.uk/researchdegrees/howtoapply/

• Dr Eshani Beddewela

Public transport (PT) is the backbone of any local, regional, national and international transport system (Nikitas et al., 2015) and the cleanest form of mass mobility in sustainability terms (Nikitas et al., 2021). It is also the main mode of travel for vulnerable social groups like low-income, disabled, elderly, and people without cars such as students (Dadashzadeh et al., 2021, 2022, 2023). Millions of road users cannot travel to address their daily activities when PT services are disrupted by natural disasters such as heavy rain/snow, flood, earthquakes, OR human-made crises such as pandemics, wars, shortage of staff due to strikes and system malfunctions. This is very frequent lately and has evolved to a massive problem for the UK economy. There is still limited understanding of the challenges and needs for both supply (PT service providers) and demand (PT users). This project aims to address this gap by determining the factors that underpin the provision and uptake of PT services during disruptions and suggesting evidence- based solutions to make PT more resilient.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

http://www.hud.ac.uk/researchdegrees/howtoapply/

• Dr Nima Dadashzadeh
• Dr Alexandros Nikitas

The climate emergency together with increasing governmental and stakeholder pressures, have propelled business corporations, specifically those operating in high-polluting industries, to adopt transformational changes within their business models. A key mechanism which facilitates such change is, the adoption of innovations. However, innovating for sustainability, can create conflicts in relation to the achievement of economic, environmental and social objectives of the business. In such instances, businesses need to resolve these ‘paradoxes’, in order to implement sustainable business transformations.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Eshani Beddewela

Adoption of emerging technologies has contributed considerably to microbusinesses’ (MBs) ability to effectively overcome challenges, collaborate and interact with their business customers, and improve firm performance. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a system's ability to interpret and learn from data mimicking human intelligence and it is part of a new generation of technologies that introduce novel approaches in the business context. In a survey of executives, Ransbotham et al., (2019) found that 90% of respondents agree that AI presents an opportunity for their organisation and Nafizah et al., (2024) has also argued that adoption of AI and machine learning by microbusinesses can lead to increased market share and higher revenues. Given the importance placed on MBs for economic growth in the United Kingdom, it is imperative to identify drivers and outcomes of adoption of new technological advancements so that these organisations succeed and remain competitive. However, there is currently a gap in the literature exploring this in the context of B2B MBs acceptance of AI practices. Therefore, the questions this research aims to answer are: RQ1: What are the main antecedents and consequences of acceptance of AI practices by B2B MBs in the UK? RQ2: How could AI practices help B2B MBs improve their business performance?

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Tribi Budhathoki

Environmental policies play a crucial role in enhancing economic welfare and sustainable development. Understanding the effectiveness of such policies is vital for addressing global environmental challenges such as climate change and resource depletion. There are often trade-offs between environmental policies and macroeconomic objectives. This research aims to examine the impacts of environmental policies within the transport sector, using microsimulation analysis for analysing welfare effects. Specifically, the study will explore how environmental policies targeted at the transportation sector affect sectoral and economic growth, income distribution, household welfare, poverty and inequality. By identifying effective policy instruments, this research aims to contribute valuable insights for informed decision-making. The study can be conducted in either a developed or developing country and can also be implemented at the regional level using a regional social accounting matrix.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

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Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Eric Njoya
• Professor Abhijit Sharma

Aim: To research the impact of diversity of senior leadership, and their access to finance, upon productivity, focusing on SMEs across the private, public and third sector.

The Project comprises three strands: 1. Measuring Productivity 2. The Impact of Diversity of SME Leadership on Productivity 3. The Impact of Diversity on Organisational Plasticity

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Ruth Brooks

The research will look at the impact of recent digital technologies on firms’ internationalization strategies. Data will be collected through a questionnaire survey. The proposed relationships will be tested using regression analysis/structural equation modelling.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

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Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Nan Zheng

Office for National Statistics (2021) commented that the number of job vacancies in hospitality was at a record high, with three in ten hospitality businesses experiencing recruitment difficulties. According to the Financial Times (2022), hospitality businesses in the UK have lost 2 million workers since the end of 2019. Hospitality businesses in the UK have experienced recruitment difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, demographic changes to the UK population and the poor image of hospitality work amongst many people (Jenkins, 2023). One possible solution to staffing problems in the UK hospitality industry is the recruitment of older workers. The research question for this project is: “To what extent can the recruitment of older workers in the UK hospitality industry help alleviate staff shortages?”.

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Dr Andrew Jenkins

The ideas of transitional entrepreneurship seminally proposed by Pidduck and Clark (2021) suggest the potential of entrepreneurship to aid marginalized persons/groups to transition from a state of marginalization, probably characterized as a state of penurity to something more sufficient. We would be interested in receiving proposals that consider intersectional samples so that present the potential develop a theory of transitional entrepreneurship that transcends specific groups of marginalized peoples. The supervisory team would also encourage proposals that seek to uncover marginalized narratives in the qualitative accounts of marginalised groups and individuals in the emerging tradition of entrepreneurial journeys (Garud et al., 2014; Garud & Giuliani, 2013). The theoretical positioning may include concepts such as liminal entrepreneurship (Prashantham & Floyd, 2019) bricolage (Tasavori et al., 2018) nascent necessity entrepreneurship (Garcia-Lorenzo et al., 2018) institutional voids (Webb et al., 2020) and potential broader concepts like open strategy (Dobusch et al., 2019; Dobusch & Kapeller, 2018) which would allow for the potential for strategizing in transition to be considered as inclusion, transparency and closure (boundary decisions).

Please see our Scholarships page (link provided below), to find out about funding or studentship options available

https://research.hud.ac.uk/research-degrees/researchscholarships/

Deadlines for applications can be found at the link below:

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• Professor John Nicholson
• Dr Rabake Nana