University of St Andrews

Creative and Cultural Industries

The (CCI) thematic group researches management topics within cultural and creative settings. We take an inclusive approach to the organisations we research with and current projects are in advertising, architecture, art, craft, film, music, publishing, theatre and TV. Our interests include the functioning of labour markets in terms of skills acquisition, career entry and career transitions; career development, labour market exit and the experience of working lives in the creative industries; festival and event organisation; the role of networking, social media and the identification of taste, value and legitimacy; organising practices and their role in creative outcomes; knowledge, knowing and communities of practice in creative work and organising; the role of intellectual, social and cultural capital in the economy for symbolic goods and strategic change.

Members of the CCI are also members of the Institute for Capitalising on Creativity (ICC) which is a collaborative research institute with four Scottish partners. The ICC is led by Professor Barbara Townley at St Andrews and currently has one of the most significant ESRC projects in creative industries in the UK.

The group would be happy to hear from students who are interested in pursuing a PhD who have an interest/experience in one of the following: music, craft, art, design, film and media, advertising. We adopt constructionist or critical realist approaches and generally conduct qualitative research. We support PhD topics in the range listed in the first paragraph above and if you are interested in applying for a place we would welcome an informal contact. This is best achieved by email to Nic Beech (pnhb@st-andrews.ac.uk) and it would help if you could give an indication of the type of organisation and topic in which you are interested.

The CCI group includes staff members: Bill Barlow, Nic Beech, Shiona Chillas, Gail Greig, Mindy Grewar, Charles Lovatt, Charlotte Gilmore, Dimitrinka Stoyanova and Barbara Townley.

Please see Thematic Groups: Cultural and Creative Industries for recent events and publications.

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Ethics, Sustainability and Accountability

Ethics, Sustainability and Accountability is an interdisciplinary group at the School of Management committed to the research and teaching of ethical and environmental issues in accounting, finance and management.

The group's research covers practical and theoretical issues around the financing and management of sustainable development, the means by which corporations can be held accountable for their social and environmental consequences and the governance mechanisms this entails, the democratic role of voluntary sector organisations, and the ethical reasoning used in justifying a corporation's social responsibilities. This research agenda covers specific areas of expertise in social and environmental accounting, CSR in large companies, NGOs and the third sector, carbon markets, marketing ethics, the translation of sustainable development principles into practice, and philosophical questions posed by the normative vocabulary of business ethics.

This research informs the teaching of the group at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Our teaching adheres to the Principles for Responsible Education (PRiME) of which the School of Management is a signatory. An MLitt in Corporate Social Responsibility is planned for 2011 and we also supervise a number of research students in this field. The group also works closely with the St Andrews Sustainability Institute within the university. Many of the groups activities are organised through the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research which is based in the School and includes the Social and Environmental Accountability Journal. The membership of the group comprises Jan Bebbington, John Desmond, Rob Gray, Sue Gray, Andreas Hoepner and Sam Mansell.

Please see Thematic Groups: Ethics, Sustainability and Accountability for recent events.

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Financial Institutions and Markets

The Financial Institutions and Markets Group has developed its research around two themes: first, competition, risk and performance of financial institutions (especially banks, credit unions and microfinance institutions) following the de-regulation of the financial services industry and subsequent global financial crisis; second, the information and efficiency of financial markets (captured in research carried out on volatility forecasting, momentum, analyst forecasts, carbon markets investment performance evaluation and responsible and Islamic investments). At the responsible investment and carbon markets end of the efficiency of financial markets research theme, the group collaborates with the Ethics, Sustainability and Accountability group of the School. Members of the group have advised a number of policy institutions including the Scottish Government (on credit unions) and the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment.

The membership of the group comprises: Jimmy Chen, Dimitris Chronopoulos, Maya Clayton, Andreas Hoepner, Manouche Tavakoli and John Wilson. Andrea Liesen (Queen's University of Belfast) is a recent visiting researcher with the group. A number of PhD candidates are members of this group,  including: Hampus Adamsson, Christoph Biehl, Dimos Kambouroudis, Ying-Hsuan Lee, Jianghong Liu, Fiona McMillan, Michael Rezec, Weiou Wu and Pei-Shan Yu.

Please see Thematic Groups: Financial Institutions and Markets for recent events.

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Knowledge and Practice

The Knowledge and Practice Group at the School of Management, University of St Andrews, is an interdisciplinary research grouping that focuses on the relationship between knowledge and practice in various areas of work, including technical, creative, professional and policy settings.

Within our group, researchers working in diverse areas are linked by common interests in understanding knowledge and practice, informed by a range of theoretical approaches to knowledge in organisational settings. We avoid hierarchical orderings of theory and practice, instrumental approaches to decision making, and the traditional dichotomy between rigour and relevance. Instead, we think knowledge plays a constitutive role in society and society in knowledge. We therefore seek to examine the interrelationship between knowledge and practice in a variety of empirical and theoretical ways.

Our research interests span micro- and macro-level analyses of knowledge and its mobilisation. We are currently conducting work that looks at the role of technical devices in the creation and organisation of social structures; the development of professional expertise and attendant power relations; the role of knowledge in creative settings; and the use of research-informed knowledge in political and policy arenas. Particular areas of focus include public policy and the sustainability agenda, education, the third sector, healthcare, the music industry, careers and the professions. Members of the group also engage actively with practitioners, policy makers and the media. Membership of the group comprises: Jan Bebbington, Nic Beech, Nick Butler, Shiona Chillas, Huw Davies, John Desmond, Martin Dowling, Rob Gray, Gail Greig and Philip Roscoe.

Please see Seminars for details of a research seminar planned by the group in September 2011.

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Organisations and Society

Organisations and Society is an interdisciplinary research group at the School of Management, and is concerned with the relation between organisations and society in the broadest possible sense.

The group is concerned with the role of organisations in shaping society and the role of society in shaping organisations. We examine this relation from a range of theoretical perspectives (mainstream and critical) and in a variety of empirical locations (from the micro-level of behaviour to the macro-level of institutions). We interrogate taken-for-granted ideas about organisation and challenge orthodoxies of managerial practice. At the heart of our group is a concern with the social and cultural contexts of organising, and with the ethical and political consequences of organisations.

Our research engages with a wide range of issues: the role of organisations in the stimulation of social change; the effects of management knowledge and discourse on organisational practice; the formation of organisational fields and professional jurisdictions (accounting, engineering, management consulting); management and labour history; the work of professionals in different occupations (architecture, education, healthcare); the social impact of marketing and consumption; business ethics and the philosophy of organisation; and the relationship between government policy and organisations in the public, private and third sector. These research foci also translate into a number of teaching areas, including organisation studies, strategic management, international business, and marketing. The membership of the group comprises: Bill Barlow, Julie Brooks, Eleanor Burt, Nick Butler, Martin Dowling, Rob Gray, Gail Greig, Sam Mansell, Diane McGoldrick, Frank Mueller, Ryan Parks and Tim Scott.

Please see Seminars for details of a research seminar planned by the group in November 2011.