Biography
Kevin Orr is Professor of Leadership and Governance. He is a Senior Fellow in the Institute for European Studies, University of California, Berkeley . Orr is a Fulbright Scholar and a recipient of the Louis Brownlow Prize from the American Society for Public Administration for work on academic-practitioner collaborative research. His scholarship engages with theories at the intersections of organisational studies, public administration and politics. It addresses aspects of leading, managing and organising, most often in political settings.
Kevin's work is connected with international research leadership roles. He is past chair of the Organizational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities research community, and continues to serve on its Executive Board. He is interested in wider intellectual engagement and has carried out research for the International City Managers Association (USA), the British Council, the Scottish Parliament, and a range of public bodies in the UK. He is an experienced university leader, most recently serving as Co-Head of the School of Management at the University of St Andrews.
Teaching
- MN1001 Organisations and Society
- MN3102 Organisation Studies
- MN5002 Contemporary Conceptual Issues in Management
Research areas
Kevin's interpretive research on local governance appears in journals such as Public Administration Review, Organization Studies, Public Administration,British Journal of Politics and International Relations, and Policy and Politics. His work on the politics of academic-practitioner research coproduction can be read in Public Administration Review and Management Learning. He is co-editor of Knowledge and Practice in Business and Organisations, Routledge (2016). His recent ethnographic writing explores organisational ghosts – examining how inheritances of the past haunt the relations and struggles of the present.
PhD supervision
- Janis Petzinger
Selected publications
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Good governance during COVID-19: learning from the experience of Scottish Local Authorities
Orr, K. & Barr, D., 17 May 2022, 41 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Editorial A new research agenda for decentering public leadership
Ayres, S., Bevir, M. & Orr, K., 14 Jul 2021, In: International Journal of Public Leadership. 17, 3, p. 209-221 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
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Open access
Imagine there’s no heaven: imaginaries of local government austerity
Orr, K. & Bennett, M., 20 Oct 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Organization. First Online, 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Strategizing for grand challenges: economic development and governance traditions in Malaysian local government
Hughes, J., Orr, K. & Yusoff, M., 19 Oct 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: International Review of Administrative Sciences. OnlineFirst, 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The Scottish Parliament: how the Parliament building shapes the workings of the institution
Orr, K. & Siebert, S., 15 Dec 2021, Edinburgh: Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). 22 p. (SPICe Briefing, Scottish Parliament)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Open access
What lies beneath? Spectrality as a focal phenomenon and a focal theory for strengthening engagement with philanthropic foundations
Jung, T. & Orr, K., Jul 2021, In: International Journal of Management Reviews. 23, 3, p. 312-329 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
‘Uncertainty is the only certainty’: how pragmatic sociology provides a useful theoretical framework for researching the third sector during COVID-19
Petzinger, J., Jung, T. & Orr, K., Mar 2021, In: Voluntary Sector Review. 12, 1, p. 137-142 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
What is business school research for? Academic and stakeholder perspectives, politics and relationality
Johnson, S. & Orr, K., 2020, In: Studies in Higher Education. 45, 3, p. 557-578 48 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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How do local government chief executives engage with policy dilemmas?
Orr, K. M. & Bennett, M., 1 Sep 2018, Narrative policy analysis: Cases in decentred policy. Rhodes, R. A. W. (ed.). PalgraveMacMillan, p. 197-219 23 p. (Understanding Governance).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Relational leadership, storytelling and narratives: practices of local government chief executives
Orr, K. & Bennett, M., Jul 2017, In: Public Administration Review. 77, 4, p. 515-527 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review