Author: Guest editor

By Dr Sarah Montano and Dr Inci Toral Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham whilst there is no doubt that retail is struggling to recover from the pandemic and faces an uncertain future due to the cost-of-living crisis, there will still be retailers that do well. The British Retail Consortium has recently announced that retail … Continue reading “How to save falling retail sales”

By Dr Andy Hodder Department of Management, Birmingham Business School All of this comes at a time when strike action has been in long-term decline, and union membership levels are at 23.1% in the UK. However, low levels of strike action clearly do not mean that conflict at work has disappeared. Industrial action appears to … Continue reading “Are we having a summer of discontent?”

By Professor Dan Herbert and Dr Sarah Montano Birmingham Business School “You want to go where everyone knows your name and they’re always glad you came!” – Cheers theme tune A recent report found that over the last decade the total number of pubs in England and Wales has dropped to below 40,000. This represents … Continue reading “Is the local lost? Pub closures and community”

Professor David Bailey  Department of Management, Birmingham Business School Particular attention needs to be paid to the development of skills in the region and the changing demands of an evolving sector (particularly with disruption linked to the shift to EVs, automation, digitalization and globalization far beyond the EU). What are the implications for Brexit for … Continue reading “Shocks, resilience and regional industry policy: Brexit and the automotive sector in two Midlands regions”

By Dr Holly Birkett and Dr Sarah Forbes Co-directors of the Equal Parenting Project Put simply, COVID-19 has created an opportunity to rethink work, to normalise flexible working and fathers caring, breaking down many of the barriers men and particularly fathers have faced in the past Over the past decade a key question in the … Continue reading “Has COVID-19 set gender equality back decades? Not in the workplace”

By Dr Giuditta Fontana (University of Birmingham), Dr Ilaria Masiero (University of Geneva), Genevieve Kotarska (Royal United Services Institute) Our findings challenge existing ideas that encourage integrationist approaches to post-conflict cultural policies. In our study, accommodationist reforms were significantly correlated with lower levels of post-agreement violence Tomorrow’s World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and … Continue reading “Cultural Reforms for Peace: The Crucial Role of Accommodating Diversity”

By Professor John Bryson Department of Strategy and International Business, University of Birmingham The current economic strategy is based on economic growth, but levelling-up involving system change must be driven by an emphasis on ‘responsible inclusive prosperity’. Levelling-up is one of the current political mantras focussing on reducing inequalities and encouraging the emergence of a … Continue reading “System change, levelling-up, and courageous policy objectives”

By Jiaming Li (PhD Management), Dr Edward Granter, Dr Andy Hodder University of Birmingham  Thus, content creators are autonomous and independent, yet fight against the surveillance and regulations of platforms. With working from home becoming the ‘new normal’, the Covid-19 pandemic led to increasing recognition of social media as a form of employment and entrepreneurship. … Continue reading “Getting on online”

By Professor Tony Dobbins, Professor of Work and Employment Relations President of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association All too often, the rules of the game of corporate governance, as currently configured, reward irresponsible business The decision by P&O Ferries to sack 800 workers without notice and replace them with low-cost agency crew has attracted … Continue reading “The ‘wicked problem’ behind P&O Ferries sackings”

By Professor John Bryson Department of Strategy and International Business, University of Birmingham The Chancellor must balance a long-term approach with short-term needs. This is all about acting with responsibility and developing solutions for immediate problems but framed within investments intended to support a better future. We are all living in extremely challenging times. The … Continue reading “A statement with a spring?”