Research and Innovation

In this episode of the “Just Transitions - a Global Exploration” podcast, Ursula Balderson and Aleksander Szpor – members of the project team – discuss the role of the European Union in Just Transition policymaking and action in Poland. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Ursula Balderson is a postdoctoral research associate on a project on Work, Labour and Climate Change. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist interested in how the transition to a greener economy can improve worker wellbeing and quality of life. 

Olek (Aleksander) Szpor is a Lead Consultant in Climate and Energy at Ecorys Research Consultancy Poland. 

Professor Annina Kaltenbrunner is joined by Dr Bianca Orsi and Dr Sophia Kuehnlenz to discuss Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and whether CBDCs alone are enough to change the hierarchical nature of the international monetary system. The team also talk about what effect CBDCs could have on the US dollar. 

Read the journal article. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: Annina Kaltenbrunner is Professor of Global Economics at Leeds University Business School. She is a pluralist Macro-Development Economist with an interest in financial and monetary dynamics in developing and emerging economies.

Dr Bianca Orsi is a lecturer in the Economics department at Leeds University Business School. Her main research interests are on monetary policy, monetary policy transmission mechanism, inflation, capital controls, interest rate, exchange rate, currency internationalization and currency hierarchy, and financial integration. 

Dr Sophia Kuehnlenz is a lecturer in Economics at the Manchester Metropolitan Business School.  Her research aims to establish an improved Minsky – inspired theory and an overhaul of methodology (mainstream and heterodox) with regard to modelling crisis episodes specifically and capitalist production economies more generally.   

How do we bridge the gap between textile workers and consumers? And how can we encourage responsible production and responsible consumption?

Dr Mark Sumner (University of Leeds), is joined by his colleagues, Dr Divya Singhal (Goa Institute of Management, India) and Dr Bethan Bide (University of Leeds), to discuss their latest project - “Cotton hidden voices: stories from the makers of your clothes” - and how this follows on from their past research looking at unravelling the trail of modern slavery in the fashion and textile industry, and how Covid-19 affected the management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains. 

Visit the project website for further information about the research discussed in this episode. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.  

“Cotton hidden voices: stories from the makers of your clothes” is a University of Leeds and Goa Institute of Management project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/W006936/1). 

About the speakers: Dr Mark Sumner is a lecturer in the School of Design, focussing on sustainability within the textile, clothing and fashion industry. His research interests cover a diverse range of subjects such as textile technology, innovation, sustainability and consumer behaviour.  

Dr Divya Singhal is a Professor at the Goa Institute of Management, India. Her research focuses on responsible management. 

Dr Bethan Bide is a Lecturer in Design and Cultural Theory at the University of Leeds. Her research centres around the cultural, social and business histories of fashion.  

Professor Marina Papanastassiou is joined by Professor Peter Buckley to discuss new challenges for multinationals in the fractured global economy, including political challenges, governance issues, and resilience in Global Value Chains. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.   

Visit the CIBUL website for further information about the research discussed in this episode. 

About the speakers: Marina Papanastassiou is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is a member of the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL). Marina’s research interests include the global innovation strategies in multinationals (MNEs) and their network of overseas subsidiaries and R&D laboratories; the decision-making process in MNEs and in particular the dynamics between HQs and subsidiaries; global value chains and the role of MNEs in SDGs such as food security; impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on growth and development; the internationalisation of start-ups, and the role of incubators in local systems of innovation. 

Peter Buckley OBE is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Founder/Director of CIBUL. His current research interests centre on the theory of the multinational firm; knowledge management in multinational firms; the international transfer of technology; the impact of foreign direct investment particularly in China; and outward direct investment from emerging countries: China and India. 

Dr Asiya Islam (Leeds University Business School) is joined by Nishi Khandelwal (Nirantar) to discuss their research project on gender inequalities in digital India, exploring digital literacy, access and use. Asiya and Nishi also talk about the work Nirantar does, as well as the intersection between location (rural and urban), caste and gender when it comes to digital literacy in India. 

Read the working paper.

Visit the project webpage.

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Asiya Islam is Lecturer in Work and Employment Relations. Her research interests are in gender, class, emerging forms of work, particularly service work, and feminist research methods. 

Nishi Khandelwal heads the Women’s Literacy, Education, and Empowerment work at Nirantar, where she plays a crucial role in visualizing and planning the women's education programme, and training project staff and teachers of partner organisations. She is interested in researching issues around digital literacy of women and young girls to further strengthen their literacy and digital literacy skills.   

Professor Jennifer Tomlinson speaks to Dr Jack Daly about his research that explores the role of men and masculinity in the gender pay gap, focusing on the legal and financial professions. They discuss how the gender pay gap can’t solely be closed by providing equal opportunities for women when careers remain structured in a way that disproportionately favours male behaviours and traits. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Dr Jack Daly is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Work and Employment Relations. His research focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion in traditionally male-dominated industries, with a specific interest in the role of men as resistance to and facilitators of inclusive working practices.  

Jennifer Tomlinson is Professor of Gender and Employment Relations at the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change. Her research focuses on gender and social inequalities in organisational, occupational and labour market contexts.  

Postgraduate researcher, Clare Matysova (University of Leeds), is interviewed by Emily Humphreys (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), as part of the Business School’s Research and Innovation podcast series for International Women’s Day 2023. In this episode, Emily and Clare discuss how the gender pay gap is linked with parental leave, the difference between inequalities and inequities within parental leave, and what practical solutions the government and employers should be considering to make parental leave more equitable. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Clare Matysova is a postgraduate researcher in the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change at the University of Leeds, focusing on gender equality and exploring the impact of the UK’s shared parental leave policy from the perspective of couples’ decision-making. Clare also currently works as a Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Partner at the University of Aberdeen. She has been working in EDI-related roles within HE for the past 15 years. Previously, she worked at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of East London and the University for the Creative Arts.   

Emily Humphreys is a part-time PhD student in social epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She also works part time in public health, with experience in policy development and interests in mental health, wellbeing and health inequalities. She is particularly interested in how local or national government policies can affect health outcomes. She joined LSHTM as a research student in September 2021. Her research is investigating how changes to maternity, paternity and parental leave policies in the UK might have affected mental health for parents. 

Professor Vera Trappmann and Dr Dennis Eversberg launch their new podcast series – “Just Transitions – a global exploration”. Throughout the series, the research team will be discussing the findings of their country-specific case studies. In this introductory episode, Professor Trappmann and Dr Eversberg explain what is meant by Just Transitions, how the team came about selecting the 12 countries, and how they’ll be researching debates and practices surrounding Just Transitions throughout the project. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in February 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. Her research engages with the comparison of labour relations across Europe, focussing on the dynamics of economic and organisational restructuring and its impact on working biographies, and organized labour.  Digitalisation, precarity and climate change are areas of study. 

Dr Dennis Eversberg is a Junior Research Group leader at the University of Vienna, Germany. His research interests include socio-ecological mentalities and modes of living and their role within social-ecological transformations and conflicts, particularly those surrounding the so-called ‘bioeconomy’, the sociology of social-ecological movements, degrowth, and trade unions.

Dr Alessandro Biraglia and Dr Bill Davvetas discuss their recent research, looking at the increased preference for independent brands, and how this can be affected depending on a country’s culture. They also discuss what larger organisations planning on acquiring independents need to know about how the acquisition can affect consumers’ perception of the brand. 

Read the paper: The “Indie” Premium: How Independent Firms Create Product Value across Cultures, International Marketing Review, https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-04-2021-0157 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in January 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers:  

Dr Alessandro Biraglia is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. His research interests include: consumer behaviour; consumer psychology; branding; entrepreneurship and business development; political marketing; and food marketing. Dr Vasileios (Bill) Davvetas is also an Associate Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. His areas of research include: international marketing; branding; and consumer behaviour. 

Dr James Brooks is joined by his colleagues, Professor Irena Grugulis and Dr Hugh Cook, once again, to discuss the importance of unlearning in the workplace. Using their research with the UK Fire and Rescue Service to give examples, they talk about the need to unlearn outdated practices and knowledge in order to become more efficient organisations and employees. 

Read the paper: "Unlearning and consent in the UK Fire and Rescue Service", Human Relations, volume 75, issue 12; James Brooks, Irena Grugulis and Hugh Cook. 

This builds on Dr Brooks, Professor Grugulis and Dr Cook’s previous research on rethinking situated learning and communities of practice. You can listen to their previous podcast episode on this topic here. 

About the speakers: Professor Irena Grugulis is Professor of Work and Skills at Leeds University Business School. Her main area of research interest is learning and skills, how employees gain the skills that they have and the various workplace systems and structures that limit or encourage this. 

Dr Hugh Cook is Associate Professor in Employment Relations and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically the implementation of strategic HRM and training systems and their effect on employee-related outcomes. 

Dr James Brooks is a Lecturer in Management Consulting and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically how employees share knowledge and skills and also the control, management and regulation of emotions at work.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact [email protected]. A transcript of this episode is available.