Faculty of Business, Oxford Brookes University - PhD Studentships 2014/15
The Faculty of Business at Oxford Brookes University is offering studentships to exceptional
candidates seeking to study for a full time PhD starting in September 2014.
These full-time studentships, which include a commitment of seminar teaching to
undergraduate students, will be for 3 years subject to satisfactory progress. The bursary will
be £20,000 per annum, plus student fees.
Applicants should have a good Honours degree as well as a good Master’s degree at merit
level or above that includes a thesis component.
Please state clearly in your application the department, cluster and research title.
Department: Business and Management
Cluster: Organisation Studies
This cluster investigates practices and processes of managing and organising in order to
further our understanding of ‘how things work’ in organisations. We adopt in-depth,
polyphonic, contextualised and situated understandings of organisation-related concerns
such as leadership, human resource management, employment relations, career
development, identity and belonging, networking, and organisational culture(s). Research is
characterised by exploring organisational and inter-organisational dynamics for a wide
variety of organisations (small to global, profit, non-profit and hybrid), across the world.
Typical themes include: organizational and professional identity formation; ethical leadership
and values; cultural change processes in organisations; corporate social responsibility; HRM
in multinationals; new forms of career trajectories; migration and changes to labour markets;
the gendered nature of management discourse; internal consultancy; and talent
management.
Research title: Generational change in small ethnic minority businesses
Ethnic entrepreneurship research still predominantly studies the experiences of the first
generation. The few studies that have been conducted among second (or third) generation
ethnic entrepreneurs, however, suggest differences in terms of start-up motives, sector
choice and/or embeddedness in intra- and inter-ethnic networks. Such differences warrant
further generational research, in particular because in many of the countries where ethnic
entrepreneurship is manifest, such as the UK, the Netherlands, North America and
Southeast Asia, there is a second generation which is active in entrepreneurship. This PhD
research would particularly be focused on how this second or third generation express
ethnicity in relation to business conduct. Whereas there is an inclination in ethnic
entrepreneurship literature to perceive of ethnicity as ‘practice’, ethnicity is also mediated by
societal interaction, which complicates the straightforward understanding of ethnicity as a
source to tap into for economic purposes. Incorporating this dimension into the analysis of
ethnic entrepreneurship provides a more comprehensive understanding of the complicated
relationship between ethnicity and entrepreneurship. It is suggested that among second (and
third) generations that such complexity comes to the fore more clearly.
The research will use an historical approach; it can be argued that historical legacies do not
receive the attention needed in ethnic entrepreneurship research. By exploring what it
means to grow up in an entrepreneurial ‘location’ in which the migration experiences of the
first-generation inform the entrepreneurial process, might shed light on how ethnicity, in
practice and discourse, is linked with questions of entrepreneurship.
The research location can be any of the above mentioned locations where second and third
generations are active in entrepreneurship. The manner in which the research is developed
and conducted is open to the researcher. However, considering the focus on in-depth and
contextualized understandings affinity with qualitative methods is required.
Contact for informal academic inquiries about the studentship:
Dr Juliette Koning
j.koning@brookes.ac.uk
Contact for non-academic enquiries and information:
Chris Spurgeon
cspurgeon@brookes.ac.uk
Please sign up and complete the online application here:
https://pgapp.ukpass.ac.uk/ukpasspgapp/login.jsp
Please select programme number P046190 'Business Doctoral Programme'.
In order to be considered for the programme, all applicants must submit all of the following:
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A completed application through the UKPASS system
A Research proposal of no more than 2000 words, on a topic from our list of
available research areas and following the guidelines provided
Two academic references (submitted through UKPASS or using the attached
form).
Copies of your previous degree transcripts and certificates
Evidence of funding (if the candidate is receiving funding from a sponsor)
Non UK Applicants must also provide:
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Proof of ability with the English Language
A scan of your passport.
Applicants are responsible for contacting their own referees and requesting that
references be forwarded to the Faculty of Business.
Supporting documents should be sent directly to: Chris Spurgeon, Research Administrator,
Oxford Brookes University, Faculty of Business, Wheatley Campus, Wheatley, OX33 1HX or
email cspurgeon@brookes.ac.uk
Late applications cannot be considered.
Closing date: Tuesday April 1, 2014