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: Accounting, Finance and Economics
Cluster: Corporate Social Responsibility
The Corporate Social Responsibility Group (CSRG) has been formed by a team of
researchers in the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics and the Oxford
School of Hospitality Management who are interested in a broad range of corporate social,
environmental and ethical related topics. The group is led by Dr Samantha Miles, who
spearheads research activities which focus primarily on theoretical, empirical and
philosophical approaches to stakeholder theory and practice. Additional areas of interest
include the impact, assessment, use, and user’s perceptions of CSR reporting and CSR
assurance; and theoretical and practical implementation of sustainability and environmental
management, benchmarking and eco-labelling.
Research title: Accounting for Stakeholder Value
Accounting for stakeholder value (ASV) is an ambitious emerging accounting system based
on managing value created through organisation-stakeholder relationships. It involves the
development of an accounting system, not a just a reporting process, and as such is
distinctively different from Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting or Environmental
Reporting. ASV is based on the notion of accounting for value created through organisationstakeholder relations. This has its foundations in Freeman’s view on value creation and
stakeholder capitalism (Freeman and Liedtka, 1997) and the notion of joint value creation.
The firm is viewed as a nexus of stakeholders, with each stakeholder contributing to value
creation: no individual stakeholder is alone in creating value. Consequently, to create value
for the organisation, managers must focus on how value is created for each and every
stakeholder (Freeman et al., 2010). ASV widens the notion of capital away from capitals
captured by economic exchange to a wider perspective of comprehensive capital in line with
that proposed by the Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRC, 2013). ASV is concerned with
the philosophical debates around the concepts of stakeholder value as well as the
practicalities of how stakeholder value can be recognised, measured, and reported.
Applicants are advised to read Friedman and Miles (2006) and Freeman et al. (2010).
The proposed PhD research could investigate a number of issues relating to the ASV
including but not limited to: challenges to current accounting regimes with respect to
stakeholder-organization interactions; the relationships between value creation, stakeholders
and accounting; the issues (problems and opportunities) associated with the development of
an accounting and reporting system based on stakeholder value accounting.
The research might employ qualitative or quantitative methods or a combination of both.
References:
Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., Wicks, A. C., Parmar, B., and de Colle, S. (2010).
Stakeholder Theory: the State of the Art. Cambridge University Press.
Freeman, R.E. and Liedtka, J. (1997). Stakeholder capitalism and the value chain.
European Management Journal, 15(3), 286-296.
Friedman, A.L. and Miles, S. (2006). Stakeholders: Theory and Practice. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) (2013). Consultation Draft of the
International <IR> Framework. London: IIRC.
Contact for informal academic enquiries about the studentship:
Dr Samantha Miles
svmiles@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