Tag Archives: Durham University Business School

News

Lucian Hudson appointed Professor in Practice at Durham University Business School

Lucian Hudson, Director of Advancement, Marketing and Communications, has been appointed as a Professor in Practice at Durham University Business School.

Professor in Practice appointments are given to high-achieving, non-academic professionals who are invited to voluntarily share their knowledge with students through special lectures, presentations and seminars. Lucian, who joined the University in 2020, has an exceptional track-record in communications and leadership.

Professor Cathy Cassell, Executive Dean of the Business School, said: “We are delighted that Lucian Hudson is joining the Business School as a Professor in Practice. Lucian brings an exceptional wealth of experience in leadership and communication that will enhance our already considerable expertise in this field. We are excited to be working with Lucian and the positive impact his contribution will make across our education, research and external engagement practice.”

Lucian will continue to lead the University’s Advancement activities, overseeing marketing, communications and development to further Durham’s global reputation and influence.

About Lucian

London-born Lucian graduated from Oxford University with an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

In his early career he was a pioneering journalist and television executive at the forefront of developing 24-hour breaking news coverage.

He worked for both ITV and the BBC where he established commercial joint venture channels with international broadcasters.

Lucian went on to work in the UK Government, leading communications in several high-profile departments including the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice and DEFRA.

He attended summits and ministerial meetings as the Government’s chief spokesman, engaging with media and multiple stakeholders across politics, business and civic society.

Lucian has extensive experience of international and national decision-making, business transformation and crisis management.

He is also an experienced board chair and currently holds high-profile chairman roles including at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and Earthwatch.

Lucian spent seven years as Director of Communications at the Open University. He joined Durham after serving as Interim Director of Public Affairs and Communications at the University of Oxford where he led strategic change, overseeing integrated communications across multi-disciplinary teams.

Professor in Practice role

Lucian will be a Professor in Practice (Leadership and Organisations) for the Department of Management and Marketing in our Business School.

His appointment will initially run for three years and will see him contribute his time and expertise at our Centre for Leadership and Followership and Centre for Organisations and Society.

Lucian will contribute to the Business School’s teaching agenda in the areas of human resource management, employment relations, leadership, strategic policy and marketing and communications.

Commenting on his Professor in Practice appointment, Lucian said: “I am honoured to be conferred with this role. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with our business students.

“I will draw on my four decades of extensive experience of strategic communications and corporate leadership to contribute to the world-class student experience at Durham.”

Business Research, Diversity & Inclusion, News

A Failure To Consider Language Diversity In EDI Provision Causes Problems For Multinational Firms

Multinational companies are struggling to effectively produce and embed effective equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) focused agendas, according to research from Durham University Business School.

Despite operating on a global basis and pulling in a workforce that spans multiple continents, cultures and languages, multinational companies are often disappointed with the progress they make with regards to EDI management.

According to research by Martyna Śliwa of Durham University Business School, Sylwia Ciuk of Oxford Brookes University, and Anne-Wil Harzing of Middlesex University, the difficulty often stems from having too narrow a focus when it comes to what matters in EDI provision.

Martyna Śliwa says,

“Multinational companies recognise the importance of the EDI agenda, but often struggle to implement it and leverage its strategic potential. Often, their focus lies on a small range of diversity and dimensions which fail to include other important factors, such as language.”

A lack of attention to the management of linguistic diversity is revealed to be of particular concern. Even though language based stereotyping and discrimination are recognised barriers to work and career outcomes for minority individuals and groups, the researchers say too little focus is paid to fostering linguistic diversity and inclusion in such organisations.

Their study seeks to address this by proposing a two-step framework for multinational companies to apply when creating and implementing their EDI agendas.

The first step seeks to change the way multinational companies think about diversity and differences.

Martyna Śliwa says,

“We need to stop viewing diversity and differences primarily in negative terms, or seeing them as challenges to overcome or work around. Instead, viewing diversity in a positive light, and differences as something fluid can allow us to act differently.”

To achieve such a shift, those leading teams or departments within multinational firms must recognise multiple languages and multi-lingual workers as a resource, and question the assumption that the non-dominant languages of the company are somehow inferior.

The second step concerns changing multinational companies’ actions.

Deliberate steps need to be taken to challenge expectations and norms that members of non-dominant groups – those who communicate at work in a foreign language – need to adjust to the dominant group’s way of communicating.

Sylwia Ciuk says,

“Displaying positive attitudes towards language differences and an openness to non-standard language norms, as well as adjusting the communicative behaviour of all members of the organisation are all small, but vital steps to enhance inclusion.”

Reciprocity is key here. Anne-Wil Harzing says,

“Successful interactions between those with different levels of fluency in the language of their interaction should not solely depend on the skills of non-dominant language users. Aside of putting additional pressure on such colleagues, there is a significant danger of miscommunications occurring.”

The framework proposed by the researchers brings considerable practical implications for those operating in human resource management. Though the study displays the framework as a means of linguistic diversity in particular, the researchers state the framework can be applied to any other area of the EDI discussion.

The study has been published, and is available to read via the Human Resource Management Journal.

News

Terrorist Attacks Damage Local Economies For Up To Two Years When It Comes to M&A, New Study Finds

Do acts of terrorism affect the mergers and acquisitions of the companies close to where they happen? According to a recent study from Durham University Business School not only can such events bring current M&A deals to a grinding halt, the repercussions can last for up to two years afterwards, significantly damaging business prospects and local economies.

The research, conducted by Professor Dimitris Petmezas alongside colleagues from Manchester Alliance Business School and Surrey Business School, sought to explore how exogenous shocks, such as terrorist attacks, can impact local business economy due to the uncertainty they leave in their wake, and to what extent.

Professor Petmezas and his colleagues reviewed the M&A activity of firms located in and around the locations of a sample of terrorist attacks in the USA which were heavily covered by media, between 1995 and 2015. They then used Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) information and physical distance to measure each firm’s geographic proximity from the attacked locations.

Terrorist attacks were also rated on their severity by considering   the number of human casualties caused.

Whilst an immediate negative impact of such shocks was to be expected, the study revealed several harmful consequences for firms located near to terrorism-stricken areas when it comes to their long-term M&A prospects.

Firstly, such firms were revealed to become less attractive to potential acquirers and, as a result, were less likely to receive an acquisition bid. Furthermore, this impact was shown to last for as long as two years after the incident occurred.

Furthermore, those firms which had deals outstanding when attacks occurred were far more likely to have those deals withdrawn.

Whilst there was an argument to be made for lower-priced acquisitions becoming more desirable due to the potential to save money, the study’s findings did not support this perspective. The researchers say that acts of terrorism instead prompted acquiring firms to show preference for cross-MSA targets, or targets located farther away from where the acquirers were located, supporting the argument that target firms located in areas subject to a terrorist attack become less attractive as a result.

Furthermore, for those few firms which did manage to secure deals, the research revealed they often received a  lower acquisition premium, leaving them with less bargaining power. The research detailed how this also translated into lower target firm stock returns and lower overall acquisition synergies.

The result, according to Professor Petmezas, is a significant hit to local economies and their productivity, which can have a domino effect on workers.

Another key element, the researchers say, is human capital, which can potentially stoke the flames of terrorism-induced uncertainty, as labour productivity in firms located in terrorism-stricken areas decreases, increasing the real option value to delay M&A investments.

The researchers believe the study also highlights important lessons to be learned not only by hears on industry when it comes to deciding how to staff, market, and protect their organisations, but beyond that to local and national governments and policymakers.

 

Professor Petmezas says:

“Our results suggest that personal uncertainty and fear affect the acquirer-CEO’s bid decisions. Our study uncovers a negative link between terrorism intensity and acquisition premium offered which becomes more pronounced when the acquirer CEO is more risk averse or when target firms are more human capital dependent.

“Specifically, our results reveal that terrorism affects corporate investments and value creation,
indicating that it has real economic effects. For policymakers, to combat this, greater consideration and expenditures on public security and local-level investment should also be considered to give companies a firmer grounding to bounce back.”

The full study has been accepted for publication in the Management Science journal.