RESEARCH IMPACT AND ENGAGEMENT
Foreword
For over a century, the University of Bristol has inspired generations of students, produced world-class research, and served the city-region and beyond with distinction. As a proud member of the prestigious Russell Group of UK universities, we are ranked 54th globally in the 2025 QS World University Rankings, and in the top 10 in the UK. We are also in the top 5 HEIs in the UK for research excellence, as evidenced by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
Our faculty includes internationally respected academics, and we attract some of the brightest students from across the globe. Since the University’s formation, 13 Bristol graduates and members of staff have been awarded a Nobel Prize.
The Business School, sitting within the University of Bristol’s newly formed Faculty of Arts, Law, and Social Sciences, is at the forefront of world-class research. Our mission is to reshape business education and research to impact positively on societal grand challenges through interdisciplinary excellence and partnership.
Research within the Business School is organised into our six academic groups:
• Accounting
• Finance
• Marketing and Consumption
• Operations and Management Science, Healthcare, and Innovation
• Strategy, International Management and Business, and Entrepreneurship
• Work, Employment, Organisation and Public Policy
Each group runs an active international seminar series and staff are supported by generous individual funding and a professional services team. In addition, diverse cross-group research clusters engage with core issues and global challenges, such as sustainability, work
futures, innovation, governance, and finance. These groups also frequently collaborate with faculty and university groups and research institutes.
We publish a wide range of high-quality research in some of the world’s most prestigious journals. The REF 2021 rated 88% of our research as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*/4*). Since then, we have not only grown in size but also in productivity, generating significant research income, including funding for the ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures and large grants from sources including the EPSRC and various business organisations.
Our research addresses critical issues such as globalisation, inequalities and digital innovations, and continuously influences policymakers and regulators as they navigate the evolving global landscape.
We are a new school, but with over 190 academic staff and 95 professional service staff, our growth has been remarkable. We continue to plan for future expansion and development, particularly in interdisciplinary research, education, and executive education and development. Our reach is also expanding with the opening of state-ofthe-art facilities at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus in the city of Bristol. We are also proud to support a vibrant PhD programme of around 100 students, and offer scholarships to foster the next generation of researchers.
Thank you for your interest in the University of Bristol Business School. We look forward to continuing our journey of excellence in research and education.
Professor Veronica Hope Hailey Inaugural Dean of the University of Bristol Business School
Our research aims to address significant challenges facing individuals, communities, and organisations. It strives to influence policymakers and regulators responding to changes driven by globalisation, inequalities, digital innovations, and the recognition of environmental and social sustainability. Through rigorous research and collaborative efforts, we aim to transform knowledge into meaningful impact, addressing critical societal challenges and fostering sustainable change.
The University of Bristol Business School has over 190 academic staff, of whom more than 150 have research intensive roles.
in international journals
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 rated 88% of the University of Bristol’s research in Business and Management as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*/4*).
Professor Evarist Stoja Impact Director, University of Bristol Business School
The highlight of my studies was finally graduating after all my sleepless nights. The long hours of hard work finally paid off. I got to meet amazing people from all walks of life and I built great friendships. Bristol will always be close to my heart as I made amazing memories there that I will cherish forever.
Dario Ruzzi, Italy PhD Finance
6 Research for a fairer future
7 Our academic groups
8 Research centres and interdisciplinary research institutes
9 How we are having an impact
10 Creating a competitive advantage for the Bristol and Bath fintech cluster
12 Protecting children from gambling advertising
14 Confronting worker exploitation in electronics manufacturing
16 Tackling financial storms with the Bank of England
18 Transforming menopause policy
20 Improving management consultancy use in the NHS
22 Supporting mothers to break down barriers to exercise
24 Delivering cost-effective healthcare
26 Achieving research ambitions for PhD students
Research for a fairer future
We are home to academics conducting world-leading research that generates impact recognised by both academic and non-academic audiences for its quality, significance, rigour and relevance.
The school promotes a research environment of diversity and inclusivity, where different academic traditions and co-learning are championed and celebrated.
Drawing on a broad range of social science-led approaches, staff use both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and regularly publish their findings in globally recognised academic journals. Our staff also hold editorial positions with major academic journals.
Many staff in the school are actively engaged with regulatory and professional institutions, including:
• the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
• the Bank of England
• the World Bank
• a range of third sector and civil society organisations.
Staff have published in leading academic journals, including:
• Journal of Accounting and Economics
• Journal of Accounting Research
• Accounting, Organizations and Society
• Contemporary Accounting Research
• Economic Journal
• Journal of Finance
• Journal of Financial Economics
• Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
• Journal of Money, Credit and Banking.
Our academic groups
Academics within the school undertake high-quality research across a range of topics related to business.
Accounting
Drawing on insights from across the social sciences, and collaborating with businesses, policymakers, and regulatory bodies, the research and teaching in this group explores management accounting practices, financial reporting and governance issues across diverse sectors.
Finance
The Finance group investigates capital markets and financial decision-making processes. Its research and courses address the financial decisions of various stakeholders in the global economy, spanning equity, debt and other financial assets.
Marketing and Consumption
Viewing marketing as essential for businesses and academia, this group focuses on consumption, digital transformations, and social and environmental responsibility. Its research and teaching reflect the evolving landscape of marketing in a dynamic world.
Operations, Management Science, Healthcare and Innovation
Addressing management challenges, the group’s work encompasses operations, healthcare, and innovation. It aims to advance knowledge and practices in these areas, contributing to organisational effectiveness and problem-solving.
Strategy, International Management and Business, and Entrepreneurship
Examining global challenges, this group studies strategic management, international business and entrepreneurship within various socio-economic contexts. Its research explores the intersection of business, society and sustainability.
Work, Employment, Organisation and Public Policy
The academic group delves into work dynamics, institutions and public policy, investigating their impact and evolution. It aims to enhance understanding and improve practices in work and organisations across different sectors.
Research centres and interdisciplinary research institutes
We collaborate with colleagues across the University through different research centres and interdisciplinary research institutes.
ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures
Bringing together world-leading interdisciplinary expertise to explore sociodigital futures in the making to support fair and sustainable ways of life.
Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research
Adopting an international and interdisciplinary approach to understanding and tackling gambling harms.
Bristol Poverty Institute
The Bristol Poverty Institute (BPI) is dedicated to multi-disciplinary research on the causes, effects and measurement of poverty around the world to inform effective policy and practice.
Migration Mobilities Bristol
Expanding and challenging understandings of migration and making connections between different types of mobilities, beyond the human and across time.
Brigstow Institute
A hub of innovative creative research, pioneering collaborative investigations and nurturing vibrant research communities.
Cabot Institute for the Environment
Working to protect our environment and identify ways of living better with our changing planet.
Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research
Building new health research communities to advance human health and wellbeing.
Jean Golding Institute
A central hub for data science and data-intensive research at the University of Bristol. We connect a multidisciplinary community of experts across the University and beyond.
Bristol Digital Futures Institute
Transforming the way we create new digital technology for inclusive, prosperous and sustainable societies.
GAMBLING HARMS RESEARCH
How we are having an impact
Research at the University of Bristol Business School affects every aspect of our lives, from workers’ rights and supply chain management, to responsible accounting and health and social care. We work internationally with organisations and colleagues across institutions to create impact on policy and practice.
Explore the Business School research
It’s all about those synergies and sum of the parts with the connections and knowledge flowing through the cluster. Clusters are very porous, they’re very dynamic. They receive knowledge and they send knowledge out. If you’re a goldfish bowl type cluster, you’ll soon wither on the vine because there’s not that nourishment of knowledge, change, new ways of thinking and innovation coming through the clusters.
Shorthand article Research video
Creating a competitive advantage for the Bristol and Bath FinTech cluster
By Professor Jonathan Beaverstock
Financial Technology
(FinTech) is becoming one of the most significant drivers for innovation in financial services. The sector has grown through new entrants, like challenger banks, that deliver innovative access to financial services and enhance the way in which businesses and consumers use financial service products and advisory services.
Rapid growth is still to come for FinTech in access to financial services and business-to-business and consumer-to-business opportunities, which will impact the UK’s city regions. Places like Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Cardiff are becoming important regional centres for FinTech which is having a positive multiplier effect across regional knowledge economies.
From a research perspective, the drivers of the development of successful FinTech ecosystems and clusters – access to finance, innovation, talent and regulation – are critical for the future of FinTech in places like Bristol and Bath. The sector has the potential to deliver knowledge-intensive activities, contributing to economic growth and high-value job creation.
Research published in 2021, ‘Learning from London’s FinTech cluster: Ensuring the future sustainability and competitiveness of the Bristol and Bath FinTech ecosystem’, sponsored by ESRC, recommended that the future sustainability of the city-region as a premier FinTech cluster was dependent on FinTech’s stakeholders and institutions scaling up seven competitive advantages:
1. access to national, regional and local funding
2. a depth and breadth of the talent pool and pipelines
3. the establishment of accelerators and incubators
4. the economies of scope, depth and distinctiveness of the cluster
5. a depth of expertise and ‘institutional thickness’
6. access to an innovative market
7. global and national connectivity to established FinTech clusters in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.
Professor Beaverstock has become a prominent figure in the national FinTech community, serving on advisory boards and contributing to the development of city-regional FinTech clustering strategies. His research has also influenced other regional FinTech clusters in the UK and has been used by various organisations and government bodies to understand the dynamics of FinTech and financial services clustering.
A collaboration with FinTech West and the Government’s new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology continues to address the structural barriers to the development of FinTech in UK regions, looking ahead to the future of FinTech in the UK.
Jonathan Beaverstock is the Deputy Dean of the University of Bristol Business School and leads the £1.8 million ESRC/UKRI-funded project, Future Finance for All. As an interdisciplinary social scientist, his research focuses on the globalisation of financial and professional service firms, transnational professional work and the City of London’s competitiveness. He investigates:
• Global talent mobilities and the City of London’s competitiveness
• The role of FinTech ecosystems in UK city-regions’ competitiveness
• Transnational professionals and crossborder knowledgeintensive work
• Sustainable business travel and net zero. organisations
We’ve had really good dialogues with the Advertising Standards Authority. As a result, they have changed the regulation that stipulates that gambling adverts should not be “of particular appeal” to children (that is more appealing to children than adults) to “of strong appeal”. This is a breakthrough because under the previous regulation, an advert could be extremely appealing to children (for example, something related to premier league football) yet not prohibited just because it was equally appealing to adults.
Shorthand article Research video
Protecting children from gambling advertising
By Professor Agnes Nairn and Dr Raffaello Rossi
The number of UK children experiencing gambling related harm has quadrupled to more than 50,000 in just four years. Existing advertising regulations ruled that gambling ads “must not be of particular appeal to children”, but no-one had investigated what actually “appeals” to them, or how ads were used on social media platforms.
Research by Professor Agnes Nairn and Dr Raffaello Rossi investigated the effects of social media gambling ads on children and young people.
Their first project focused on gambling ads on Twitter. Using big data analytics for over 880,000 UK ads, along with data for 1 million users, they found:
• 41,000 UK children followed gambling accounts.
• Two-thirds of engagements with ads were made by under 24-year-olds.
• 71% of gambling ads failed to fully comply with regulations set by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
A further concern was that only 7.3% of posts from betting-related accounts were found to contain any warning about age restrictions and responsible gambling. For esports accounts, this figure fell to just 0.1%, displaying the very worst in advertising practices.
A second study found that gambling advertising on Twitter was significantly more appealing to children and young people than to adults. Esports ads and ads that use content marketing were especially appealing, triggering happiness, excitement and delight in under 25-year-olds.
As well as receiving substantial media coverage, the researchers gave evidence to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), the Scottish Government’s National Digital Ethics Expert Group and the House of Lords’ Peers for Gambling Reform.
The research led to three direct changes in current advertising regulations. First, the ASA announced a public consultation into regulations to protect children from harm via gambling ads. The consultation led to updated and clearer regulations to improve the protection of children.
Second, an advice notice clarifying the regulations for esports betting advertising was published by the advertising regulators.
Third, the regulators changed the rule that gambling advertising should not be “of particular appeal to children” (meaning it should not appeal more to children than to adults) to advertising should not be “of strong appeal” to children.
Finally, the ASA has addressed a loophole raised by Nairn and Rossi, namely that content marketing was not in their remit. As a result of the research, the ASA announced that all content marketing, not only for gambling but for all products and services, would fall under their regulatory purview. Beyond this, a collaboration between the researchers and the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust has helped develop an educational programme that reaches 500,000 children each year.
Raffaello Rossi is a Lecturer in Marketing, specialising in the nexus of social media marketing, public policy and consumer protection. His work on the effects of gambling advertising on youth has led to widespread coverage in national and international media and prompted substantial reforms in the regulation of gambling marketing practices.
Agnes Nairn is Professor of Marketing. Her research focuses on the relationship between the commercial world and young people’s wellbeing. Her work has been published in a range of international journals. She has been invited to join over 30 international multi-stakeholder projects with public, private and third-sector organisations ranging from UNICEF, and the UN to Unilever, and Coca-Cola.
Confronting worker exploitation in electronics manufacturing
by Professor Rutvica Andrijasevic
Electronics manufacturing has a reputation for poor working conditions, which was why trade unions and NGOs were so concerned when several electronics firms opened factories in central and eastern European countries in the early 2000s.
Among the companies to expand into Europe was Foxconn, the world’s biggest consumer electronics manufacturer. For Andrijasevic, whose research focuses on migrant workers, it was hugely important to explore the employment conditions at Foxconn’s new plants.
Together with colleagues, Andrijasevic travelled to Czechia to investigate employment practices at two Foxconn factories. They undertook an extensive series of interviews with 23 nationalities of factory workers employed by temporary work agencies.
The study provided the first data on employment conditions in Asian electronics’ plants in Europe. Despite labour regulations, it emerged that the temporary migrant workers were subject to exploitative working and living conditions by the temporary work agencies.
Non-payment of wages, illicit deductions from pay and deception over hours and conditions of work were just some of the issues revealed by the interviews. Female workers who fell pregnant were illegally dismissed and risked deportation to their home country. Workers faced the risk of homelessness due to the tied, sub-standard accommodation.
The study caught the attention of Electronics Watch, a leading third sector organisation that helps public sector buyers to purchase ICT hardware from firms that comply fully with domestic and international labour rights.
Electronics Watch drew on the research to inform their campaign to improve conditions for Foxconn’s workers in Czechia. A major turning point in the campaign came in 2017 when Hewlett Packard conducted a systematic external audit of working conditions at the plants including, for the first time, conditions for the temporary agency workers. Their audit agreed that living conditions for the 5,000-6,000 tenants were sub-standard.
The audit prompted positive changes, including better safety at work and access to health and schooling services, and improved living conditions in one of the staff dormitories. Andrijasevic also ensured that pregnant women were given more support through a website and leaflet offering information.
An important boost to workers’ rights came in 2021 when Electronics Watch and the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) entered into a formal agreement to address issues with working conditions throughout the global electronics supply chains of RBA members. This significant move was instigated by the findings of Hewlett Packard’s 2017 audit of Foxconn’s Czech plants.
For Andrijasevic, the conditions at the Czech plants are symptomatic of wider, systemic issues in manufacturing. The effects of dormitories on workers’ private lives are something that she is exploring in follow-on research.
Rutvica Andrijasevic is Professor of Work and Employment. She specialises in researching labour and supply chains, with a focus on how electronics supply chains coordinate labour and justin-time manufacturing. Her recent work delves into the ‘human supply chain’ and the critical role of labour migration in global production, revealing the gendered biases in digital management practices. Her work has wide international reach and her writings have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Croatian and Mandarin.
What has been achieved at Foxconn’s Czech plants through coordinated efforts and hard work is fantastic.
I just hope that this can be replicated more widely.
Shorthand article Research video
Tackling financial storms with the Bank of England
By Professor Evarist Stoja
The global financial crisis of 2007-2009 was the most turbulent event in the history of the world’s financial markets for nearly a century. The crisis crystallised the urgent need to better understand financial turbulence. This was especially so for central banks, like the Bank of England, tasked with regulating banks and other financial institutions to promote financial stability.
While one of the most extreme, the global financial crisis was far from the only unprecedented event in financial markets. A different approach to policy design was needed. Stoja, whose research focuses on the pre-cursors, causes and consequences of financial turbulence, explains that, “To reduce the chances of a turbulent event happening, or reduce its effects where it does occur, central banks need a broad and deep understanding of the different forms of turbulence and of the factors that lead to turbulence in the first place.”
In 2015, the Bank of England granted Stoja the Norman-Houblon and George Fellowship. This highly prestigious award provides researchers with the opportunity to work closely with colleagues at the Bank on important economic and finance topics that the Bank of England is most concerned with. For nine months in 2015, Stoja worked full time at the Bank of England on a collaborative research project that developed new ways of thinking around financial turbulence that have since advanced the Bank’s policies and practices.
Central to Stoja and Bank colleagues’ new insights was the definition of two forms of financial turbulence: transitory volatility and core volatility:
• Transitory volatility refers to short-lived events caused by reactions from ‘jumpy or spooked’ investors. There is no need for central banks to intervene in these cases other than perhaps offer reassurance.
• Core volatility describes far more systemic, long-term issues with financial systems and the wider economy. It is these fundamental issues that central banks really need to focus their efforts on.
Many banks nearly collapsed during the global financial crisis. Some actually did, notably Lehman Brothers in the US and Northern Rock in the UK. To help prevent a repeat threat of financial ruin for UK banks, and the resulting damage inflicted upon the economy, the Bank of England now conducts annual stress-testing exercises informed by Stoja’s research. This allows them to advise each bank on how much capital they need to set aside to withstand the blow. This keeps banks safer and reduces the risk of a volatile situation spiralling out of control.
Evarist Stoja is a distinguished faculty member at the University of Bristol Business School, holding the position of Professor of Finance at the University of Bristol Business School. His primary research areas encompass applied financial econometrics, risk modelling, risk management and asset pricing. Additionally, he maintains keen interests in portfolio management, extreme events and financial stability.
Whether we’re talking about severe situations on the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic or the global financial crisis, or less extreme events, it’s often impossible for central banks to inform their policies and actions through historic precedent because there simply is none.
Shorthand article Research video
Transforming menopause policy
By Professor Vanessa Beck
Most of the population, including people who go through menopause themselves, do not understand enough about it. The impact of this on women in the workplace can be huge. In addition to the physical symptoms of menopause, such as fatigue, bleeding and hot flushes, there are also psychological symptoms, including anxiety and insecurity.
Professor Vanessa Beck has been researching menopause in the workplace since she co-authored a report on the effect of menopause transition on women’s economic participation in the UK for the Government Equalities Office (GEO) in 2017. This report reviewed existing literature on the impact of women’s menopause transition on their participation in the labour market. It found huge gaps in knowledge within the existing literature and a significant demand to look at menopause in a different way.
As a result, Professor Beck carried out a range of research projects with organisations including universities, local authorities and the TUC (Trade Union Congress). One such project was with Bristol City Council, exploring the implementation of health and wellbeing approaches as an alternative to introducing a menopause policy in a local authority in the UK.
An online survey conducted among council employees revealed that discussing menopause at work was considered taboo, with a significant number of respondents disagreeing that menopause can be openly discussed. Even in the second survey that was repeated a year later, 43% of respondents indicated they talked about menopause only among women, 45% only with close work colleagues in private conversations, and 25% indicated that they talked about menopause only as a joke. The survey indicated that ethnicity could increase the likelihood of experiencing unkind words or behaviour related to menopause, with higher proportions of respondents with non-white ethnic backgrounds reporting such experiences.
Professor Beck worked with Rebecca Blatt of Bristol City Council to provide support for women experiencing menopause. The Council ran a range of activities, including workshops, information provision and training, and identified menopause-friendly temperature areas in workspaces. It is clear, however, that the challenges faced by people going through menopause transition are varied and complex. Therefore, a ‘one size fits all’ policy would not be effective.
The insights gained by Bristol City Council allowed them to identify the top three requests made by women: education, wellbeing plans and adaptations. The research showed that an integrated approach that encompasses all these elements, with robust training, was key to supporting women in the workplace. Rebecca Blatt, also a trade union representative at Bristol City Council, said the process had been extremely successful. She explains that they request feedback after each of their menopause workshops and the most common response from women is that the experience is ‘life-changing’.
Professor Vanessa Beck studies marginalised groups in the labour market, particularly those facing unemployment or underemployment, and explores the interplay between individual experiences and social contexts, with a focus on gender and age dynamics. Her previous research has focused on unemployment, redundancy and the management of older workers, including their transitions during menopause in the workplace. Her work has been funded by organisations, including the European Commission, the UK Government’s Equality Office, ACAS, the Independent Social Research Foundation and the ESRC.
That raw emotion made us realise that we needed to do more and this wasn’t just academic research. This was an activist project where we wanted to become more involved.
Shorthand article Research video
Improving management consultancy use in the NHS
By Professor Andrew Sturdy and Professor Gianluca Veronesi
The use of external consultants within the public sector is growing, but their role is often controversial. The NHS is a prime example, with trusts in England each spending an average of £1.2 million on external consultancy fees per year.
The team from the University of Bristol worked with colleagues from the Universities of York and Seville to examine the effectiveness and governance of external management consultant use within the NHS.
Their findings showed that, rather than creating efficiencies, greater spending on external management consultants by NHS trusts often leads to increased inefficiency of between 3.5% and 8%. It also inflates further demand for external consultants, raising the possibility of ‘over-use’.
Also, surprisingly, external consultants do not always seem to be a substitute for in-house resources, with usage found to be highest in trusts with more managers. This was less the case where there were higher levels of internal consultants, which implies that building internal specialist capability could reduce spending on external consultants.
Prior to this research, there was a lack of clarity around the outcomes of external consultant use. Even now, both consultants and clients are sometimes motivated to protect their reputations. As a result, failed projects can sometimes be buried to prevent negative perceptions, and yet consultancy fees are still paid.
From a range of different studies, including at national and local levels, the research has raised serious questions about accountability, performance and, ultimately, value for money. It suggests that existing approaches to governing external consultants need to be strengthened and that alternatives should be sought and implemented. This is now the focus for the team.
With funding from Research England (QR Policy Support Fund), Professor Sturdy and colleagues will work with the NHS and consultancy partners, using their findings to help improve the use of NHS resources through new practices and by sharing knowledge. Their continuing research will also compare the efficiency of internal verses external specialists to help inform practice, either improving use of external consultants or developing internal resources.
This research and the impact project associated with it have the potential to create significant financial savings for the NHS that will free-up funding to spend in other areas, improving healthcare delivery.
Andrew Sturdy is Professor of Management and Organisation and School Research Director at the University of Bristol Business School. His research on management consultancy spans 30 years and includes highly cited books, articles, blogs and work with organisations, as well as coverage in news media including The Financial Times and BBC TV and radio.
Professor Gianluca Veronesi is a leading expert in public sector management, specialising in healthcare reforms. His research centers on performance management, investigating the governanceperformance relationship and the impact of human and social capital on service efficiency and effectiveness.
If we can help effect savings within the NHS, that’s going to affect their healthcare delivery directly.
Shorthand article Research video
Supporting mothers to break down barriers to exercise
By Dr Fiona Spotswood
Everybody knows that an individual’s free time is dramatically reduced by parenthood, and public health research has shown that for mothers, physical activity is one of the first things to go. Being too time-poor for exercise and a lack of the right kinds of support are particular issues for mothers from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The impact of lower activity levels can be huge on a woman’s mental and physical health.
The Bristol Girls Can social marketing project, funded by Sport England, is managed by Bristol City Council. It aims to break down barriers to exercise and inspire more women to get active. The project was based on rigorous qualitative research, including that by Dr Fiona Spotswood, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Bristol Business School.
Dr Spotswood’s research explores the way that physical activity must compete with everyday parenting routines for mothers. Her first set of findings, published in Sociology of Health and Illness, focused on timetables that dominate mothering, exploring how physical activity often gets ‘pushed out’ of everyday life for mothers.
Her second set of findings considered the capabilities mothers must have to make the most of the opportunities for leisure time. Dr Spotswood explains, “A whole number of factors need to be in place for mothers to take part in physical activity. Those things are quite complicated and are often lacking for mothers with pre-school children living in the least affluent parts of the city.”
A third set of findings focused on how important mothers’ bodies are in shaping their relationship with exercise. Mothers compared their lived experience of a sensing, suffering body with cultural ideals of exercise that are dominated by images of effortlessness, thinness and fitness.
Together, these findings highlighted the kinds of messaging that would resonate with the target audience of mothers in deprived areas of Bristol, and the kinds of physical activity sessions that would appeal to them. This shaped the resulting social marketing programme developed by the Bristol Girls Can campaign.
Bristol Girls Can project manager, Claire Nicholls from the Communities and Public Health Team at Bristol City Council, says: “Fiona’s research was crucial, as it fed into the wider marketing campaign.”
The Bristol Girls Can campaign has seen huge success in supporting women to make change and get moving. The website and social media presence were developed to meet the needs of the community as defined in Dr Spotswood’s research, and have reached over 100,000 people.
Fiona Spotswood is an Associate Professor in Marketing and Consumption. She has a particular interest in social marketing and marketing for behaviour change, along with the theoretical approaches underpinning interventions for social change. Her work particularly explores the lived experiences of physical activity among different groups, especially those for whom leisure time physical activity is not a common experience.
She examines the role of marketing in shaping these experiences from both a critical perspective and a social marketing ‘behaviour change’ perspective.
A whole number of factors need to be in place for mothers to take part in physical activity. They need to have the right support, the right amount of time, the right kind of time and they need to have the right energy to take part. Those things are quite complicated and often lacking for mothers with pre-school children living in the least affluent parts of the city.
Shorthand article Research video
Delivering cost-effective healthcare
By Professor Chris Chapman and Professor Sheila Elwood
Facing financial challenges in meeting rising demand, the National Health Service (NHS) initiated the costing transformation programme aimed at shifting cost analysis towards the patient. This resulted in Patient Level Information and Costing Systems (PLICS) which identify the patient cost by the activities each patient consumes (such as ward stay, theatre usage, laboratory tests and x-rays).
Professor Chris Chapman and Professor Sheila Ellwood have both studied the technical and organisational challenges surrounding PLICS, in particular legacy concerns about past forms of costing. Traditional costing based on service line (such as orthopaedics) or a clinical intervention (such as a hip replacement) produced poorquality information that led to damaging decisions, failed to engage clinicians, and failed to achieve clear benefits across the NHS.
Both researchers have been involved in longitudinal fieldwork in the NHS, including surveys of healthcare providers and case studies, as part of a project funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and a study published by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policy. Their research collected a broad dataset of experiences and perceptions of the past, present and potential of costing information to drive cost-effective healthcare decisions.
PLICS assists in the removal of duplication through comparison of individual patient costs by clinician and diagnosis and is frequently used in business cases for service development. The NIHR project found that PLICS information is regarded as commercially sensitive. Healthcare providers are wary of sharing information with healthcare commissioners in case their work is cherry-picked by alternative providers or services are reconfigured inappropriately. This lack of trust hinders service transformation, such as the redesign of services for elderly people, that would ensure ‘the right care in the right place’.
Activity-based costing systems, such as PLICS, require a far more diverse set of information than early costing approaches. The more granular PLICS information engages and empowers healthcare professionals to use scarce resources more effectively to treat more patients, without cutting clinical corners. However, getting the right level of information requires careful positioning of how it can be of use in various decisions. The researchers have fed back findings directly to the NHS Regulator and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), as well as through publications and events.
Insights from the research have fed into emerging training programmes for finance professionals. The new HFMA training programmes seek to address the issues raised by the research. Recent developments in pooling resources in ‘accountable care organisations’ have been supported by the new understanding of commercial sensitivity problems surrounding PLICS data.
The research has promoted the delivery of effective as well as efficient healthcare both within organisations and across the NHS.
Chris Chapman is Professor of Management Accounting. His research focuses on how people can make accounting useful to their work. In recent years, he has looked at the role of costing in national healthcare systems. His current research is exploring the impact of technology on accounting in areas such as big data analytics and gamification.
Sheila Ellwood is Emeritus Professor of Financial Reporting. She began her professional career as a chartered public finance accountant in the NHS where she held several senior financial positions. She was also a non-executive director at a large NHS trust (2000-05) where she chaired the audit committee.
The research has promoted the delivery of effective, as well as efficient healthcare, both within organisations and across the NHS.
Achieving research ambitions for PhD students
We actively search for, select and foster PhD candidates in accounting, finance and associated subfields. Our PhD students benefit from individual supervision by highly qualified members of staff and, in addition, attend taught courses in research methodology.
What are you doing now?
Marta Skrzypinska Research Analyst, European Central Bank
PhD Economics (Financial Economics)
Thesis: Essays on the composition and quality of banks’ assets
I am currently working for the European Central Bank (ECB), based in Frankfurt, in the division responsible for the production and dissemination of banking statistics for the purpose of bank supervision within the Eurozone. My role is part of a Graduate Programme at the ECB, which allows for rotations between divisions and gives the opportunity of fast track. From September I will join the Market Operations Division, which monitors the interbank money market liquidity conditions.
Why did you choose Bristol?
I completed both my BSc and MSc at Bristol and just fell in love with the city. I come originally from Poland, but I think of Bristol as my second home. After I completed my BSc Economics and Finance here, I realised that I would like to stay longer for further studies. I was lucky enough to be able to secure funding for PhD studies from the Economic and Social Research Council and decided that a PhD would help me to steer my career in a more specialised direction with a focus on financial research.
How has your PhD helped you in your career?
The programme I am part of at the ECB specifically targets recent PhD graduates. There are multiple entry options with an MSc or a BSc also available, but the PhD route allowed me to start my career at a more advanced stage and with a possibility of fast-tracking my progression. It also gave me access to work on projects
that are more research-oriented and require the analytical toolkit acquired during my PhD studies in Bristol.
What were your highlights of your PhD and time at Bristol?
It’s difficult to pick a single highlight of my time in Bristol. I lived in the city for eight years in total and have many great memories of the place. Some of the best moments for me were attending conferences –which also meant quite a bit of travel to interesting places, talking to other researchers and simply catching up with PhD friends from other faculties. For sure, the graduation was the most memorable one, where all of those small experiences came together and when I finally realised what I had accomplished.
What do you think about the support you received from your supervisors? Every PhD has its ups and downs. I certainly went through my fair share of this rollercoaster. This process is not an easy one; after all, you are expected to produce innovative research independently and, often, this can be a lonely experience. Luckily, I had my supervisor always on my side. He not only shared his knowledge and helped to clarify my research questions but was always there for me with encouraging and motivating words. Having an experienced and caring supervisor is definitely a major advantage for any PhD student.
The banking research group has an active seminar series that invites accomplished researchers in the field from top universities around the globe, it organises workshops and conferences and more than anything the people are always there to exchange ideas and support each other.
Bristol has outstanding facilities that will help you achieve your research ambitions.
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