Research degrees with the London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism

Primary supervisor: Professor Alexandros Paraskevas

Duration: 3 years (full-time) or 5 years (part-time)

Research context

As lockdowns for COVID19 are being loosened, attention is shifting again towards climate change and emissions in many sectors. The discussion about airline emissions and climate change has started long time ago, but the “Flight Shaming” (flygskam in Swedish) is a campaign that started in 2018 by a group of celebrities, including Olympic winter gold medallist Bjorn Ferry and the musician Malena Ernman. It was further popularised by the iconic teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg (Emman’s daughter) and social media initiatives such as the Facebook “Jag flyger inte – för klimatets skull”. (I’m not flying – for the sake of the climate). The effect of the campaign was to lower the number of international flights at Swedish airports by 4% within a year.

Airlines have been responding in various ways from carbon offsetting programs to moving to biofuels and from fleet renewal programmes to massive public-relations push to showcase their climate achievements and to earn goodwill. However, these may be responses that could be effective to (re)gain some reputation at organisational level, they may not be adequate to address the longer lasting effects of the industry’s stigmatisation. The transfer of stigma from individual to organisational level has been studied before but not the other way round.  This study aims to explore the relationship between the stigmatisation of a sector and the reputations of the organisations within the sector and assess whether strategies to manage organisational reputation are also effective in managing sectoral stigma.

Research goal

The main goals of this research are:

• to explore the social, economic and moral effects of sectoral stigmatisation using “flight shaming” as a context of social evaluations
• to assess the adverse implications of organisations operating within a stigmatised sectors
• to evaluate the valence on stigma-by-association of organisational strategies towards contentious distinction
• to develop a typology for stigma management communication strategies that make organisations less vulnerable and more resilient to sectoral stigma-based threats

Candidate profile

You will be expected to hold a good first degree (first or upper second class) and/or a Masters degree (or equivalent) in Aviation / Air Transport Management, Business or Marketing Communications related disciplines. Candidates with a Social Science background will also be highly welcome.

You should be able to work in a collaborative environment with a strong commitment to reaching research excellence and achieving assigned objectives. It is expected that you will carry out applied research work that will start from the establishment of a theoretical framework, continue with the implementation of current technology and policy influence and conclude with the theoretical and practical synthesis in a way that has not previously been done before.

If English is not your first language, you must also demonstrate your English language proficiency through evidence of IELTS at overall 6.5 or by providing access to MA/MSc chapters or published work.

Further information

For general enquiries about the application process visit the Graduate School pages.

Questions regarding academic aspects of the project should be directed to Professor Alexandros Paraskevas: Alexandros.Paraskevas@uwl.ac.uk

Primary supervisor: Prof Alexandros Paraskevas (PhD)

Duration: 3 years (full-time) or 5 years (part-time)

Research context

As with all research and development (R&D) projects, new food and drink product development face uncertainties and risks. Although these are normally identified at the project ideation stage and possibly recorded on a risk register with proposed controls and treatment strategies there are limited studies on how R&D Risks are governed at organisational level. The International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) has developed a Risk Governance Framework aiming to assist policy makers, regulators, board directors and risk managers both understand the concept of risk governance and apply it to their handling of risks. However, very little is known on how this is applied in the context of R&D.

This study will look at the food and drink manufacturing sector and explore a range of topics including the level of institutionalisation of R&D risk governance, the methods utilised and factors considered to assess and evaluate R&D risk, its effectiveness in creating a ‘healthy risk culture’ within an organisation and its possible impact on the organisation’s R&D performance.

Research goal

The goals of this research are to answer one or more of (but not limited to) these questions:

• Is the institutionalisation of R&D risk governance a threat or a facilitator of innovation in an organisation? What are the risk governance antecedents for creating a healthy R&D risk culture?
• Is there the same need for and legitimacy of R&D risk governance in small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as it would be in larger organisations?
• When R&D on a specific product is undertaken by multiple partner organisations, is there an open, network-type R&D risk governance that can link risk governance systems across all partners in  such a way that their risk models and their model risks are compatible?
• What methods can be applied to identify, prioritise and aggregate the broadly perceived risks targeted by R&D risk governance in order to unit different risk categories in one single risk assessment and evaluation system? Is the IRGC framework adequate in an R&D setting?
• How can the effectiveness of R&D Risk Governance be monitored? What indicators and index system can facilitate measurement and allow cross-organisational comparisons and rankings of the quality and maturity of their R&D risk governance systems?

Candidate profile

You will be expected to hold a good first degree (first or upper second class) and/or a Masters degree (or equivalent) in Hospitality, Food or General Business Management or related disciplines. You should be able to work in a collaborative environment with a strong commitment to reaching research excellence and achieving assigned objectives. It is expected that you will carry out applied research work that will start from the establishment of a theoretical framework, continue with the implementation of current technology and policy influence and conclude with the theoretical and practical synthesis in a way that has not previously been done before.

If English is not your first language, you must also demonstrate your English language proficiency through evidence of IELTS at overall 6.5 or by providing access to MA/MSc chapters or published work.

Further information

For general enquiries about the application process visit the Graduate School pages.

Questions regarding academic aspects of the project should be directed to Professor Alexandros Paraskevas: Alexandros.Paraskevas@uwl.ac.uk

Primary supervisor: Dr Amalia Tsiami

Duration: 3 years (full-time) or 5 years (part-time)

Research context

Consumer demand for sustainability-oriented food supply chains is constantly growing. Innovative and sustainable food products enter the market frequently. Paradoxically, the variety of raw food products (fruit and veg) available in common shops is stagnant and has been estimated to vary between 50 and 200. Diversification of the spectrum of available food products will likely increase the sustainability level of the entire food sector, including the supply chains and contribute to food security. Increasing integrity between the players across food supply chains has the potential to re-introduce forgotten edibles back onto the consumer’s plate, contributing to diverse diet, better nutrition and food security. A compendium of literature is available on the topics of:

1. forgotten edibles, foraging, ethnobotany
2. sustainable supply chains, consumer demand

However, there is a clear research gap in methodologies for introduction or re-introduction of these edibles to existing supply chains.

Research goal

The research goal is to explore the possibilities of a shift from common types of edibles to the lesser known across food supply chains so that they become widely available to the public. The research will focus on the actual methods required for such change to occur across supply chain by simultaneously increasing sustainability, remaining financially justifiable and food security. The potential outcomes of this would result with answers to:

1. monocropping/soil depletion issues
2. supply chains becoming more resistant to destabilization  from  factors like climate and disease
3. introduction of new edibles with innovative health and sensory attributes

Candidate profile

You will be expected to hold a good first degree (first or upper second class) and/or a Masters degree (or equivalent) in Food Business Management or other similar disciplines. You should be able to work in a collaborative environment with a strong commitment to reaching research excellence and achieving assigned objectives. It is expected that you will carry out applied research work that will start from the establishment of a theoretical framework, continue with the implementation of methodology and conclude with the data collection and analysis.

Besides basic knowledge in food, business, background knowledge and/or previous experience in the following areas, though not mandatory, will be considered very favourably: supply chain management.

If English is not your first language, you must also demonstrate your English language proficiency through evidence of IELTS at overall 6.5 or by providing access to MA/MSc chapters or published work.

Further information

For general enquiries about the application process visit the Graduate School pages.

Questions regarding academic aspects of the project should be directed to Amalia Tsiami: amalia.tsiami@uwl.ac.uk

Primary supervisor: Dr Cristina Maxim

Duration: 3 years (full-time) or 5 years (part-time)

Research context

World cities are important destinations that attract many visitors,  but are also environments that are vulnerable to many crises and disasters. Yet, not many studies have researched crisis in a city tourism context. This is surprising as there is a healthy literature on crisis in cities and an increasing number of studies discussing crisis in tourism destinations in general. Considering that world tourism cities are environments that present specific characteristics that differentiate them from other destinations, understanding the particularities of crises in tourist cities could help mangers to better prepare and deal with such events.

Research goal

The main goal of this research is to explore the particularities of crises in world tourism cities and to investigate the four main stages of crisis management (early warning signal detection; preparedness and planning; response and recovery; resolution and reflection), with a focus on preparedness and planning. The specific aim of the research will be refined in collaboration with the successful applicant.

Candidate profile

You will be expected to hold a good first degree (first or upper second class) and/or a Masters degree (or equivalent) in tourism management or other similar disciplines. You  should be able to work in a collaborative environment with a strong commitment to reaching research excellence and achieving assigned objectives. It is expected that you will carry out applied research work that will start from the establishment of a theoretical framework, continue with the implementation of the research design adopted and conclude with discussing the contribution to knowledge and implications for managers (the specific approach to be developed together with the successful candidate).

Besides basic knowledge in tourism management, background knowledge and/or previous experience in the following areas, though not mandatory, will be considered very favourably:

• crisis management
• urban tourism
• statistical analysis

If English is not your first language, you must also demonstrate your English language proficiency through evidence of IELTS at overall 6.5 or by providing access to MA/MSc chapters or published work.

Further information

For general enquiries about the application process visit the Graduate School pages.

Questions regarding academic aspects of the project should be directed to Dr Cristina Maxim: cristina.maxim@uwl.ac.uk

Primary supervisor: Dr Cristina Maxim

Duration: 3 years (full-time) or 5 years (part-time)

Research context

World tourism cities attract large numbers of visitors, playing an important role not only in the global visitor economy but in a wider tourism context by exercising leadership and innovation, and are thus an important topic for tourism research. Global tourism cities are centres of trade and often host major national cultural institutions, whilst being catalysts for the development of tourism in their wider region. However, in a globalised world, global cities are faced with numerous challenges due to their characteristics and complexities in terms of economic, social or political functions, coupled with the diversity of people who experience such places either as residents, visitors or migrants. Still, limited research have been published on the topic, with most papers focusing on specific case studies.

Research goal

The main goal of this research is to investigate the development challenges faced by world tourism cities, with a particular focus on the sustainable development goals and their applicability in a city tourism context.

The aim of the research will be refined in collaboration with the successful applicant.

Candidate profile

You will be expected to hold a good first degree (first or upper second class) and/or a Masters degree (or equivalent) in Tourism Management or other similar disciplines. You should be able to work in a collaborative environment with a strong commitment to reaching research excellence and achieving assigned objectives. It is expected that you will carry out applied research work that will start from the establishment of a theoretical framework, continue with the implementation of the research design adopted and conclude with discussing the contribution to knowledge and implications for managers (the specific approach to be developed together with the successful candidate).

Besides basic knowledge in Tourism Management, background knowledge and/or previous experience in the following areas, though not mandatory, will be considered very favourably:

• urban tourism
• sustainability
• statistical analysis.

If English is not your first language, you must also demonstrate your English language proficiency through evidence of IELTS at overall 6.5 or by providing access to MA/MSc chapters or published work.

Further information

For general enquiries about the application process visit the Graduate School pages.

Questions regarding academic aspects of the project should be directed to Dr Cristina Maxim: cristina.maxim@uwl.ac.uk