Accolades for articles: our researchers’ papers make it into “most read” lists

Leeds University Business School researchers regularly publish in a variety of leading journals. Their articles, which cover a wide range of topics from global marketing strategies to financial volatility, are both informative and thought-provoking, and are often highly cited.

In addition to winning awards for “best paper” at conferences, a number of our academics have recently been informed that their articles are amongst some of the most read papers in certain journals.

Dr Jo Ingold, Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Public Policy and also a member of the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change, published an article entitled “Evidence translation: an exploration of policy makers' use of evidence” in Policy & Politics. Co-authored with Dr Mark Monaghan from Loughborough University, the article was one of the journal’s top five most read articles published in 2016.

Drawing upon focus groups with Department for Work and Pensions officials, the paper introduces a conceptual model of 'evidence translation', comprising five key dimensions which influence how evidence is used in policy: the perceived policy problem, agenda-setting, filtration processes, the policy apparatus and the role of translators. The paper suggests the critical role of 'evidence translators' throughout the process and highlights the perceived importance of methodology as an evidence selection mechanism.

The paper was also awarded the 2017 Ken Young Best Paper Prize, with the panel stating that the article “makes a clear contribution to the academic debate, while also providing insights and lessons of practical value to policy makers and practitioners.”

Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki, Professor of International Business, Director of Research for the International Business Division and Head of the Centre for International Business, with co-authors Tanja Leppäaho (University of Jyväskylä) and Pavlos Dimitratos (University of Glasgow), had her paper – “The Case Study in Family Business: An Analysis of Current Research Practices and Recommendations” - published in the Family Business Review in 2015. The authors were recently informed that this paper is one of the most read articles in the history of the journal to date, since its inception in 1988. It was also the most read article in Family Business Review last year.

In this paper, the authors identified and analysed 75 articles in the family business literature between 2000 and 2014, focusing on the case study design they adopted. They sought to understand how family business scholars engage in case study research and distinguished three different ontological approaches - qualitative positivism, interpretivism and critical realism - that inform case study practice. The paper discusses each approach in terms of its rationale, discourse and contribution to family business research.

Dr Nick Williams, Associate Professor and member of the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies, co-authored a paper that was voted the best overall paper by the editors and consulting editors of the International Small Business Journal for 2016. The article, co-authored by Tim Vorley, University of Sheffield, is titled “Between petty corruption and criminal extortion: How entrepreneurs in Bulgaria and Romania operate within a devil’s circle” and appeared in Vol. 34, Issue 6.

The article examines the impact of corruption on entrepreneurship in transition economies. Utilising in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Bucharest, Romania, the article finds that despite economic reforms, corruption occupies a pervasive space which impacts entrepreneurial strategy. You can read more about Dr Williams’ work on entrepreneurship in transition economies on the blog. 

Professor Peter Buckley, Professor Jeremy Clegg and Associate Professor Hinrich Voss have received special recognition by the Journal of International Business for their 2007 article, “The determinants of Chinese outward foreign direct investment”, which has won the 2017 Decade Award. The Decade award recognises the most influential article published in the volume ten years ago. The authors will be presented with their award at the Academy of International Business (AIB) conference in Dubai in July, and will be hosting a special session and panel discussion on the article.

The paper was written on the authors’ study investigating the determinants of Chinese outward direct investment (ODI) and the extent to which three special explanations (capital market imperfections, special ownership advantages and institutional factors) need to be nested within the general theory of the multinational firm.

A big congratulations to all our award winners!