The Department of Leadership and Management is a cross-disciplinary community dedicated to tackling complex business and societal challenges. Our teaching and innovative research encompasses the economic, psychological, social, political, and technological contexts in which organisations operate worldwide.
At the Department of Leadership and Management, we develop and disseminate evidence-based insights into today’s most pressing business and management issues. Our members are recognised globally for conducting cutting-edge research that informs and challenges conventional thinking, and ensures the best learning experience for students. We are a vibrant and collegial academic community, committed to building effective organisations and creating real societal value through leadership in teaching, research and innovation.
Research interests of DLM academics include:
- Digital work ( digital workplace, technological development and change in organisations)
- Organisational behaviour(careers, psychological contract, employee motivation, worker wellbeing, creativity)
- Work and employment studies (employee representation and voice, precarious work, labour markets, gig work, labour mobility)
- Critical organization studies(identity, gender, class, diversity and inclusion, leadership)
- Responsible business and business ethics (ethical and responsible leadership, sustainability and corporate social responsibility)
We explore these issues in the private, public, and non-profit sectors using a variety of methodologies, including large-scale field studies, quantitative surveys, diary studies, qualitative interviews, ethnography, philosophy-based research, laboratory-based experiments, and mixed-methods research. The department takes pride in its outstanding researchers and academics, whose work is widely regarded as some of the most innovative and well-executed.
The Department is committed to research-informed teaching and an inclusive approach to learning, including the use of creative learning techniques. We offer a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degree programmes that are accredited by international professional bodies. These degrees embrace methodological rigour, conceptual depth, and managerial applicability.
The breadth of our talented students from diverse business, non-business, and professional backgrounds ensures world-class education in a lively academic environment at Kent Business School. We are proud to provide unique opportunities for students to engage in technology-enhanced teaching, network with industry experts, and advance their careers.
Our research has been funded by grants from most of the major funding bodies, including the ESRC, British Academy, Innovate UK, European Union, Templeton Religion Trust, and Leverhulme Trust, and we also regularly gain funding from local authorities, charities, consultancy, and Knowledge Exchange Partnership with companies, including international funding agencies.
Several members of the Department sit on the editorial and associate boards of leading academic journals in the field (i.e. European Management Review, International Small Business Journal, Harvard Business Review, Organisation, International Journal of Information Management, Journal of the International Council for Small Business, Industrial and Commercial Training Journal) and are members of various professional organisations/networks e.g., British Academy of Management, Academy of Management (AOM), British Psychological Society, Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) , Higher Education Academy (HEA), Institute of Business Ethics.