I have three inter-related areas of research focus:

Globalization and professional service firms

I am also interested in theories of globalization and the way these can be used to understand the globalization of professional service firms. Recent research in this area includes:

• An ESRC funded project on the globalization executive search firms
• A British Academy funded project on the globalization architecture firms
• A Sloan foundation project on the work of global advertising agencies in US cities

Knowledge, learning and innovation

My work uses theories of communities of practice as well as related theories of knowledge and learning to examine the practices and spaces of learning in different organisations. Relevant projects include:

• An ESRC funded project on professional training and education that analyses the local and global influences on education, training and learning in law firms
• A British Council funded Exchange programme exploring the way knowledge and practice relating to sustainable building design travels

Mobility in everyday and business life

Work in this area focuses on the now central role of mobility in both day-to-day social life and in the reproduction of global business spaces. Drawing on and contributing to work on the ‘mobilities turn’ in the social sciences, as well as work on concepts of practice, recent projects include:

• A Research Councils Energy Programme funded project focusing on mobility and the implications of disruptions to mobility for personal and business lives and for the carbon impacts of travel
• A European Research Council funded network exploring ‘The Future of Business Mobilities’

Please contact me to discuss possible topics for PhD research. I would be particularly interested in hearing from people with proposals that fit within the three broad areas of interest detailed on my webpage.