Institutional economics, entrepreneurship studies, financial economics, organisation studies, political economy

Current doctoral supervisions:

‘Institutional Complementarities in the Creation and Sustainability of UK and French Cooperative Firms: A Comparative Analysis’

‘Mass Media’s Influence on Policymaking Authority and Outcomes’

‘The Role of Institutions in the Competitiveness of the Bangladeshi Economy: A Comparison of the Garment and Motorcycle Industries’

‘Board Diversity, Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness’

My research programme revolves around the application of the principles of comparative institutional analysis, specifically the relatively recent institutional complementarities approach, to the study of the impact of financial institutions and intermediation on the entry, growth, performance and survival of SMEs, social enterprises and cooperatives. I have published in several international academic journals. In 2008 I was awarded the Horvat-Vanek prize by the International Association for the Economics of Participation. In 2010 my PhD dissertation was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding Achievement in a Doctoral Research Programme by the University of Hertfordshire. I am currently under contract with Edward Elgar Publishing for a research monograph on Varieties of Capitalism and Firm Performance: The Institutional Context of Economic Organisation. I am also recipient of a Political Economy Research Fellowship from the Independent Social Research Foundation. This funded project develops an interdisciplinary historical and comparative perspective on the political economy of cooperative firms, with inputs drawn from institutional economics, political science and economic sociology. The concept of institutional complementarity provides the backbone of the analytical framework which is used to evaluate the evidence gathered from three country-based case studies of the evolution of the cooperative sector, chosen to represent the variety of capitalist regimes: the United Kingdom, a liberal market economy; the Netherlands, a coordinated market economy; and Italy, a Mediterranean type of capitalism. The findings will provide valuable insights for policy makers and cooperative sector organisations, but also for scholars working on alternative organisational forms, as well as those involved in curriculum design.

• Advanced corporate finance (Level 6)

• Financial management (Level 5 and Level 7)

• Financial markets (Level 6)

• Microeconomics (Level 4 and Level 5)

• Varieties of capitalism (Level 7)