BLOG: Only fools rush in?

Published on 8 February 2023

As postgraduate researcher, Clare Westcott, commences her role as Chair of the Centre of Sustainable Business (CSB) Advisory Board, Clare reflects on her journey form the corporate world to academia.

I definitely can’t be accused of rushing in when it comes to returning to university.

A mere 30 years after my first graduation I found myself dressed in a cap and gown, receiving my Master of Business Administration from the University of Liverpool Management School.

After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, my ‘first’ career embraced corporate life, spending years in Finance and HR Management in global pharmaceutical firms.

Budgets were key and driving shareholder value underpinned everything (including bonuses!).

After an extended career break, during which I sat as a non-executive director for an NHS trust, I pondered how to return to the corporate environment? Will I be taken seriously? Is my knowledge outdated? Will anyone even read my CV?

Then in a mad moment of looking at universities for my daughter I decided to apply myself. The encouragement from the Management School was amazing, and suddenly I was back in a lecture theatre as part of The Liverpool MBA.

Whilst I hoped it would be the route to my ‘second’ career, I don’t think anyone would have predicted I would be as a postgraduate researcher and graduate teaching fellow (GTF).

The MBA refreshed my rusty business knowledge, but it was discussions about value in a wider sense that captured my imagination.

An optional module, led by Dr Alan Southern, introduced us to social enterprises like Rise Construction Framework, led by Sara Lawton.

Further guest lectures, including Jeremy Nicholls, (founder of Social Value International and now the SDG Assurance Framework Lead at the United Nations Development Programme), discussed wider concepts of value, and critically questioned why governance and legislation of these aspects are severely lacking.

The opportunity to develop an MBA dissertation exploring the inclusion of social value in UK public procurement, developed further questions on management, governance and transparency, which now underpin my current PhD research.

My dissertation findings highlighted opportunities for improving social value inclusion in public procurement contracts, and demonstrated it is imperative stakeholders understand the outcomes they should expect and are able to hold relevant organisations to account.

These findings were presented to government agencies and the academic community, initiating positive discussions about future implications for practical change and additional research.

Multiple research themes examine societal outcomes, but there is limited discussion on what needs to change within organisations to facilitate that happening.

My research, for which I received the Andrew Douglas Award for outstanding PhD students in July 2022, seeks to understand blind spots in the processes, policies, and procedures.

As well as having implications for existing academic models based on financial dominance, such as Agency Theory and Value Theory, my research will provide real world recommendations to guide organisations on how to operate.

 

What is Agency Theory?

Agency theory is a principle that is used to explain and resolve issues in the relationship between business principals (shareholders) and their agents (managers). In the context of sustainability, agency theory focuses on the provision of appropriate information and adequate monitoring, to ensure the successful implementation of strategies that deliver environmental, societal and economic value.

What is Value Theory?

Value theory is a concept that examines the worth that is attributed to goods, people or actions. In the context of sustainability, value theory challenges our interpretation of cost to consider not only the economic impact of our decisions, but also the environmental and social impacts. These are often referred to as non-financial reporting.

 

For societal and economic value to be delivered, we need to interact with stakeholders, but not just those financially invested in success via shareholdings, contracts, or bonus payouts.

To make those conversations meaningful we need to make information accessible and clear.

This symbiosis of research and business is exactly what the CSB wants to achieve, by developing meaningful debated and sharing knowledge that drives a change in how we approach business in the future.

Sustainable business does not mean continuing the status quo, sustainable business demands ‘business-not-as-usual’ through collective, urgent and responsible responses.

My return to university has provided a multitude of knowledge, from methodological approaches to grand theories, but what resonates most strongly are estimates that by 2050 we will need 3 planets to sustain our over consumption, while there is still significant, global, wealth and income inequality.

Yet this sits against a backdrop of significant, global, wealth and income inequality, which proves this is not sustainable business, and incremental change is not quick enough to outrun such statistics.

I am excited to play my small part and to progress research into the operational barriers to delivering social value, but one thing is certain, if we want to have a future that we can all value, then ‘rushing’ is required and only fools will stand still.

 

Clare Westcott is a postdoctoral researcher and GTF at the University of Liverpool Management School. Clare also sits as the Chair of the Centre for Sustainable Business Advisory Board.