Gemma Lord

I am a Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour within the Department for People and Organisations at OUBS. I was previously at the University of Manchester where I completed a PhD in the Business School, after undertaking a Research Route MA in Politics: Governance and Public Policy. Before returning to higher education, I worked for nine years in public and voluntary sector organisations, where I was involved in local service planning and provision, consultation and engagement, as well as facilitation of training events and knowledge exchange forums.

In light of my experience and education, I am particularly interested in understanding the experiences of those working within organisations that are tasked with delivering public policy in terms of social care contracts. My experience both in higher education and in previous professional work are reflected in the inter-disciplinary nature of my teaching and research, where I draw upon management and organisation studies, sociology, social psychology, politics and anthropology.

Research interests

Broadly, my research is concerned with organisations and management and shifting contexts of society, politics and economy. I bring a critical, interdisciplinary approach to the study of the implications of these concerns at institutional, organisational and individual levels. My work is centrally concerned with non-profit organisation, particularly in terms of its function and management in the context of transformations in technological and institutional conditions.

My current research focuses on

• (1) the implications of austerity on the organisation and management of non-profit organisations delivering social care work, particularly in terms of the increase in both competitive public contracting and cross-sector collaboration;
• (2) the organisational outcomes and the employee dynamics of processes of financialisation within the changing political economy of civil society;
• (3) whether non-profit organisations' concern with profitmaking risks displacing original organisational purpose alongside appropriate ethics of care; and
• (4) critical conceptions of entrepreneurship, particularly regarding entrepreneurship as a preferred solution to economic, social, organizational and individual problems.

My research is based upon qualitative methods, and primarily ethnographic enquiry, and I have undertaken extensive training in both qualitative and quantitative research methods. My research intends to contribute to management theory as well as to be relevant for practice, and I welcome interest from PhD candidates conducting research in these areas.

Teaching interests

My teaching is in the areas of organisation studies, organisational behaviour, research methodology, management, work and organisation. I specialise in teaching the sociological foundations of the business and management discipline. I am interested in the production of business and management knowledge, and the politics of this in business schools.

My overall approach to teaching is developed from my inter-disciplinary approach to research, and the relevance of it for both theory and practice. It is also developed from my previous professional work experience through aiming to support access and engagement via a student-centred approach.