We are a multidisciplinary group of researchers and educators at Royal Holloway.
Professor Elena Giovannoni, Centre Director
The Centre for Critical and Historical Research on Organisation and Society (CHRONOS) actively provides an interdisciplinary, international and inclusive forum to discuss and develop the plurality of ways in which ‘critical’ and ‘historical’ research into organizations, markets and society can be conducted.
The guiding belief of critical research is that it should uncover the social and cultural dimensions and implications of any subject matter, interrogating and questioning mainstream approaches and practices as a way to make a positive difference for organisations, markets and society. This, in turn, needs to be grounded in an in-depth awareness of the origin, historical heritage and evolution of social phenomena, using historical perspectives as a way to delve into present and future trajectories of organisation and society. In this way ‘critical and historical’ research prompts social and cultural awareness and wise judgement among policymakers, organisational leaders and employees while informing public debate within broader society. What is therefore excluded is research concerned with purely technical, asocial and/or a-historical approaches to organisation and management.
Our strengths and key research areas
- Interdisciplinary perspectives on space and time within and across organisations, researching the material, spatial, visual, and temporal/historical nature of organisation and organising phenomena
- Research into identity and working life, as a way to reconceptualise differences, categories and divisions, and provide fundamental critique of work / life balance
- Research into critical consumption and politics of markets, including, studies on consumer activism; geopolitics; marketplace cultures; socio-historic patterning’s of consumption; classed resistance; business-politics relations; justice, law and markets
- Research into accountability and control in diverse settings (global market, corporations, NGOs, charities, arts organisations and creative industries, education, etc).
- Silent Voices: Feminist and Subaltern Perspectives
Upcoming Events
Please see details below of our latest events:
Accounting and the shifting spheres: landless economies, human assemblies, and the new geocentrism
Prof. Hendrik Vollmer, Warwick Business School, UK.
13th June 2022, 3:00-4:30pm UK Time, Microsoft Teams meeting
You can find the abstract of the presentation and a short bio of the guest speaker below.
Abstract
In making sense of the social world, among accountants and elsewhere, spheres are widely shared but rarely examined social imaginaries. The paper discusses the meaning and significance of spheres for locating accounting and accountants in the wider social world and considers more closely three instances: the sphere of the economic, the public sphere, and the planetary ecosphere. Each of these spheres is associated with a specific imagination of space and offers a distinct sense of place for accountants. As social imaginaries, spheres help accounting find allies and participate in the building of sociotechnical assemblages. Spheres are associated with differences in the constitution and scope of accounts and accountabilities, and they indicate distinct roles for accounting in the shaping of social space. These roles deserve more attention, particularly in relation to the spatial alliances afforded by accounting’s shifting spheres, from the imagination of landless economies to human assemblies and the constituencies of planet Earth.
Biography
Hendrik Vollmer has been Associate Professor at Warwick Business School since 2020. He had previously worked at the University of Leicester School of Business (2015-2020) and the Department of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld, Germany (1999-2015). His interests are in Accounting, Social Theory, and Ecological Renewal.
To attend the seminar, please email: elena.giovannoni@rhul.ac.uk
In this CHRONOS session we have the pleasure to host three of our very own SBM members who also sit in the editorial board of critical journals:
* Prof. Andreas Chatzidakis, Marketing Theory
* Prof. Fiona Moore, Critical Perspectives on International Business
* Prof. Helen Tregidga, Critical Perspectives on Accounting
Andreas, Fiona and Helen will share their respective experiences about what critical research means for them based on their editorial roles. A discussion will follow.
To attend this seminar, please email Giulia.Achilli@rhul.ac.uk or Paul.Caussat@rhul.ac.uk.
Key contacts
Professor Elena Giovannoni, Centre Director
Research leads
- ‘Interdisciplinary perspectives on Space and Time in management and organization’, Professor Robert Fitzgerald
- ‘Visibility, Accountability and control in diverse settings’, Dr Leonardo Rinaldi
- ‘Identity and working life’, Professor Fiona Moore and Dr Louise Ashley
- "Silent Voices: Feminist and Subaltern Perspectives", Dr Olga Kravets
- ‘Critical consumption and politics of markets’, Dr Martina Hutton
Strategy leads
- External engagement and impact lead: Professor Paul Du Gay
- Social media lead: Dr Olga Kravets
- Research funding lead: Dr Maria Simosi
- ECR (Early Career Researchers) lead: Dr Giulia Achilli and Dr Paul Caussat
Core members
Giulia Achilli
Gloria Agyemang
John Ahwere-Bafo
Humayun Ansari
Sarah Ansari
Louise Ashley
Alan Bradshaw
Jane Broadbent
Donna Brown
Benedetta Cappellini
Andreas Chatzidakis
Derrick Chong
Jennifer Cole
Neil Conway
Kate Cooper
Caroline Cornish
Philip Crang
Jane Davison
Dan Kärreman
Paul du Gay
Amany Elbanna
Robert Fitzgerald
Maria Gee
Elena Giovannoni
Chris Grey
Chris Hackley
Catherine Harbor
Paul Haynes
Abby Hilson
Chris Howorth
Ashok Jashapara
Mads Jensen
Olga Kravets
Mikko Laamanen
Pauline MacLaran
Lauren McCarthy
Brendan McSweeney
Fiona Moore
Christopher Napier
Chris Nobes
Justin O'Brien
Susan O'Leary
Gül Berna Özcan
Niki Panteli
Chloe Preece
Chris Rees
Alexander Reppel
Richard Laughlin
Leonardo Rinaldi
Andrew Seltzer
Sukanya Sen Gupta
Laura Spence
Emmett Sullivan
Gillian Symon
Mark Tadajewski
Hui Tan
Helen Tregida
Chin-Ju Tsai
Na Zhao
Yingqin Zheng
Maria Simosi
Anica Zeyen
Paul Caussat
PhD students
Adam Badger
Nicolae Bertalan
Sara Bakr
Ziyun Fan
Courtney Hagen Ford
Patrick Giwa
Farahiyah Haji Kawi
Minping Huang
John King
Ratna Khanijou
Yihan Liu
Ian McDonald
Adam Mckie
Antony Mullin
Saffet Uygur
Niki Vlastara
Matthew Waters
Tracey Wechie
Visiting academics
CHRONOS welcomes distinguished visiting academics to foster interdisciplinary and international research collaborations in any CHRONOS research area:
Professor Riccardo Mussari, University of Siena, Italy.
For information and expressions of interest, please contact Professor Elena Giovannoni.
Our research
CHRONOS draws on existing skills and resources to:
- Extend the success of the School of Business and Management’s Critical and historical perspectives (CHP) research group across a number of disciplines
- Expand national and international collaborations. Our aim is to expand research collaborations to other prestigious institutions and bodies within different countries
- Facilitate larger research projects and grant applications from members and affiliated research groups
- Sustain research impact and boost visibility of research output. Provide members with enhanced opportunities for public engagement, boosting the visibility of research outputs and impact of their research on society.
- Sustain early career researchers, as well as all members, through a productive environment, boosting research culture and fostering professional development
Research network and partnerships
UK research networks and partnerships
Cultural Research Group of Birmingham Business School, UK
International research networks and partnerships
Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Department of Business and Law, University of Siena, Italy
Our research impact cases
- "Public understanding of Brexit", led by Professor Chris Grey
- "Social mobility in the city", led by Dr. Louise Ashley
