Anthony Hesketh

My research focuses on exploring how organizations understand, develop and articulate value and the implications this has for the different stakeholders involved. This began with my PhD at Lancaster examining the socially constructed nature of human capital theory, which evolved into a critique of first normative political economy, then a meta-theoretical critique of how value is understood in human resources management. Frustration with the strangely enduring Cartesian Divide has led to recent work carving out a new theory of value. Achieving this has meant extending my scholarship in the accounting and leadership fields to understand the daily challenges faced by senior executives. All this has led to a new meta-theoretical stance I label semiotic materialism, which underpins the new theory of value I am currently researching and constructing.

Research Interests:
Critical Finance & Accounting Studies
Semiotic materialism, critical realism and related methodologies
Political economy of organizations