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Christian Harrison

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Reader in Leadership, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland

I am a Reader in Leadership. I am the Chair of the Staff Forum for Research of the University of the West of Scotland, United Kingdom. I am also the programme leader of the MSc Leadership and Management and MSc International Management in the School of Business and Creative Industries of the University. I graduated with a First-class degree in Pharmacy and practised as a pharmacist, assuming managerial positions before moving into the field of Management. I have an MBA and was the valedictorian of the University of Aberdeen Business school MBA class with a Distinction. In addition, I also possess a PhD in Leadership from the University of the West of Scotland and other postgraduate research and teaching qualifications in my repertoire.

I am a well-known and recognised scholar in the field of Entrepreneurial Leadership and work across the globe on research projects. I am very active in teaching and also the leader of a range of modules namely; Entrepreneurial Leadership, Making it Happen: Leadership and Change, Leading Change, Leadership, Leadership and Professional Development, Leadership Theory and Research and Business Organisation and Ethics. I am involved in delivering these modules to undergraduates and postgraduates including MSc, MBA and DBA students. I am also the author of numerous published research papers on Leadership which is my major research interest and I serve as the Director of Studies/First Supervisor of several PhD and DBA students. I have successfully supervised several doctoral students to completion and my current students are working on projects on Authentic leadership, Servant leadership, Transformational leadership, Ethical leadership, Distributed leadership etc.

Furthermore, I am an active member of several learned organisations. I am the Chair of the Leadership and Leadership Development Special Interest Group of the British Academy of Management. As Chair, I foster more dialogue in the domain of leadership and develop alongside this, uplift in activity and research with the aim of bringing together the academic and practitioner experiences and viewpoints. I am the Director of the Social Innovation, Leadership and Management Research Centre. As director, I promote new insights on social innovation, leadership and management through research and reflection-on-practice. I am a Fellow of the Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management (FIBAKM). I am also an active member of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE), International Council for Small Business (ICSB), Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management (IBAKM), Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development (CAREED), Higher Education Academy (HEA), Protracted Crisis Research Centre (PCRC), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) and I serve on several review panels and committees. I am an external examiner to other UK universities such as Manchester Metropolitan University, Heriot Watt University and University of Aberdeen. I am the editor of New Frontiers in African Business and Society by the globally renowned Palgrave Macmillan. I am also the associate editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), associate editor of the Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (HSS) and review editor of Organisational Psychology.

Additionally, I have a good track record of securing grants and research funding and a very strong external research network and collaborative partnership with organisations. I mentor and develop colleagues on contemporary teaching practice in Higher Education. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and a Certified Management and Business Educator of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CMBE). I am also a Fellow Certified Business Administrator (FCBA) and a Fellow Certified Knowledge Manager (FCKM) of the Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management (IBAKM). I was instrumental in developing the British Academy of Management (BAM) Education Practice Award which recognises inspiring and impactful management education practice. I am the founder and Chair of the African Studies Track in the British Academy of Management. The track is committed to fostering dialogue on contemporary African research which directly impacts BAM members and the wellbeing of the broader academic research community.

I work extensively as a consultant, speaker and trainer on leadership skills development within organisations. I am the founder of the NGO; The Leadership Mould Initiative International. The NGO supports students and moulds future leaders. I am the author of the bestselling book entitled ‘Leadership Theory and Research: A Critical Approach to New and Existing Paradigms’, which is published by the globally renowned publishing company; Palgrave MacMillan. I wrote the book to enable students (undergraduate and postgraduate), scholars, practitioners, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders to learn more about the concept of leadership. It provides a critical insight into leadership research. Emerging paradigms and theories of new approaches to leadership are identified and addressed. In addition, I have also authored several video publications on leadership namely; Traditional Paradigms of Leadership: A Critical Insight into Established Theories and Concepts; Modern Paradigms of Leadership: A Critical Insight into Contemporary Theories and Concepts; Emerging Paradigms of Leadership: A Critical Insight into Developing Theories; Making Sense of Leadership: A Critical Insight into Leadership and Management Research. These videos cover established leadership theories providing a nuance conceptualisation of the field and are published by Palgrave Macmillan

Experience

  • –present
    Reader in Leadership, University of the West of Scotland

Education

  •  
    University of the West of Scotland, PhD in Leadership

Publications

  • 2021
    Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Ahmed, F and Harrison, C. (2021): Challenges and competencies of entrepreneurial leaders in driving innovation at DIY laboratories, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.1908538
  • 2020
    International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business , Omeihe, I., Harrison, C., Simba, A. and Omeihe, K. (2020) “The role of the entrepreneurial leader: a study of Nigerian SMEs”. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
  • 2020
    Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Bagheri, A. and Harrison, C. (2020). “Entrepreneurial leadership measurement: a multi-dimensional construct.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 27 (4), 659-679. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-01-2019-0027
  • 2020
    International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Harrison, C., Omeihe I., Simba, A. and Omeihe, K. (2020) “Leading the way: the entrepreneur or the leader?”. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2020.1840853
  • 2020
    European Business Review, Mcquade, K.E., Harrison, C. and Tarbert, H. (2020), "Systematically reviewing servant leadership", European Business Review, 33(3), 465-490.https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-08-2019-0162
  • 2019
    International Review of Entrepreneurship, Clark, C., Harrison, C. and Gibb, S. (2019) “Developing a conceptual framework of entrepreneurial leadership: A systematic literature review and thematic analysis”. International Review of Entrepreneurship, 17(3), 347-384 https://www.senatehall.com/entrepreneurship?article=639
  • 2018
    European Business Review, Clark, C. and Harrison, C. (2018) “Leadership: the complexities and state of the field”. European Business Review, 30(5), 514- 528 https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-07-2017-0139
  • 2018
    Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Harrison, C., Burnard, K and Paul, S. (2018). “Entrepreneurial leadership in a developing economy: a skill-based analysis”. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 25(3), 521-548 https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-05-2017-0160
  • 2018
    Leadership Theory and Research: A Critical Approach to New and Existing Paradigms, Switzerland, Palgrave MacMillan. , Harrison, C. (2018). Leadership Theory and Research: A Critical Approach to New and Existing Paradigms, Switzerland, Palgrave MacMillan. http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783319686714#
  • 2016
    International Review of Entrepreneurship, Harrison, C., Paul, S. and Burnard, K. (2016). “Entrepreneurial leadership: a systematic literature review”. International Review of Entrepreneurship, 14(2), 235-264 https://www.senatehall.com/entrepreneurship?article=544
  • 2016
    Journal of Work Place Learning, Harrison, C., Paul, S. and Burnard, K. (2016). “Entrepreneurial leadership in retail pharmacy: developing economy perspective”. Journal of Workplace Learning, 28(3), 150-167 https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-01-2015-0004

Grants and Contracts

  • 2021
    Empowering Women in protracted displacement in Nigeria: entrepreneurship, livelihoods and communities of resistance
    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Scottish Funding Council/Global Challenges Research Fund
  • 2020
    Empowering Women in Protracted Displacement in Nigeria
    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Scottish Funding Council/Global Challenges Research Fund
  • 2018
    Leadership Skills in the Higher Education
    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding Source:
    University of the West of Scotland
  • 2017
    Leadership Skills in the Higher Education Sector: A Study of the University of the West of Scotland:
    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding Source:
    University of the West of Scotland

Professional Memberships

  • Chair, Leadership and Leadership Development Special Interest Group, British Academy of Management
  • Founder/Chair, African Studies Track, British Academy of Management
  • Chair, Staff Forum for Research, University of the West of Scotland
  • Director, Social Innovation, Leadership and Management Centre, University of the West of Scotland
  • Fellow, Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management.
  • Senior Fellow of the Advance HE (SFHEA)
  • Certified Management and Business Educator of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CMBE).
  • Executive Member, Entrepreneurship Special Interest Group, British Academy of Management
  • Executive Member, Expert Working Group, Ethnic Diversity in Education, Advance HE.
  • Executive Member: University of the West of Scotland BAME Staff Network
  • Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE)
  • International Council for Small Business (ICSB)
  • Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development (CAREED)
  • Protracted Crisis Research Centre (PCRC)
  • Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN)
  • National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST)