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Professor of Enterprise and Competitiveness, University of Birmingham

John's research is motivated by a desire to understand and explain the complex ways in which production is organized through space and in place and via a variety of forms of enterprise.

- A focus on understanding the economic geographies of knowledge specifically the production and consumption of expertise. Knowledge flows in and between enterprises, concentrating on knowledge-intensive business services, specifically management consultancy, market research, impression management and industrial design.

- Understanding the role played in the production process by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

- A concern with exploring the ways in which individuals and enterprises shape and are shaped by their involvement in economic activity. The conceptualization of the importance of individual expertise and reputation in this new age of ‘relationship capitalism’ including hybrid forms of work and highly-paid professional work.

- Alternative forms of organization and enterprise including not-for-profit enterprises Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) and virtual firms.

- Historical and methodological perspectives on enterprise, entrepreneurship and business services.

Experience

  • –present
    Professor of Enterprise and Competitiveness, University of Birmingham