Warwick Business School's Core Insights

Stephen Roper joins Core Insights host Trevor Barnes to discuss how the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the economy and how his research is proving vital in their battle for growth and survival. Professor Roper is Director of the Enterprise Research Centre, the UK's leading centre for research into the growth, innovation and productivity of SMEs, shaping policies and practices. It is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Innovate UK (IUK), the British Business Bank and a range of other organisations. Listen to Professor Roper reveal the policies needed to drive growth for SMEs and establish the UK as a world leader in business innovation.

Read more from the Enterprise Research Centre:
Increased mental health sickness impacting firms, ERC report reveals
Find out more about the Enterprise Research Centre

Read more about Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Responsible AI - a new online tool to protect children from harmful content
How can digital platforms beat their rivals?
Beyond the hype: what managers need to ask before adopting AI tools

For more articles on Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship sign up to Core Insights here.

Loizos Heracleous, Professor of Strategy, has been advising NASA on how it can stay ahead and work with the new space firms emerging from the private sector, such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
Here, he reveals to host Trevor Barnes how he has helped shape NASA's new strategy to  not only strengthen the US as a global leader in space, but build a sustainable human presence on the Moon and Mars, and work with these new space firms in an alliance of international partners to stimulate commercial activities in low Earth orbit.
Read more about NASA's strategy here:

Inside NASA's strategy for the new space race
The NASA pirates that transformed mission control

Read the latest articles on Strategy and Organisational Change:

Five questions to unlock open strategy in your organisation
How to frame a strategy to make sure staff back it
Has the day of reckoning for the gig economy arrived?

For more articles on Strategy and Organisational Change sign up to Core Insights here.

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) has been involved in a five-year long trial across five hospitals with the US-based Virginia Mason Institute (VMI), which is famed for adopting the lean methods used in car manufacturing pioneered by Toyota. The VMI has produced some of the best healthcare organisations in the US through this system and the NHS is hoping its magic can work in the UK as it looks to improve its services. Nicola Burgess, Reader of Operations Management, has been studying and researching the impact of the partnership, and here she joins Core Insights host Trevor Barnes to reveal what she has found along with Andy Hardy, CEO of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, one of the trusts involved.
Read more on Dr Burgess' analysis of the NHS-VMI partnership here:

For more articles on Healthcare and Wellbeing sign up to Core Insights here.

Core Insights podcast host Trevor Barnes is joined by award-winning author Nick Chater, Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School, and Ed Gardiner, Director at Innovation firm Cogco, which uses behavioural science, data science and design to build new products and services.
The pair reveal how research from behavioural science can be applied to many different businesses, from marketing agencies to finance companies. Gardiner and Professor Chater delve into how 'nudges' and robust findings about human behaviour can be used to improve an organisation's performance, from operational efficiency to boosting sales.
Professor Chater is author of The Mind is Flat - The illusion of mental depth and the improvised mind and The  Language Game - How improvisation created language and changed the world.
Read more about his research:

Read more about behavioural science and Decision-Making and Analytics.

And listen to our podcast series on Behavioural Science on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify. Start with the first episode from Professor Chater on Why searching for your true 'self' is pointless.

Core Insights host Trevor Barnes talks to Michael Bradshaw, Professor of Global Energy, and how his research has led to him becoming a trusted advisor to UK Government policymakers as the country attempts to decarbonise its economy. The complicated journey to net zero has been made even more difficult by the effects of Brexit, an increased dependence on gas imports,  and now the war in Ukraine. Research by Professor Bradshaw has informed the Government's approach to measuring and managing gas security in the context of climate change, informed debate on domestic shale gas development, and raised awareness of the geopolitical consequences of energy system transformation. Listen to his thoughts and insight on the UK's efforts to deliver on net zero.
Read more from Professor Bradshaw on Warwick Business School's Core Insights section:
Why the UK will be at the mercy of international gas prices for years
COP27: How is war in Ukraine affecting energy supplies?
Is it really a green post-pandemic recovery?
What strategy is Big Oil using to move to a green economy?

For more on Sustainability sign up to the monthly Core Insights newsletter here. 

Businesses have been turned upside down by the pandemic and, though restrictions are slowly being lifted, navigating a world still coming to terms with a new normal has left traditional strategy tools found wanting for many, while Russian's invasion of Ukraine has added a new layer of uncertainty.
Christian Stadler, Professor of Strategy, reveals a new strategy-making method - open strategy. He discusses its real world application with Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East, who has guided the company through these unprecedented times.
Join Core Insights host Audrey Dias as she discusses with the pair how open strategy can help companies deal with these uncertain and turbulent times.

The global pandemic saw the global economy effectively put on hold as lockdowns across the globe saw all but essential work frozen. Core Insights host Audrey Dias talks to Ana Galvao, Professor of Economic Modelling and Forecasting, and Paul Fisher, Ex-Bank of England Economist and Honorary Professor at Warwick Business School, to find out how the recovery is going and when the global economy will return to pre-pandemic levels. Read more from Professor Galvao on Post-COVID: When will the UK economy recover?

With the threat of COVID-19 continuing to affect our lives, working remotely or hybrid working seems to be a fact of life for many office-based workers. So what does this mean for the future of the office? Do organisations really need one?
Maja Korica, Reader in Management and Organisation, and Toby Benzecry, founder and CEO of Workplace Futures Group, discuss the future of the office in a post-pandemic world with Core Insights host Audrey Dias. Dr Korica is researching the future of work, while Toby's company advises organisations on how an office can boost motivation and productivity. Read more from Toby on Does office design affect a firm's performance?

Host Audrey Dias talks with Neil Stewart, Professor of Behavioural Science and Rafael Batista, former Head of Behavioural Research at Commonwealth Bank, about how the finance industry is using nudges to help customers with their money. Professor Stewart has done pioneering work on credit cards and is forcing the industry to think again about how it persuades customers to pay off their debt. While Rafael used behavioural science nudges to help Commonwealth Bank build a better relationship with their customers. Read more on the subject with these articles from Professor Stewart on Is your credit card statement nudging you into more debt? and  Why using direct debits may add to your credit card bill. And you can find out more about Rafael's journey with behavioural science in this feature Change Maker: Rafael Batista nudging for good in banking.

Join host Audrey Dias as she explores the tricky conundrum that often hits social enterprises and green start-ups as they seek to grow their business: should they compromise their ideals?
Deniz Ucbasaran, Professor of Entrepreneurship, has researched this area and details her findings and a process that green entrepreneurs and social enterprises can go through to find the right balance. She is joined by Hugh Thomas, Co-Founder and CEO of Ugly Drinks, whose start-up is taking on the fizzy drinks giants with a healthy alternative. Find out more by read Professor Ucbasaran's article The authentic founder - how to stay true to your values.