Using history-based digital storytelling to shape strategy
PhD Studentship (3 years)
Aston University College of Business and Social Sciences
Supervisors: Dr Ahmad Beltagui, Dr Brian Sudlow
Submission deadline: Monday, September 09, 2024
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship, supported by the College of Business and Social Sciences to be undertaken within Aston Business School and School of Law and Social Sciences.
The position is available to start in January 2025.
Financial Support
This studentship includes a fee bursary to cover the home or overseas fees rate, plus a maintenance allowance of £19,237 per year for the full 3-year programme.
Background to the Project
Innovation and strategy implementation are challenging in organisations because they require people to change their attitudes and behaviours. Studies of organisations have identified storytelling as a powerful strategic tool and history as an important resource that can help. Research has explored the way that managers can or could create narratives in the way they lead their organisations through strategic change. For example, managers use storytelling for sensemaking and to help create a shared vision for an organisation (Beltagui et al., 2017; Humphreys et al., 2012). Meanwhile prospective history (Suddaby et al., 2019) suggests that managers can use a historical understanding to create a strategic vision of the future. Yet limited research looks at how the content and delivery of storytelling can bring about the desired impacts. Questions include whether verbal, written or digital stories influence people’s perceptions differently and which type of stories is more or less likely to inspire action. This funded PhD will explore these questions by testing the impact of history-based digital storytelling to identify which features of the stories and of their delivery are most influential.
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