Newcastle University

Introduction

The AGES research group is hosting the EBEN research conference at Newcastle University Business School on June 7-9, 2012. Visit the conference website at EBEN research conference 2012.

The AGES research group, (Accountability, Governance, Ethics and Sustainability) research group is here and you can also read about the members of the group.

I am Examiner for the ACCA professional paper P1 ('Governance, Risk and Ethics'), one of three compulsory papers at ACCA's professional examination level and am a member of several editorial boards in accounting and ethics. Research interests include accountability, voluntary reporting, social/environmental accounting, corporate philanthropy and business ethics. I'm also an external examiner on the MBA at Strathclyde University. I have four papers in 3* journals for the current REF period (three at A and one at A* on the Australian ERA list).

Qualifications

BSc (Chemistry, CNAA) 1986
CDipAF 1989
DipM 1991
MBA (Newcastle) 1991
PGCED (Northumbria) 1993
PhD (Northumbria) 2002 (in social accounting, incorporating disclosure and ethical theory).

Memberships

European Business Ethics Network 

British Accounting and Finance Association

European Accounting Association

Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR)

Research Interests

I am interested in accountability. It is such a wide and important subject that it can be studied and examined from many different angles and perspectives. All of the PhD projects described lower down on this webpage are essentially about exploring one or more aspects of accountability. The main vehicles that I use to research accountability are corporate governance, business ethics, corporate reporting and environmental sustainability. The AGES research group has active work ongoing in these and others besides.

Within this metanarrative, I have worked mainly in the following areas:
Social and environmental accounting and reporting
Voluntary disclosure materiality and theories
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CSR strategy
Business ethics and corporate philanthropy

I am also interested in research methods, and particularly in the epistemic challenges that accounting researchers encounter. In this context, I am interested in textual hermeneutics, content analysis and accounting narrative interrogation. I have a nascent interest in discourse analysis.

I am always interested in discussing research proposals in these areas with prospective PhD students and others. Contact via email to discuss if interested.

Current Work

I spend a lot of my time working with my PhD students and helping them to plan their projects, analyse data and get work published. My own interests and current projects, however, are here.

Low carbon shipping (with Melanie Landamore, funded by EPSRC). This is a part of WP (work package) 4 of the large EPSRC award, and I am working with Mel in developing 'full cost' and sustainable accounting models, building largely upon Jan Bebbington's influential work on sustainability assessment and modelling.

Corporate philanthropy strategy and strategic philanthropy.
Several papers published in this area. Cross-sectional and longitudinal trends, international comparisons and the way in which philanthropy can and has been used for strategic purposes, for the fine tuning of strategic positioning and for specific community relationship management. Professor Richard Slack and I have been working on this for several years and we are currently using data from our earlier Nuffield-funded project on how building societies used charitable giving to manage the strategic threats of demutualisation.

I am starting a project on the reporting of asbestos liabilities with AGES friends (see the AGES link above) Dr Sandy van der Laan and Dr Lee Moerman in Australia. This examines the reporting histories of James Hardie Ltd in Australia and T&N plc in the UK.

Research Roles

I am a member of the business school research committee, the PG research committee and the progressions and awards boards for doctoral qualifications. I also teach qualitative methods on the DBA degree.

Postgraduate Supervision

PhD: Juila Janfeshar Nobari (on social measurement). Juila is on an ESRC-CASE studentship in collaboration with partner organisation, Norcare Ltd. With Dr Jane Gibbon.

PhD: Mara Rahman. Mara is a lecturer in accounting at the National University of Malaysia and is at Newcastle doing his PhD until 2012. It is on intellectual capital reporting. Mara is just about to submit and will graduate in early 2012.

PhD: Susan Addison. The construction of trust in dyadic organisational relationships (with Dr Nadeem Moghal). Susan is at the writing-up stage and has interviewed 60 people in different trust dependency situations for her research.

PhD: Joanne Swaffield. Discourses in corporate environmental strategies and disclosures (with Dr Derek Bell). Looking at the role of 'Climate Champions' as agents of change in business organisations.

PhD: Phorntep Rattanataipop on risk reporting in UK banks, 1995-2010. Phorntep s a qualified accountant, visiting us for three years from Bangkok. He used a content analysis matrix to interrogate risk disclosures in UK banks and is currently writing up.

PhD: Ann-Marie Sidhu on the Clean Development Mechanism in Malaysia. Ann Marie was previously a staff member at Newcastle but now lives in KL and is an academic at Sunway University.

PhD. Adillah Yusof. Adillah is an academic in KL and is on a three year PhD programme exploring the accountabilities of non-exec directors chairing board committees in public companies.

PhD. Chris Soan. Chris is a lecturer in the business school and is examining accountability in employee-owned and co-operative organisations.

DBA Nicolas Rietsch (environmental strategies)
DBA: Ronan Brunton (environmental strategy and 'greenwashing')

For more information (and photographs), see the AGES research group link at the top of this page.

Esteem Indicators

Member of editorial boards:

Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal

Accounting Forum

Journal of Applied Accounting Research

Business Ethics:a European Review 

Funding

April 2005. ACCA (£11,960). Materiality of voluntary disclosures in banks' annual reports. Analysts' perspectives explored through protocol analysis. Jointly with Richard Slack of Northumbria University.

March 2006. Nuffield Foundation (£5,000). Social responsibility strategy in mutual building societies. With Richard Slack of Northumbria University.

March 2009. ESRC CASE studentship. 'Accountability and social measurement for third sector supported housing organisations: critical insights and pragmatic approaches'. With Jane Gibbon. Value is about £60,000.

Jan 2010 for three years. EPSRC. 'Low carbon shipping: a systems approach'. £1.7 million in collaboration with marine engineering at Newcastle and universities of Hull, Strathclyde, UCL and Plymouth and a number of corporates.

October 2011 for three years. Santander (bank) plc for the Santander PhD studentship in sustainability. Value is £60,000 over three years.

I teach corporate governance, strategy and financial analysis to undergraduates, mainly on the PwC BAF degree.

At postgraduate level, I teach business ethics and CSR on the Exec MBA and also research methods on the DBA.

• Campbell D, Edgar D, Stonehouse G. Business strategy: an introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
• Campbell DJ, McPhail K, Slack R. Face work in annual reports: a study of the management of encounter through annual reports, informed by Levinas and Bauman. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 2009, 22(6), 907-932.
• Campbell D, Rahman MRA. A longitudinal examination of intellectual capital reporting in Marks & Spencer annual reports, 1978-2008. British Accounting Review 2010, 42(1), 56-70.
• Beck AC, Campbell D, Shrives P. Content analysis in environmental reporting research: enrichment and rehearsal of the method in a British-German context. British Accounting Review 2010,42 3 207-222.
• Campbell D, Slack R. Environmental disclosure and environmental risk: sceptical attitudes of UK sell-side bank analysts. British Accounting Review 2011, 43(1), 54-64.
• Campbell DJ, Slack RE. Corporate "Philanthropy Strategy" and "Strategic Philanthropy" Some Insights From Voluntary Disclosures in Annual Reports. Business and Society 2008, 47(2), 187-212.
• Campbell DJ, Slack RE. Narrative Reporting: Analysts’ Perceptions of its Value and Relevance. London: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 2008. 104.
• Evans N, Campbell D, Stonehouse G. Gestion estrategica del turismo (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Sintesis, 2009.
• Campbell DJ, Slack R. The strategic use of corporate philanthropy: building societies and demutualisation defences. Business Ethics: a European Review 2007, 16(4), 326-342.
• Campbell D, Slack R. The influence of mutual status on rates of corporate charitable contributions. Journal of Business Ethics 2007, 74(2), 191-200.
• Campbell DJ. Protocol analysis. In:Hoque, Z., ed. Methodological Issues in Accounting Research: Theories and Methods.London:Spiramus Press,2006, pp. chapter 19.
• Campbell D, Moore G, Shrives P. Cross-sectional effects in community disclosure. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 2006, 19(1), 96-114.
• Campbell DJ, Slack RE. Public Visibility as a Determinant of the Rate of Corporate Charitable Donations. Business Ethics: a European Review 2006,15 1 19-28.
• Campbell D, Cornelia Beck A, Shrives P. A note on comparative language interrogation for content analysis: The example of English vs. German. British Accounting Review 2005, 37(3), 339-350.
• Ball A, Campbell D, Lehman G. Towards an environmentally enabling accounting and finance. Accounting Forum 2005. Oxford, UK:Elsevier Ltd,29 1 1-6.
• Evans N, Campbell DJ, Stonehouse G. Strategic management for travel and tourism. Chinese edition. Oxford:Elsevier,2005.
• Campbell DJ, Craig T. Organisations and the business environment. Oxford:Elsevier,2005.
• Campbell DJ, Beck AC. Answering allegations: the use of the corporate website for restorative ethical and social disclosure.. Business Ethics: a European Review 2004,13 2/3 100-116.
• Campbell DJ. A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of environmental disclosure in UK companies - a research note.. The British Accounting Review 2004,36 1 107-117.
• Stonehouse G, Campbell DJ, Hamill J, Purdie A. Global and transnational business - management and strategy. Chichester, UK: John Wiley, 2004.
• Campbell DJ, Craven BM, Shrives P. Voluntary social reporting in three FTSE sectors: a comment on perception and legitimacy. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 2003, 16(4), 558-581.
• Campbell DJ. Intra- and intersectoral effects in environmental disclosures: evidence for legitimacy theory?. Business Strategy and the Environment 2003, 12(6), 357-371.
• Campbell DJ, Craven B, Lawler K. Social welfare, positivism and business ethics. Business Ethics: A European Review 2002, 11(3), 268-281.
• Campbell DJ, Stonehouse G, Houston B. Business Strategy: An Introduction. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002.
• Evans N, Campbell DJ, Stonehouse G. Strategic Management for Travel and Tourism. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002.
• Stonehouse G, Campbell DJ. Interactive online course on international business strategy. Pearson Publishing, 2001.
• Campbell DJ, Shrives P, Bohmbach-Saager H. Voluntary social disclosure through mission statements in corporate reports. Signalling what and to whom?. Business and Society Review 2001, 106(1), 65-87.
• Campbell DJ. Legitimacy theory or managerial reality construction. Corporate social disclosure in Marks and Spencer corporate reports, 1969-1997. Accounting Forum 2000, 24(1), 80-100.
• Campbell, D. J. Organisations and the business environment.. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1997.
• Campbell D, Moore G, Metzger M. Corporate philanthropy in the UK 1985-2000: Some empirical findings. Journal of Business Ethics 2002, 39(1-2), 29-41.
• Campbell DJ, Moore G, Shrives P. Intersectoral effects in community disclosures: a comment on legitimacy theory and social costs. In: Critical Perspectives on Accounting Conference. 2002, New York.
• Campbell D, Fowler A. Benchmarking: Concepts and Frameworks. Pharmacy Management 2001, 17(4), 52-55.
• Campbell D. Contra Wight: the errors of a premature writing. Review of International Studies 1999, 25(2), 317-321.