My research studies how social norms are established or contested, with particular attention being drawn to the practices of corporations. How come certain practices are seen as 'natural' and 'acceptable' whereas others raise concern and resistance? And what are the effects of normative changes on people's power and sense of identity?
I tackle these questions from a perspective that mixes philosophical questioning and ethnographic participant observation. My interest in normativity has brought me to study (and publish) in the fields of business ethics; management learning; organisational studies and social theory.
I worked as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in the early 2000s, before doing a PhD in Cambridge (2002-06) and joining academia. After my thesis, I worked as Associate Professor at the University of Reading (UK), Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Ontology (EPFL, Switzerland) and Reader at Cardiff Business School (UK). I have also been active with the Occupy movement that purports to limit the contemporary excesses of capitalism.
I am open to PhD projects that consider the effects of contemporary organisations on society and that are anchored in the social sciences and humanities.