Professor Ian R. Hodgkinson is a multi-disciplinary scholar at the frontier of strategy research investigating issues that matter for individuals, organisations, and society.
Ian’s established international body of research bridges the public management, service management, and international management fields. He has produced over 100 research outputs and, with a focus on real-world impact, his research has involved:
- international healthcare policy
- public spending and service optimisation
- global digital policy and industrial transformation
- digital decarbonisation initiatives.
He is an OECD.AI expert and has contributed to initiatives led by the World Economic Forum (global), IEEE (global), The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD (global), and The National Digital Twin Programme – NDTP (UK), among others.
Leadership roles in HE
Ian has extensive leadership experience in the Higher Education sector. He is currently the Founder and Co-Lead of the Digital Decarb Design Group (a team of 20 academics and doctoral researchers) – the world’s first research group in this area. In addition, he is helping Loughborough University embed digital decarbonisation across its operations to deliver cost savings, carbon reduction and digital compliance.
Ian has successfully undertaken a range of senior management roles over the last two decades, including: Academic Lead for the Research Excellence Framework and acting Unit of Assessment Lead for Business and Management (C-17) between 2023-2026; Head of the International Business, Strategy and Innovation Group between 2018-2022 (a group of 27 academics responsible for an extensive teaching portfolio across UG, PGT, post-experience and apprenticeship levels); core member of the REF 2021 Planning Team for the Business and Management unit (C-17); acting Research Centre Director (2017) and Deputy Director of the Centre for Service Management between 2015-2020 (a multidisciplinary team of 12 academics); as well as successful terms as PhD Programme Lead (2017-2018), Undergraduate Programme Director (2011-2018) and Joint Programmes Lead (2009-2011).
Across these roles, Ian has been a key contributor to university-level research initiatives, staff development, curriculum design, and student recruitment and experience. He has also led initiatives on mentoring and developing researchers, building inclusive research environments, and fostering applied research to practice.
Ian has published research articles in a range of C-ABS 4-rated journals such as Journal of Service Research, Journal of World Business, Public Administration, British Journal of Management, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Public Management Review and Research Policy, among many other high-quality outputs at leading journals (e.g. Long Range Planning, European Sport Management Quarterly, Technovation, Industrial Marketing Management).
Ian served as Associate Editor of Journal of Service Management (2015-2021) and European Journal of Marketing (2019-2022), and he was also Guest Editor of International Marketing Review (2021-2022).
His research expertise has featured across a portfolio of research projects (totalling approx. £12.5M) that have been funded by a range of external bodies (e.g. National Lottery Heritage Fund, CE-HUB, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, Innovate UK, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) and supported by a variety of partners from industry.
A pioneer of the Digital Decarbonisation movement, Ian developed the first publicly available digital decarb toolkit, which serves as an indispensable resource for organisations to save costs, increase competitiveness and reduce digital emissions.
Ian has extensive teaching experience at undergraduate, postgraduate, and post-experience levels, as well as on doctoral training programmes. Ian’s teaching expertise includes strategic management, public management, digital decarbonisation and research methods.
He delivers ‘how-to’ workshops to doctoral students and early career researchers on finishing a thesis, publishing in top journals, and how to survive (and thrive) in academia.
His interest in pedagogy has driven several research projects examining student learning styles and the application of work-based learning to the classroom, with this work published in Studies in Higher Education and Teaching Public Administration, respectively.
Thought Leadership
Ian is an active contributor to global discussions on the key economic, social, and environmental challenges of digital transformation and AI growth, including at international forums such as the OECD, World Economic Forum, UK Government, House of Lords, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).
He is active on the academic conference scene, regularly presenting at conferences such as International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM), Strategic Management Society (SMS), and Academy of Management (AoM). Moreover, Ian has convened international research symposia, served on the advisory and scientific committees of international conferences, and given international keynotes.
Ian was the Vice-Chair and Track Co-Chair of the British Academy of Management Public Management and Governance Special Interest Group (2018-2023), and Visiting Professor at the Department of Strategy, Enterprise, and Sustainability at Manchester Metropolitan University (2021-2024).