In early 2021 we launched a new Original Thinkers’ Blog page on the AMBS website giving our academics, alumni and guests the opportunity to share original thinking, commentary, thought leadership and insights across a vast range of subjects.
The site has proved extremely popular and we have had almost 13,500 views during the year. Readers are also spending lots of time on the site when they join us, with an average reading time of more than two minutes per article, but viewers of many of the blogs listed below stayed on the page for more than six minutes.
Here we list the ten most popular blogs of the year as ranked by page views. And please keep reading our blogs in 2022!
One
Our most read blog was written by Nuno Gil, Professor of New Infrastructure Development, and Ian Reeves CBE, a Visiting Professor at AMBS. They wrote about how cost escalation is not the problem with the new HS2 rail line but is merely one symptom of a much deeper problem, namely our failure to measure the societal and environmental gains that large infrastructure projects can produce.
Two
Runner-up is a blog from Dr Ayham Fattoum, Lecturer in Disaster Operations Management, who discussed the seven principles of decision making during COVID-19. Contrary to typical emergencies he wrote about how two overlapping phases of recovery may be considered during a pandemic, namely a recovery phase and rebuild phase.
Three
Third was a very timely article from Naomi Chambers, Professor of Healthcare Management, and Jeremy Taylor, Director for Public Voice at the National Institute for Health Research. They wrote about how patient-centred care has been a long-standing goal of the NHS but one it has never fully reached. Here they explain why.
Four
2021 has been marked by severe disruption to global supply chains as a result of the pandemic. Fahian Huq, a Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management, discussed how disturbances to global supply chains have never been so under the spotlight, but that even before the pandemic there were growing concerns around the structure and interconnectedness of these chains.
Five
In this article Jonatan Pinkse, Professor of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, discussed how companies need to think about both positive and negative consumer perceptions when launching greener products, and about how difficult it can still be to sell green products to sceptical consumers.
Six
Mayur Joshi, Lecturer in Financial Technology, discussed in this blog how organisations can gain more business value from advanced analytics by recognising and overcoming a number of common obstacles. For instance analytical solutions are likely to work best when they are developed in a way that is sensitive to the business context.
Seven
Abigail Phillips, a PhD researcher in organisational psychology, uncovers how research is showing how the ‘dark traits’ of bosses can become reflected in their workforce.
Eight
Mat Johnson, a Lecturer in Employment Studies, and Eva Herman, a PhD researcher at the Work and Equalities Institute, discuss how the foundational economy needs to be central to COVID-19 recovery plans. They say the pandemic has highlighted the fundamental lack of decent work opportunities for many in essential roles.
Nine
Patricia Perlman-Dee, a Senior Lecturer in Finance, offers her top tips on networking. She argues that creating a successful network is as much about putting in the hard work and time to develop the network in the first place, and says the need to network has never been greater in the wake of the pandemic.
Ten
In a blog co-authored with colleagues from the University of Strathclyde, Debra Howcroft, Professor of Technology and Organisation at AMBS, says the move to home and hybrid working is now looking like a watershed moment for the future of working practices, but stresses that it’s unlikely there will be a one size fits all for employers.