Marc Thompson

He is interested in how alternative models of organising can create opportunities for people to find greater meaning and purpose in their working lives. Different governance models such as employee owned businesses, mutuals, co-operatives and social enterprises amongst others are real alternatives to traditional private or public sector organisations. In more traditional organisations, innovative modes of organising and working can significantly alter employee’s levels of engagement and generate more meaningful work. His research is interested in how both modes of reform can create more democratic, collaborative and sustainable work which can meet economic and social needs.

Another theme is strategic renewal and how incumbent organisations can renew themselves for continued innovation and growth. In a collaborative research programme with managers from several European multi-national organisations (including Shell, BT, Nokia and W L Gore, amongst others) he researched how they designed and managed the linkages between innovation and renewal.

Finally, he is interested in managerial learning. His research looks at two areas. Firstly, how do managers translate knowledge from formal learning spaces such as business schools to work contexts. Secondly, how can formal learning spaces in university contexts be designed to optimise learning and personal growth.

Marc’s early work focused on high performance work systems, mainly in the high technology sector, understanding their adoption, evolution and impact. He undertook a longitudinal study of innovative work practices in the UK Aerospace sector funded by the then Department of Trade and industry. He has used mixed method research, combining large-scale sector surveys as well as in-depth case studies, to explore multi-level phenomena such as management capability.

Marc is an Official Fellow at Green Templeton College where he Co-Directs the Future of Work (FOW), an interdisciplinary programme whose purpose is to explore why and how work is changing and impacting upon societies.

Before joining Saïd Business School, Marc Thompson was a Senior Research Fellow, and Fellow at Templeton College, Oxford; a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies, University of Sussex;  and a Researcher at the London School of Economics.

Expertise

• Organisational change
• Strategic innovation and renewal
• Leadership and the nature of managerial and leadership work
• Alternative models of organisation
• HRM, talent and workplace issues
• High performance work systems
• Management learning