Business, economies and employment
Our researchers have improved multinationals' supply chains, helped cities to improve their competitiveness and are helping Wales to realise its ambition of becoming a creative economy powerhouse.
In a joint venture with the School of Engineering and other universities in Wales, our Business School plays a key role in ASTUTE, a £27million project part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) delivered through Welsh Government. The project supports manufacturing related businesses in Wales through responsive business collaborations.
Regional competitiveness research has provided the Welsh Government with insight into how best to attract inward investment to Wales, commissioned by the Cardiff Business Partnership. The resilience of regions is being explored by the School of Geography and Planning as part of a European Commission award of £348k.
Consumer behaviour studies are helping organisations to understand the decision triggers of 'ethical', older and ethnic shoppers. In a world where corporations' behaviour is under greater levels of scrutiny than ever before, both the Business School and the Law School are recommending improvements in corporate governance.
Our research has made a difference to the working lives of employees in industries such as ports, shipping and textiles in collaboration with organisations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International.
A United Nations International Labour Organisation project led business school researchers to develop a model for organizational change in the world's ports. The guidelines for port worker training to improve safety, health and efficiency have been approved by all 185 member states and adopted by the European Commission as a framework to promote mutual recognition of port-worker qualifications across the EU.
We calculate the economic impacts of tourism and major events, from the promotion of Swansea City to the premiership to the predicted benefits of the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, estimated to bring an additional £300 million to the Welsh economy.
As well as providing evidence on how to grow the economy, we actively contribute to the development of Welsh and UK economic activity. We have recently appointed the first Director of the Creative Economy, to actively support the development of relationships with, and support for, Wales' numerous creative and arts' organisations.
The appointment builds upon our work in REACT - one of four Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to develop strategic partnerships with creative businesses and cultural organisations.