North Wales Business School

Content Accordions

• Staff publications and working papers

  Dr Saba Ishaq's Selected Publications

  • (2026). Ishaq S. and Vahdati S. Women at the Helm: Board Leadership’s Impact on Sustainable Development Goals’ Reporting. Target journal: Corporate Governance: An International Review (ABS 3*).
  • (2025). Ishaq S., Riaz U., Manochin M. Reimagining SME Finance: A Social Structuration Approach to Islamic Banking. Revision submitted to Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management (ABS 2*).
  • (2025). Ishaq S. and Riaz U. Gendered Intermediation in Islamic Finance: Lived Experiences of Female SME Owners in Patriarchal Structures. Under review at Journal of Business Ethics (ABS 3*).
  • (2025). Ishaq S. and Riaz U. Accounting in the Margins: A Structuration-Based Analysis of Resistance and Routinised Practices in Pakistani SMEs. Under review at British Accounting Review (ABS 3*).
  • (2025). Vahdati S. and Ishaq S. Fintech Through Her Eyes: Gendered Experiences of Small Business Finance in the UK. Target journal: Journal of Business Finance and Accounting (ABS 3*).

  Dr Ebenezer’s Selected Publications

  • (2023). ‘Evaluating the effectiveness of Talent management in Scottish Public Services’, Working Papers.

  Dr Fisher ’s Selected Publications

  • (2023). ‘The impact of strategic planning on entrepreneurial firms in the UK, Working Papers.
  • (2022). ‘Failing to educate is educating to fail. The importance of educational experience of strategic planning for entrepreneurs’, Working Papers.

  Dr Leigh’s Selected Publications

  • (2021). ‘Determinants of Household Wealth: A Machine Learning Approach’. Newcastle Economics Research & Development Conference, 3 June, with Damianov, D. and Slack, D.
  • (2021). ‘Determinants of Household Wealth: A Machine Learning Approach’, IISES 15th Economics & Finance Virtual Conference. 21-22 June, with Damianov, D. and Slack, D.
  • (2021). ‘Determinants of Household Wealth: A Machine Learning Approach’, World Finance Conference. 3-6 August, with Damianov, D. and Slack, D.

  Dr Muhyaddin’s Selected Publications

  • (2022). ‘Stakeholder Pressure Engaged with Circular Economy Principles and Economic and Environmental Performance’, Sustainability, Vol. 14, No. 23, p.16302, with Hernández-Arzaba, J.C., Nazir, S. and Leyva-Hernández, S.N.
  • (2022). ‘Foreign portfolio investment and monetary policy: A disaggregated analysis In Nigeria’, Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, Vol. 28, S6, pp. 1-17, with Can, N., Atabaev, N., Adamu, Y. and Uulu, T.A.
  • (2022). ‘An understanding the food safety knowledge among food science students in Iraq’, Nutrition & Food Science, In progress.
  • (2021). Perceptions of China and other greate powers among Kazakhstan and Krygzystan Youth, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 71-83, with Can, N., Koncak, I. and Keles, I.
  • (2021). ‘An Investigation into sustainability strategies used by Agricultural SMEs to survive in the Hostile Environment: Evidence from food-producing and agribusiness SME’s in Iraq’, Conference Paper, Presented in The 5th Advances in Management and Innovation Conference, with Ismail, I.
  • (2021). ‘Food SME’s New Product commercialisation into multiple food retailers in the UK’, Journal of Small Business Management, In Progress.
  • (2021). ‘Investigating the issues and challenges that UK’s Food SMEs face during commercialising their new product into a retail customer’, Food Policy, CABS Journal Ranking 3, In Progress.
  • (2021). ‘Key Determinants of New Product Sales Processes for Food SMEs in the UK’, Food Policy, CABS Journal Ranking 3.
  • (2021). ‘Strategies to Overcome Food Retail Power Based Problems in FMCG Industry’, Industrial Marketing Management, In Progress.
    Muhyaddin,S. and Simko M.
  • (2021). ‘Barriers to internationalisation in SMEs: evidence from Iraq’, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, In Progress.

  Dr Poopalasingam’s Selected Publications

  • (2023). ‘How sensemaking influences decision-making outcomes in an organisational setting’, Working Papers, with Binsardi, A.
  • (2023). ‘A literature review on the sense making processes and how they influence decision-making in organisations’, Working Papers, with Mallet, P.
  • (2022). ‘The use of case study methodology in understanding decision-making processes utilising sense making, sense giving and sense receiving in organisations’,

  Dr Binsardi’s Selected Publications

  • (2026). Contemporary Research Methods in Management, London, Publisher: Routledge, with Harris, P. and Nagirikandalage, P.

  • (2025). “Accountability when Professionals Start to Disintegrate: Evidence from Emerging Economies in Asia”, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Online ISSN: 1095-9955, Under Second Review, with Nagirikandalage, P., Lee, A., Anggraeni, A. and Pei, D. ABS Journal Ranking 3. 

  • (2025). “Expert perspectives on factors shaping metaverse adoption for cultural heritage experiences in hospitality industry within an emerging economy”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 1332-1349. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-09-2023-1517 with Nagirikandalage, P., Lakhoua, C., Tzempelikos, N. and Kerry, C., ABS Journal Ranking 2.

  • (2023). ‘Influence of Cryptocurrencies on Collectible, Metaverse, and Art Non-Fungible Token Subcategories”, Conference Proceedings, Presented at Issues in Contemporary Financial Markets and Banking’, Nottingham Business School, 17–18 January, with Alshahmy, S. and Nagirikandalage, P.
  • (2023). ‘The Role of Big Data in Public Sector Accounting and Budgeting Practices: Evidence from Pandemic Environment of an Emerging Economy”, International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience, CABS Journal Ranking 2*, Status: Accepted, with Nagirikandalage, P. and Kooli, K.
  • (2023). ‘Application of Management Accounting Practices within SMEs for Managing Environmental Issues in an Emerging Economy, International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience, CABS Journal Ranking 2*, Status: Accepted, with Nagirikandalage, P. and Kooli, K.
  • (2022). ‘Audit sampling strategies and frauds: An evidence from Africa’, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 170-192. Emerald, CABS Journal Ranking 2*, with Nagirikandalage, P., Kooli, K.
  • (2021). ‘Big Data and Public Sector Accounting’, Online Conference Proceedings, the 5th Edition of the LIGUE International Conference, Deep and Disruptive Transformations: The New Normal for Organizations and their Stakeholders, 29–30 June 2021, Conference Proceedings, with Nagirikandalage, P. and Kooli, K.
  • (2021). ‘The resistance in management accounting practices towards a neoliberal economy’, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 616-650, CABS Journal Ranking 3*, with Nagirikandalage, P., Kooli, K. and Pham, A.N.
  • (2020). “Managerial Skills and Small Business Start-ups in the Rural Food Sector’, Conference Proceedings, 2-4 September, British Academy of Management. This research has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development No. CRN 114-2048.
• Funded research and consultancy projects

  Funded research and consultancy projects

  Dr Binsardi’s current research portfolio (in-progress) includes the following projects:

  • 2025-2026. Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Care & Repair (Powys): An industry-focused collaboration with Dr. R. Leigh, Dr. G. Carr and the Enterprise Office to develop a KTP. This partnership is aimed at creating and implementing new strategies to enhance revenue generation for Care & Repair, a vital third-sector organisation in Powys, Wales.
  • 2025-2026. ESRC Grant (Transport Modelling): A data-driven academic project with Dr Binsardi, Dr. Leigh and the Research Office to prepare an ESRC Small Grant application. The proposed research will use secondary analysis of historical census data to model the dynamic patterns of transport inflow and outflow across North Wales.
  • 2025-2026. ESRC Grant (Economic History): A historical research project with Dr. Binsardi and Dr. Leigh focused on an ESRC Small Grant application. The proposal seeks to analyse archival data to estimate the economic impact of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct's construction North Wales on the local economy during the 1890s.
  • 2024-2025. In line with the university’s civic mission, the Business School partnered with Wrexham Golf Club on a targeted Mini Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) from September 2024 to April 2025. Supervised by Dr. B. Binsardi and Dr. R. Leigh, the project, titled "Commercialisation, Strategic Development and Member Engagement," saw two MSc Data Analytics students appointed as KTP Associates. They were tasked with implementing data-driven strategic initiatives to enhance the club's commercial operations, improve facilities, and deepen the overall member experience, directly translating academic expertise into a solution for a local community organisation. The KTP project yielded significant results, leading to increased club’s commercialisation and revenues, enhanced operational efficiency through cost reduction, and a marked rise in member satisfaction. Notably, the KTP successfully expanded community outreach by increasing the involvement of young golfers. This successful collaboration has fostered a lasting relationship, with Wrexham Golf Club now offering invaluable research opportunities for student final-year projects and dissertations. The partnership stands as a powerful case study on how transferring academic knowledge can generate sustainable economic and social impact for a local sport organisation.
  • (2024-2025). I have actively contributed to the school's success in securing internal research grants, under the Associate Dean of Research, which have resulted in the award of three significant research projects for our school. My direct involvement (facilitating or mentoring) in these research initiatives include:
    • Facilitating the collaborative partnership with Leicester University on a project concerning “food management research” (Grant:  £2,000 - Dr. S. Muhyaddin – Principal Investigator or PI and Dr. B. Binsardi – Co-Investigator or Co-I).
    • As Co-I, I collaborated with Dr. R. Leigh (PI) to finalise a project that secured £2,000 and valuable STATA Statistical Software for the collective use of our school faculty.
    • Collaborating with the University of Sheffield and partnering with Mary Corcoran on a project exploring “Social Enterprise” (Grant: £2,000), which resulted in the acquisition of a laptop computer for shared use among colleagues in our school.
  • 2019-2023. As part of its civic mission, Wrexham University was a key partner in an Erasmus+ & EU-funded project (No. 2018-1-IE01-KA204-038781) designed to empower ethnic minority women in social enterprise. This ambitious initiative involved a collaboration across six European countries with partner institutions including Limerick Institute of Technology (Ireland), Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg (Germany), the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (Greece), Inovaciju Biuras (Lithuania), Archivio Della Memoria (Italy), and the International Life-Long Learning Association (Turkey). While originally scheduled to finish in 2021, the project's timeline was significantly impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted international fieldwork and required a resilient adaptation of research methods. Despite these hurdles, the partnership successfully navigated the challenges, extending the project's completion to 2023. Led by the principal investigator at Wrexham (Dr. Binsardi), our team successfully overcame these delays to complete our field research and finalise a vital suite of pedagogic modules. These resources, including case studies and online videos, are specifically designed to address the systemic discrimination faced by female ethnic minority entrepreneurs by providing practical training in essential strategic, financial and digital skills. The project serves as a powerful example of knowledge transfer, turning academic research into tangible tools for community empowerment and creating a lasting asset for training and development in Wales and beyond.
  • From 2020 to 2023, I served as the Principal Investigator for a research project (CRN 1142048) focused on "Managerial Skills and Small Business Start-Ups," funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under the LEADER programme. The project timeline was extended from its original 2021 deadline to 2023 to successfully navigate significant delays imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The core objective was to investigate the high failure rates among new businesses in the competitive rural food sector and identify the key managerial competencies required for success. The findings from this research were disseminated through a conference paper published in the proceedings of the British Academy of Management (BAM) Annual Conference. This publication now serves as a practical impact case study for entrepreneurs and support agencies. It directly addresses the critical challenge highlighted in the literature, where most start-ups fail within their first two years, by providing an evidence-based framework for developing the managerial skills necessary to compete with larger players and ensure sustainable growth.

  The team

  • (2018/22). Project Title: ‘Managerial Skills and Small Business Start-Ups’. Funding Organisation: the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government, No. CRN 1142048.
  • (2018/2022). Project Title: ‘Empowering Women from Ethnic Minorities through Social Enterprise - the EMWOSE project’. Funding Organisation: Erasmus & European Union No. 2018-1-IE01-KA204-038781.
  • (2020). Project Title: ‘Exploring the Recent Trend Shift in Social and Management Research: Social Media Data and its Sampling Property’. Funding Organisation: Economics and Social Research Council. ESRC No. 4030008353.
  • (2019). Project Title: ‘North Wales Transport Research Project’. Funding Organisation: Denbighshire County Council.
  • (2017/18). Project Title: ‘Employment and Economic Impact Analysis of a Tidal Impoundment Project Using the National Income Accounting Methodology’.