Professor Mark Saunders
Professor in Business Research Methods
Qualifications: BA (Lancaster), MSc (Salford), PGCE (Cantab), PhD (Lancaster), FCIPD
Email: mark.saunders@surrey.ac.uk
Phone: Work: 01483 68 6731
Room no: 43 MS 03
Office hours
My weekly timetable and office hours are displayed on my office door. However, if it is more convenient for you, please email me for an appointment.
Further information
Biography
Mark joined the Surrey Business School in January 2009 as Professor in Business Research Methods. His is also Director of Postgraduate Research Programmes. His research interests are Research Methods and Human Resource Aspects of the Management of Change and these are reflected in his teaching. Mark also undertakes consultancy in public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Mark begun his career in academia after a variety of research posts in local government. He lectured at the Gloucestershire Business School, University of Gloucestershire, in Research Methods and Human Resource Management between 1990 and 2001. During this period he was Head of the Human Resource Management Research Centre. He subsequently worked at Oxford Brookes University Business School between 2001 and 2009 where he was Assistant Dean (Director of Research and Doctoral Programmes) and Professor of Business Research Methods.
Mark is co-author of seven management text books. These include Research Methods for Business Students (2009, 5th edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall), which has also been translated into Chinese, Dutch, Vietnamese and Russian; Doing Research in Business and Management: An Essential Guide to Planning Your Project (2011, Financial Times Prentice Hall); Statistics: What you really need to know ( 2008, McGraw Hill); Strategic Human Resource Management (2007, Financial Times Prentice Hall); Employee Relations: Understanding the Employment Relationship (2003, Financial Times Prentice Hall) and Managing Change: an HR Strategy Approach (2000, Financial Times Prentice Hall).
His co-edited books combine his research interests in methods and trust. The most recent the Handbook of Research Methods on Trust (2012, Edward Elgar) provides a comprehensive collection of chapters on the methods currently used to research trust. In contrast Organizational trust: a cultural perspective (2010, Cambridge University Press) is drawn from an ESRC funded seminar series for which he was principal investigator. A copy of the concluding chapter outlining future research directions can be downloaded here.
Copies of Mark's recent research publications can be downloaded from his publications pages.
Mark has undertaken consultancy in public, private and not for profit sectors, recent clients including Worcestershire County Council, Cambridge University, the National Health Service and West Midlands Learning and Skills Council. Prior to this he held a variety of research posts in local government.
Research Interests
| Research Interests | Within my research I adopt a pragmatist approach utilizing a range of data collection methods alongside both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. Human resource aspects of the management of change: Organisational research methods:
|
| Research Student Supervision | Mark has supervised 10 PhDs and 1 MPhil to successful completion. If you are interested in studying with him in either of his areas of research interest, please contact him for an informal discussion by email. |
Research Collaborations
Member of Editorial Board (1999 –date) and Book Reviews Editor for Personnel Review (1999-2008).
Member of Editorial Board (2004 -date) On-line Journal of Business Research Methods
Member of Editorial Board (2009 -date) Journal of Trust Research
Member of Editorial Board (2009 -date) Journal of Services Research
Research Consultant to the Editorial Board (2011-date) Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice
Publications
Journal articles
- .
(2012) 'The origins and conceptualisations of triple loop learning:a critical review'. Management Learning,
[ Status: Accepted ] - . (2012) 'Web versus Mail: The influence of survey distribution mode on employees' response'. Sage Field Methods, 24 (1), pp. 56-73.
- . (2012) 'Formulating a convincing rationale for a research study'. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, , pp. 1-7.
- .
(2012) 'The Influence of Culture on Trust Judgments in Customer Relationship Development by Ethnic Minority Small Businesses'. Journal of Small Business Management,
[ Status: Accepted ] - .
(2012) 'Beyond Consensus: An Alternative use of Delphi Enquiry in Hospitality Research'. Emerald International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,
[ Status: Accepted ] - .
(2011) 'On the experience of conducting a Systematic Review in Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology: Yes it is Worthwhile'. Hogrefe Publishing Journal of Personnel Psychology, 10 (3), pp. 133-138.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/7300/
- .
(2011) 'On the attributes of a critical literature review'. Taylor and Francis Coaching: An International Journal, 4 (2), pp. 156-162.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/7386/
- .
(2011) 'Researching sensitive issues without sensitising: using a concurrent mixed methods design to research trust and distrust'. e-Content Management Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 5 (3), pp. 334-350.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/121075/
- .
(2010) 'UK managers' conceptions of employee training and development'. Journal of European Industrial Training, 34 (7), pp. 609-630.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2454/
- . (2010) 'Book review: D. Coglan and T Brannick 'Doing Action Research in Your Own Organisation''. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 7 (3), pp. 317-318.
- .
(2010) 'Affective and continuance commitment in public private partnership'. Employee Relations, 32 (4), pp. 396-417.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2456/
- .
(2009) 'The management of post-merger cultural integration: implications from the hotel industry'. ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD SERV IND J, 29 (10), pp. 1359-1375.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2436/
- . (2006) 'Book Review: Handbook of organizational justice'. SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD ORGAN STUD, 27 (12), pp. 1911-1914.
- .
(2006) 'Forced Employment Contract Change and the Psychological Contract'. Employee Relations, 28 (5), pp. 449-467.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2431/
- .
(2006) 'You owe it to yourself: The financially literate manager'. Accounting Forum, 30 (2), pp. 179-191.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2426/
- .
(2006) 'Developing the Service Template: From measurement to agendas for improvement'. Service Industries Journal, 26 (5), pp. 1-15.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2434/
- .
(2005) 'The nature of the relationship between authors and publishers'. Publishing Research Quarterly, 21 (2), pp. 3-15.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2686/
- .
(2005) 'Mismatched perceptions and expectations: An exploration of stakeholders' views of key and technical skills in vocational education and training'. Journal of European Industrial Training, 29 (5), pp. 369-382.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2685/
- . (2005) 'Professionalisation of the start up process'. Strategic Change, 14 (6), pp. 337-347.
- .
(2005) 'From evaluation towards an agenda for quality improvement: The development and application of the Template Process'. Active Learning in Higher Education, 6 (1), pp. 60-72.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2684/
- . (2004) 'Towards a shared understanding of skill shortages: differing perceptions of training and development needs'. Education and Training, 46 (4), pp. 182-193.
- . (2004) 'Family breakdown: developing an explanatory theory of reward system change'. Personnel Review, 33 (2), pp. 174-186.
- . (2004) 'Guest Editorial: HRM and change'. Personnel Review, 33 (2), pp. 159-160.
- . (2004) 'Trust and mistrust in organisations: An exploration using an organisational justice framework'. European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 13 (4), pp. 492-515.
- . (2004) 'Policies, promises and trust: Improving working lives in the NHS'. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 17 (7), pp. 558-570.
- . (2003) 'Guest Editorial - Human Resource Management in a changing world'. Strategic Change, 11 (7), pp. 341-345.
- . (2003) 'Organisational justice, trust and the management of change: An exploration'. Personnel Review, 32 (3), pp. 360-374.
- . (2003) 'Exploring employees' reactions to strategic change over time: The utilisation of an organisational justice perspective'. Irish Journal of Management, 24 (1), pp. 66-86.
- . (2002) 'Reactions to change and how to deal with them'. Croner's Journal of Professional HRM, 28, pp. 17-23.
- . (2002) 'Towards critical evaluation of the quality of information systems services: The development and application of the Template Process'. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 1 (1), pp. 29-36.
- . (2002) 'Understanding employees' reactions to the management of change: an exploration through an organisational justice framework'. Irish Journal of Management, 23 (1), pp. 85-108.
- . (2001) 'Managing careers in restructured organisations'. Croner's Journal of Professional HRM, 23 (0), pp. 16-22.
- . (2000) 'Towards a new approach to understanding service encounters: establishing, learning about and reconciling different views'. Journal of European Industrial Training, 24, pp. 220-227.
- . (2000) 'Stress at work: assessing the risk'. Occupational Health Review, 87, pp. 29-34.
Conference papers
- . (2011) 'Does it pay to be specific about performance? Some Meta-Analytic Evidence'. Aston, Birmingham: British Academy of Management
- . (2011) 'Non response in cross-cultural telephone surveys: reflections on telephone survey interviews with Chinese managers'. Aston, Birmingham: British Academy of Management
- . (2011) 'They think that poor old patient doesn't know anything: Sense making in the context of dominant and subordinate relationships'. Aston, Birmingham: British Academy of Management
- . (2011) 'Telephone requests for participation and refusal: reflections on gaining interview survey access to Chinese managers'. Reading : Academic Conferences International Proceedings of the 10th European Conference of Research Methods in Business and Management, Caen, France: 10th European Conference on Research Methods in Business and Management, pp. 537-546.
- . (2010) 'Trust and Strategic Change: an Organizational Justice Perspective'. Sheffield, UK: Trust and HRM Symposium, British Academy of Management
- . (2010) 'Location, the development of swift trust and learning: insights from two doctoral summer schools'. Madrid, Spain: EIASM 5th Workshop on Trust Within and Between Organisations
- . (2010) 'An investigation of the Interface between strategic orientations, organizational learning and SME growth in the retail industry'. Istanbul, Turkey: 17th Recent Advances in Retailing and Services Science Conference
- . (2010) 'Researching sensitively without sensitizing: using a mixed methods design'. Reading : ACI Proceedings of the 9th European Conference on Research Methods in Business and Management, 9th European Conference on Research Methods in Business and Management, pp. 503-509.
- . (2009) 'The impact of web and mail survey distribution methods on employees’ response'. Brighton, UK: British Academy of Management
- . (2009) 'Researching Sensitively without Sensitizing: Using Card Sorts in Concurrent Mixed Method Designs'. Sheffield, UK: British Academy of Management
- . (2009) 'Location, trust and learning: insights from a doctoral summer school'. Newcastle, UK: 10th International Conference on Human Resource Development: Research and Practice across Europe
- . (2009) 'A real world comparison of responses to distributing questionnaire surveys by mail and web'. Reading : Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Research Methods in Business and Management, 8th European Conference on Research Methods in Business and Management, pp. 323-330.
- . (2008) 'The meaning and use of trust related terms'. Harrogate, UK: British Academy of Management
- . (2008) 'Improving service relationships using the Service Template Process: from defining problems to owning solutions'. Penn State University, USA: International Conference of Services Management
- . (2008) 'Doing things right or doing the right things? Using the Extended Service Template Process to facilitate learning'. Lille, France: 9th International Conference on Human Resource Development Research and Practice Across Europe
- . (2007) 'Conceptualising trust and distrust and the role of boundaries: an organisationally based exploration'. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: EIASM 4rd Workshop on Trust Within and Between Organisations Special Session V: Toward a systematic understanding of trust and boundaries
- . (2006) 'Improving organisational relationships: applying the Extended Service Template Process to promote organisational learning'. Praeto: ACREW
- . (2005) 'The meaning and use of the terms trust, mistrust and distrust: relevant debate or academic navel gazing?'. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: EIASM
- . (2005) 'Perceptions of Organizational Justice and Organizational Commitment'. Istanbull, Turkey: XII European Congress of Work and Organisational Psychology
- . (2005) 'The Impact of Forced Change in Employment Contracts on Employees’ Perceptions of their Psychological Contracts'. Istanbul, Turkey: XII European Congress of Work and Organisational Psychology
- . (2005) 'The role of Power and Agency in the Introduction of a Job Families System'. Istanbull, Turkey: XII European Congress of Work and Organisational Psychology
- . (2005) 'Developing the Service Template: from measurement to quality improvement'. Oxford, UK: British Academy of Management
- . (2004) 'You owe it to yourself: The financially literate manager'. Dublin, NI: Irish Academy of Management Conference
- . (2004) 'The meaning and use of the words trust, mistrust and distrust: relevant debate or academic navel gazing?'. Ljubljana, Slovenia: European Group for Organisational Studies Conference
- . (2003) 'Exploring the Reasons for Failure of a Job Families Rewards System'. Lisbon, Portugal: 11th European Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology
- . (2003) 'Beyond the home shopping catalogue? Business and Management postgraduate students’ understanding of critically reviewing the literature'. Proceedings of the 2nd European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, 2nd European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, pp. 313-319.
- . (2003) 'Trust in the new National Health Service'. Milan, Italy: European Academy of Management Conference
- . (2003) 'Organisational Justice and Strategic Change: The Development and Exploration of a Conceptual Framework'. Dublin, NI: Irish Academy of Management Conference
- . (2003) 'Trust and Mistrust in Organisations: An Exploration Using an Organisational Justice Framework'. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Second International Workshop on Trust
- . (2003) 'Policies, Promises and Trust: Improving Working Lives in the National Health Service'. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Second International Workshop on Trust
- . (2003) 'The development of an analytical framework for Organisational Justice: Exploring the practice of strategic change'. Waterford, Ireland: Irish Academy of Management Conference
- . (2002) 'Family breakdown: developing an explanatory theory of reward system change'. Proceedings of the HRM in a Changing World Conference, Oxford Brookes University, UK: HRM in a Changing World, pp. 34-37.
- . (2002) 'Towards critical evaluation of the quality of information systems services: The development and application of the Template Process'. Proceedings of the European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, pp. 327-334.
- . (2002) 'Proceedings of the HRM in a Changing World Conference'. HRM in a Changing World, Oxford Brookes University, UK: HRM in a Changing World
- . (2002) 'Employees’ trust as a reaction to the management of change: an exploration through an organisational justice framework'. Stockholm, Sweden: European Academy of Management
- . (2002) 'Towards critical evaluation of dissertation supervision: the development and application of the Template process'. Warwick, UK: CEDAR, New Initiatives in Research and Evaluation
- . (2002) 'Employee's trust as a reaction to the management of change: an exploration through an organisational justice framework'. Stockholm, Sweden: European Academy of Management Conference
- . (2001) 'Understanding employees’ reactions to the management of change'. Londonderry, Ireland: Irish Academy of Management
- . (2001) 'Employee reactions to the management of change: an exploration of an organisational justice framework'. Athens, Greece: International Conference on Advances in Management
- . (2001) 'From measurement to an agenda for action: Developing the service template process to establish, understand and address what really matters'. What really matters in Operations Management, Bath School of Management, Bath: What really matters in Operations Management, pp. 957-968.
- . (2001) 'The use of assessment criteria to ensure consistency of marking: some implications for good practice'. Oxford, UK: Oxford Centre for Learning and Development Conference on Assessment
- . (2000) 'Organisational Justice and Strategic Change: The Development and Exploration of a Conceptual Framework'. Edinburgh, UK: British Academy of Management
- . (2000) 'Towards a new approach to understanding service encounters - establishing and reconciling different views'. Limerick, Ireland: Irish Academy of Management Conference
- . (2000) 'Double loop learning and improving organisational relationships: the application of the Template process'. Colorado, USA: International Conference on Advances in Management
Books
- . (2012) Research Methods for Business Students. 6 Edition. Harlow : Pearson
- . (2012) Doing Research in Business & Management: An Essential Guide to Planning Your Project. 1st Edition. Harlow : Pearson , pp. 1-233.
- .
(2012) Research Methods for Business Students. 5 Edition. Philipines : Pearson Education
[ Status: Accepted ] - . (2012) Handbook of Research Methods on Trust. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar
- . (2011) Research Methods for Business Students. 5th Edition. Dongbei : Dongbei University of Finance & Economics Press
- . (2011) Methoden en technieken van onderzoeke. 5 Edition. Amsterdam : Pearson Education Benelux BV
- . (2011) Research Methods for Business Students. 5 Edition. New Delhi : Dorling Kindersley India
- . (2011) Dealing with Statistics: What you need to know. Cairo : Arab Nile Group
- . (2011) Research Methods for Business Students (4th edn, Vietnamese language edition). Hochiminh, Huong Huy
- . (2010) Organisational trust: a cultural perspective. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press
- . (2010) Research Methods for Business Students. 5 Edition. Dongbei : Dongbei University of Finance & Economics Press
- . (2009) Research Methods for Business Students (5th edn). 5th Edition. Pearson Education
- . (2008) Research Methods for Business Students (Traditional Chinese Language 4th edition). Macau : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2008) Dealing with Statistics: what you need to know. Maidenhead : Open University
- . (2008) Methoden en technieken van onderzoeke (vierde editie) (Research Methods for Business Students, Dutch language 4th edition). Amsterdam, Pearson Education Benelux BV
- . (2007) Instructor's Manual: Research Methods for Business Students. 4th Edition. Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2007) Strategic Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues. Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2007) Research Methods for Business Students (4th edn). Harlow, FT Prentice Hall
- . (2006) Managing Change: a Human Resource Strategy Approach (Indian low price edition). Delhi : Dorling Kindersley (India)
- . (2006) Research Methods for Business Students (3rd edn, Indian edition). Delhi : Dorling Kindersley (India)
- . (2006) Research Methods for Business Students (3rd edn, Russian language edition). Moscow : Ekcmo
- . (2005) Employee Relations: Understanding the Employment Relationship (Chinese language edn). Liaoning : Dongbei University of Finance and Economic Press
- . (2004) Research Methods for Business Students (Chinese Language Edition). Beijing : China Commerce and Trade Press
- . (2004) Research Methods for Business Students (Dutch Language 3rd edition). 3rd Edition. Amsterdam : Pearson Education Benelux BV
- . (2003) Research Methods for Business Students Instructors Manual (3rd edition). Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2003) Research Methods for Business Students (1st Indian Reprint). Delhi : Pearson Education
- . (2003) Employee Relations: Understanding the Employment Relationship. Harlow, Financial Times, Prentice Hall
- . (2003) Research Methods for Business Students (3rd edition). 3rd Edition. Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2003) Employee Relations: Understanding the Employment Relationship Instructors Manual. Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2000) Managing Change: a Human Resource Strategy Approach (Indian edition). Delhi, Dorling Kindersley (India)
- . (2000) Managing Change: A Human Resource Strategy Approach. Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2000) Research Methods for Business Students: Lecturers' Guide. Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
- . (2000) Research Methods for Business Students (2nd edition). Harlow : FT Prentice Hall
Book chapters
- . (2012) 'Introduction: the variety of methods for the muti-faceted phenomenon of trust'. in Lyon F, Moellering G, Saunders MNK (eds.) Handbook of Research Methods on Trust Edward Elgar , pp. 1-15.
- . (2012) 'Combining card sorts and in-depth interviews'. in Lyon F, Moellering G, Saunders MNK (eds.) Handbook of Research Methods on Trust Edward Elgar Article number 11 , pp. 110-120.
- .
(2012) 'Choosing research participants'. in Symons G, Cassell C (eds.) The Practice of Qualitative Organizational Research: Core Methods and Current Challenges
London : Sage , pp. 37-55.
[ Status: Accepted ] - .
(2011) 'Trust and strategic change: An organizational justice perspective'. in Searle R, Skinner D (eds.) Trust and Human Resource Management
Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Article number 14 , pp. 268-286.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/7302/
- .
(2010) 'The Management Researcher as Practitioner'. in Lee B, Cassell C (eds.) Challenges and Controversies in Management Research
London : Routledge- Taylor & Francis Article number 15 , pp. 243-256.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/7301/
- . (2010) 'Web or mail: which questionaire delivery method should be used?'. in Lee T (ed.) The Partner 2010 London : Partnership Sourcing Ltd , pp. 67-69.
- . (2010) 'Emerging themes, implications for practice and directions for research'. in Saunders MNK, Skinner D, Lewicki RJ (eds.) Organizational Trust 1st Edition. Cambridge Univ Pr Article number 16 , pp. 407-423.
- . (2009) 'Understanding and Improving Organisational Relationships'. in Lee T (ed.) The Partner 2009 London : Partnership Sourcing Ltd , pp. 50-53.
- . (2008) 'Trust and mistrust in organisations: An exploration using an organisational justice framework'. in Bournois F, Altman A, Boje D (eds.) Managerial Psychology London : Sage
- . (2008) 'Entry for 'Content Analysis''. in Thorpe R, Holt R (eds.) The Sage Dictionary of Qualitative Management Research London : Sage , pp. 58-59.
- .
(2008) 'Improving Service Quality in the New Public Sector'. in Sargeant A, Wymer W (eds.) The Routledge Nonprofit Marketing Companion
London : Routledge , pp. 389-402.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/2687/
- . (2008) 'Trust in Organisational Relationships'. in Lee T (ed.) The Partner 2008 London : Partnership Sourcing Ltd , pp. 34-38.
- . (2006) 'Entry for 'Research Bargain''. in Jupp V (ed.) The Sage dictionary of social research methods Sage Publications Ltd , pp. 264-265.
- . (2006) 'Entry for "Gatekeeper"'. in Jupp V (ed.) The Sage dictionary of social research methods Sage Publications Ltd
- . (2006) 'Entry for 'Organisational Research''. in Jupp V (ed.) The Sage dictionary of social research methods Sage Publications Ltd , pp. 208-210.
- . (2004) 'Appraisal at 'EnergyCo': 360-degree feedback using questionnaires'. in Blundel R (ed.) Effective Organisational Communication 2nd Edition. Harlow : FT Prentice Hall , pp. 132-133.
- . (2001) 'Double loop learning and improving organisational relationships: the application of the Template Process'. in Rahim MA, Golembiewski RT, Lundberg C (eds.) Current Topics in Management Volume 6 Amsterdam : Elsevier Science 6, pp. 127-148.
Teaching
Research Methods and Methodology
Affiliations
Council Member of the British Academy of Management
Member of ABS (Association of Business Schools) Research Committee
Fellow of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Fellow of Higher Education Academy
Consultancy
Recent clients include:
Worcestershire County Council
University of Cambridge
South East England Development Agency
Birmingham and Solihull Learning and Skills Council
Oxfordshire Primary Health Care NHS Trusts
Advisory Activities
PSL (Partnership Sourcing Ltd) Steering Group, a CBI initiative to promote collaboration and partnering in business
Visiting Professor, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University
Visiting Professor, Worcester Business School, University of Worcester
External Examiner, Manchester Metropolitan University

