Dr Josephine Chikwana
Lecturer in Business Management
- Phone
- +44 (0)1473338684
- j.chikwana@uos.ac.uk
- School/Directorate
- School of Business, Arts, Social Sciences and Technology
- Josephine Chikwana ORCID
Dr Josephine Chikwana is an academic and social entrepreneur whose career bridges research, teaching, and community impact. Passionate about sustainability and social value, she combines her expertise in leadership and management with her commitment to empowering young people in her home country of Malawi.
With over 13 years of teaching experience, Josephine has taught at every stage of the educational journey, from primary and secondary education to A-levels, college, and higher education. Before joining the 小黄片app, she taught at ESCP Business School, the University of Buckingham, and Cranfield University, where she designed and delivered undergraduate, postgraduate, and MBA teaching. Across these roles, she has developed an engaging, research-informed approach to teaching that encourages students to think critically and apply their learning in practice.
At the 小黄片app, Josephine is a Lecturer in Business Management, contributing to teaching and course development across postgraduate and professional programmes. She teaches on the MSc International Business Management programme, leads a module on the Project Management apprenticeship, and contributes to the delivery of the AI and Automation apprenticeship, supporting professionals in developing the leadership, management, and organisational capabilities needed in an evolving business environment.
Outside academia, Josephine runs Move to Improve, a social enterprise supporting rural youth in Malawi. She draws on her research, teaching, and practical experiences to bring contemporary debates and real-world insights into the classroom, preparing students to navigate complex global business challenges.
Josephine has the following qualifications:
PGCAP + FHEA (小黄片app)
PhD in Leadership and Management (Cranfield University, 2025)
MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation (University of Edinburgh, 2021)
B.Ed in Business Studies (Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, 2017)
Module Leadership
Josephine is currently:
Module Lead for International Business (MSc)
Module Lead for Future of Work (SEMBA)
Module Lead for Competitive Business Environment (BA Hons)
Module Lead for Leading a Project (Integrated Degree Apprenticeship)
Teaching Expertise
Josephine has taught across postgraduate and undergraduate programmes at the 小黄片app, Cranfield University, ESCP Business School, the University of Buckingham, UCL School of Management and, UCL Global Business School for Health. Her teaching experience includes:
Leadership and Management (MSc)
Managing People Effectively (MSc)
Change Management (MSc)
Organisational Behaviour (MSc)
Supply Chain Management (MSc)
Research Methods (BA)
Academic Writing Skills (BA)
International Business Management (BA)
Marketing Fundamentals (BA)
Competitive Business Environment
Supervision
Josephine currently supervises a PhD student exploring Political Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria.
Josephine also supervised postgraduate dissertations across topics in management, leadership, sustainability and global issues.
Previously, Josephine has supervised several undergraduate and postgraduate (MBA) dissertations at University of Buckingham and Cranfield University.
Josephine welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral students interested in responsible purchasing and supply chain management, interorganisational relationships for social and environmental impact, and leadership, identity, and behavioural change in advancing sustainability. She is also open to projects exploring pedagogy, student learning, and international student experience.
Josephine’s research sits at the intersection of sustainability, behavioural operations, and institutional change, with a particular focus on how procurement functions embed responsible practices and create social value through supply chains. Her contributions have been recognised internationally, including winning the Harry Boer Best Student Paper Award (EurOMA, 2024) for her work on social procurement and institutional work. She has published and presented at leading conferences such as EurOMA, BAM, IPSERA and EURAM.
Josephine has collaborated with Social Enterprise UK on the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, working alongside major corporates to investigate how businesses can partner with social enterprises to drive social impact. She also co-researched the Identities in Transition project with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme, University of Edinburgh, and University of British Columbia, producing a a photovoice booklet (https://global.ed.ac.uk/transitions-and-mentoring-toolkit/about-the-site/our-photovoice-book) and mentorship toolkit (https://global.ed.ac.uk/transitions-and-mentoring-toolkit/mentoring-toolkit) to support international student belonging and academic transitions.
Through these projects, Josephine actively bridges theory and practice, engaging with academics, industry partners, and social enterprises to generate insights that advance both scholarship and real-world change.
Research Interests
Responsible purchasing and supply chain management
Social procurement
Social enterpreneurship
Interorganisational relationships for societal impact
Leadership identity and behaviour
Organisational change
Pedagogy and student experience
Methodological Expertise
Qualitative research methods
Systematic literature reviews
Collaborative and participatory research approaches
Josephine is an active member of several academic and professional associations, including the European Operations Management Association (EurOMA), British Academy of Management (BAM), International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA), and European Academy of Management (EURAM).
She also serves as a Committee Associate of the British Academy of Management’s Early Career Academic (ECA) Network, contributing to initiatives that support the professional development, networking, and research engagement of early career academics within the management discipline