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Sharpening the competitive edge of institutions

Business Informatics, Systems and Accounting is one of six Research Divisions within Henley Business School at the University of Reading, and part of the Prosperity & Resilience research theme.

Work within BISA integrates socio-technical thinking and interdisciplinary expertise in areas such as information management, business processes and systems, accounting and finance. Its aim is to help sharpen the competitive edge and scrutinise the governance of institutions across a range of business domains.

Our research of informatics – the creation, management and utilisation of information in scientific and economic activities – is focused on identifying changes that businesses can use to maximise their 'added value'. Areas of interest include health informatics, digital transformation, data analytics and AI applications. 

Our research of systems is addressed from the disciplines of operational research and operations management and is interested in the processing of information, improving decision making through the application of advanced analytical methods and improving the design and management of operational systems and supply chains. Areas of interest include system dynamics, systems thinking, servitization/service-based business models and supply chain resilience. 

Our research of accounting and accountability focuses on the governance of financial institutions, including pension fund governance and accounting, socially responsible investment, and institutional investor engagement and dialogue. Our researchers are also exploring the governance framework of banks across the European Union.

Key themes running throughout our research include sustainability, digitalisation and digital transformation, and financial decision making. Across these key themes, our researchers carry out applied, interdisciplinary research alongside industry, academia and government in large, regional and international, and impactful projects that supports knowledge transfer and research commercialisation. Example partners include Huawei, Thales, Aerospace Wales, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, and local SMEs.

An innovative data platform developed in Beijing and Reading by UoR researcher Vicky Li has significantly cut medical errors and reduced patients’ length of stay in hospitals across China.

Research Highlights

Developing capabilities to support supply chain resilience

Dr Phil Davies and colleagues from the University of Warwick and Surrey Business School have been awarded more than £1 million for research into disruption-resilient manufacturing.

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the research is titled “Responsive Additive Manufacturing to Overcome Natural and Attack-based disruption (RAMONA)".

The importance and limitations of responsive manufacturing systems – those that are able to respond to minimise the impact of a disruption – in the UK have been brought to the fore by COVID-19. Traditional supply chain weaknesses have been exposed, creating a ‘watershed’ moment for additive manufacturing, which could be used to complement existing manufacturing supply chains and embed resilience within them. This was evidenced by the Ventilator Challenge UK, where additive manufacturing was a key technology in supporting the production of thousands of ventilators for the NHS within 12 weeks.

Additive manufacturing has particular strengths in supporting distributed manufacturing, on-demand production, and rapid development and approval of part files. However, this type of responsive manufacturing capability is uncommon and requires further development before it can be embedded as an industry wide capability.

There is therefore a need, but also an opportunity, for the UK to become global leaders in responsive manufacturing. The research seeks to address this need and take advantage of opportunities presented by UK strengths in additive manufacturing.

Advancing health informatics research with £1 million research network grant

Dr Weizi (Vicky) Li is leading a new £1 million research network project into blood testing and digital technologies, to help address challenges in community health and care.

The project, titled 'Future blood testing for inclusive monitoring and personalised analytics Network+', is majority funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The Network+ will build an interdisciplinary community to explore future blood testing solutions to enable remote, faster, affordable, more inclusive and personalised blood monitoring and analytics. The network will address three key technical challenges in blood testing: remote monitoring and point of care devices; ICT and data connectivity; and personalised data analytic and AI, in a range of exemplar clinical areas.

There is a very high demand for lab-based blood tests from community settings in the UK and analysis suggests an important role in the future for remote blood monitoring and personal analytics. This would enable patients and health professionals to carry out their own tests remotely, greatly benefiting patients and speeding up decision-making.

Dr Li is the Principal Investigator for the research, with co-investigators from the University of Southampton, University of Warwick, University of Nottingham, and the University of Kent.

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is among the project partners, which include six NHS hospitals as well as international universities and companies.

The EPSRC grant contribution is £800,898, with a final project cost on the grant offer of over £1 million (£1,001,123).

BISA partners with ActiveOps to create self-sustaining Operational Research and Development capability using AI and machine learning

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Henley Business School and ActiveOps has been awarded more than £200,000 in funding from Innovate UK.

Academics from Henley’s Business Informatics, Systems and Accounting department will work with the Reading-based management process automation software company for the 30-month project.

The vision is to create a self-sustaining Operational Research and Development capability within the company using complex Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques, combined with the latest academic theory in Operations Management.

The project team, which includes Professor Keiichi Nakata (lead academic), Dr Mona Ashok (academic supervisor) and Dr Markos Kyritsis (supporting academic) from Henley, received a £145,009 grant with a company top-up of £71,423, making a total project value of £216,432.

HARP text on the EFRAG PTF-RNFRO report by The European Lab Project Task Force has been published

Professor Gunnar Rimmel from HARP has been working during the past 15 months as one of 20 experts The European Lab Project Task Force on the reporting of non-financial risks and opportunities and the linkage to the business model (PTF–RNFRO) European Financial Reporting Advisory Group. 

The PTF-RNFRO was appointed by the European Lab SG in June 2020 for the duration of the European Lab’s first project on climate-related reporting. The PTF–RNFRO was responsible for the operation of the project and its deliverables, and brought together an expert team from a broad range of stakeholder groups and geographical backgrounds that had practical experience and expertise in climate-related reporting. The members of the PTF–RNFRO participated in the project in a personal capacity. The members of the PTF–RNFRO are all practitioners working for companies in different sectors, the accountancy profession, civil society or academia, and from different EU countries including Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 

EFRAG has now published the Task Force report: Towards Sustainable Businesses: Good Practices for Business Model, Risks and Opportunities, Reporting in the EU and Supplementary Document: Good Reporting Practices. This report is freely available.

Find out more

BISA is one of six research divisions that are part of Henley Business School.

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Study opportunities

Henley Business School has a vibrant community of about 260 PhD and DBA researchers who are an integral part of the research activities of the School. BISA provides PhD opportunities students from all over the world wanting to conduct full-time postgraduate research in our areas of interest, and we have about 30 PhD students with us at any one time. In addition, we provide a highly sought after DBA programme for those in employment at senior positions. More information.

 

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