Professor Don Webber
FHEA BSc(Hons.) PG(Cert.)TLHE MA PhD
Management School
Head of Entrepreneurship, Strategy and International Business Subject Group
Chair in Managerial Economics
d.j.webber@sheffield.ac.uk
Sheffield University Management School
Full contact details
Professor Don Webber
Management School
Sheffield University Management School
Conduit Road
Sheffield
S10 1FL
Management School
Sheffield University Management School
Conduit Road
Sheffield
S10 1FL
- Profile
-
Don Webber is a social scientist who is interested in all aspects of business performance and economic policymaking. As a professor of managerial economics, his current research focuses on how firms increase their value added, how environmental policy can affect economic growth, how Artificial Intelligence (AI) affects productivity, and how the productivity of academics is affected by their ecosystem.
Don's recent work on productivity (with Gissell Huaccha), published in February 2024, is attracting a lot of readers. It is currently the sixth most read article in the journal's 47 year history. His books include: Migration, Mobility and the Creative Class; How to Enhance Your Research: 100 Practical Tips for Academics; and Rural Entrepreneurship: Harvesting Ideas and Sowing New Seeds. His fourth book, to be published later this year, is Developing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Place, Processes, People.
Don has written over 100 academic peer-reviewed articles and led or collaborated on £2.3m of externally funded research. His work has been discussed at the United Nation's International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Welsh Government and elsewhere.
Don is very interested in supporting our next generation of academic researchers and working with them to achieve their potential, including PhD students. Prospective PhD students researching the above or closely connected topics are encouraged to contact him for further discussion. He is very open to quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research.
Don is also open to media approaches to discuss all aspects of firm productivity, academic productivity, economic growth, economic geography, tariffs, and austerity.
- Research interests
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- Productivity
- Health
- Education
- Regions
- Heterodoxy
- Publications
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Books
- Migration, Mobility and the Creative Class. Edward Elgar Publishing.
- How to enhance your research : 100 practical tips for academics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. View this article in WRRO
Edited books
- Rural Entrepreneurship: Harvesting Ideas and Sowing New Seeds. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Journal articles
- Geographies of feeling stuck behind and populist voting in The Netherlands. Social Indicators Research. View this article in WRRO
- Consensus, diversity, and the wisdom of the crowd: predicting final rank positions of the English Premier League. Scottish Journal of Political Economy. View this article in WRRO
- Chapter 6: An alternative explanation of the rural–urban productivity gap. Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research(20). View this article in WRRO
- Chapter 1: Rural entrepreneurship: harvesting ideas and sowing new seeds. Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research(20). View this article in WRRO
- Does Gender Matter?. Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, 20(3).
- Digital Rural Entrepreneurship: Two Decades of Research into the Interaction Between Entrepreneurs and Policy. Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, 20(3–4).
- Index. Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, 20.
- Industrial reform policies: does marketization enhance productivity more than privatization?. Oxford Economic Papers, 77(3), 724-753. View this article in WRRO
- Strategic asset-seeking acquisitions by emerging market multinational enterprises and the liability of emergingness. Journal of International Management, 30(4). View this article in WRRO
- The reverse mortgage market in New Zealand: key drivers of loan determination. Applied Economics, 57(23), 3127-3142. View this article in WRRO
- Do city region policies neglect rural areas?. Journal of Rural Studies, 106. View this article in WRRO
- Rethinking productivity: the crucial role of demand. Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 47(1), 55-83.
- Mass culture, imports and conspicuous consumption. Journal of Economic Issues, 57(3), 735-759. View this article in WRRO
- Neo-Weberian approaches to China: cultural attitudes and economic development. Journal of Economic Issues, 57(1), 1-7. View this article in WRRO
- Tea for two: Language and bilateral trade with China. Journal of Economic Issues, 57(1), 153-171. View this article in WRRO
- Narrative economics, public policy and mental health.. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 18(1), 43-70.
- Investment in digital infrastructure: why and for whom?. Region, 9(1), 147-163. View this article in WRRO
- Should governments invest in cycle paths to encourage more cycling?. The Empirical Economics Letters, 21(6), 75-87. View this article in WRRO
- How can we reduce conference venues’ use of single-use plastics?. Event Management, 26(7), 1577-1590.
- The connectedness of house price affordability (HPA) and rental price affordability (RPA) measures. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 15(3), 521-547.
- COVID-19: How community businesses in England struggled to respond to their communities’ needs. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 36(6), 524-540.
- Cultural and economic discrimination by the Great Leveller. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 13(S1), 198-216.
- Cultural proximity bias in AI-acceptability : the importance of being human. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 173.
- Voting with your feet or voting for Brexit: the tale of those stuck behind. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 13(2), 247-277.
- Conspicuous and inconspicuous discriminations in everyday life. ECONOMIC ISSUES, 26(2), 103-104. View this article in WRRO
- Cultural relativity in consumers' rates of adoption of artificial intelligence. Economic Inquiry, 59(3), 1234-1251. View this article in WRRO
- Student entrepreneurial propensities in the individual-organisational-environmental nexus. Economic Issues, 25(1), 31-59. View this article in WRRO
- House price affordability, the global financial crisis and the (ir)relevance of mortgage rates. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 6(1), 405-420.
- Achieving wider impact in business and management : analysing the case studies from REF 2014. Studies in Higher Education, 44(4), 628-642.
- European regional productivity : does country affiliation matter?. International Review of Applied Economics, 33(4), 523-541.
- Does connectedness improve SMEs’ access to formal finance? Evidence from post-communist economies. Post-Communist Economies, 31(2), 258-278.
- Regional growth paths and resilience: A European analysis. Economic Geography, 94(4), 355-375.
- Obituary : Prof Mike Campbell, OBE. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 33(1), 118-119. View this article in WRRO
- Explaining productivity in a poor productivity region. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 50(1), 157-174.
- Election issues, political party performance and geography. Welsh Economic Review, 25, 42-50.
- The Changing Influence of Societal Culture on Job Satisfaction across Europe. British Journal of Management, 27(3), 606-627.
- Changes in intra-city employment patterns: a spatial analysis. International Journal of Social Economics, 43(3), 263-283.
- INNOVATION AND GROWTH IN THE CITY REGION: MICROECONOMIC EVIDENCE OF ASYMMETRIES. International Journal of Innovation Management, 20(02), 1650032-1650032.
- Job satisfaction: how crucial is participative decision making?. Personnel Review, 45(1), 183-200.
- Is temporary employment a cause or consequence of poor mental health? A panel data analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 134, 50-58.
- The Role of Structural Change in European Regional Productivity Growth. Regional Studies, 49(9), 1548-1560.
- What determines students’ choices of elective modules?. International Review of Economics Education, 17, 39-54.
- Understanding student attendance in business schools: An exploratory study. International Review of Economics Education, 17, 120-136.
- Using student evaluations to improve individual and department teaching qualities. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 19(3), 323-339.
- Mental and physical health: re-assessing the relationship with employment propensity. Work, Employment and Society, 28(3), 407-429.
- With a little help from my neighbours: A spatial analysis of the impact of local campaigns at the 2010 British general election. Electoral Studies, 34, 216-231. View this article in WRRO
- Scoring environmental credentials: a review of UK conference and meetings venues using the GREENER VENUE framework. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(2), 299-318.
- Attracting Convention and Exhibition Attendance to Complex MICE Venues: Emerging Data from Macao. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16(2), 169-179.
- Internet shopping and internet banking in sequence: An explanatory case study. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 18(4), 285-300.
- Money demand stability: A case study of Nigeria. Journal of Policy Modeling, 35(6), 978-991.
- Influence at work and the desire for more influence. Journal of Industrial Relations, 55(4), 507-526.
- An examination of consumers
'
resistance to computer-based technologies. Journal of Services Marketing, 27(4), 294-311.
- Australasian money demand stability: application of structural break tests. Applied Economics, 45(8), 1011-1025.
- Quality of life research in economics: An introduction to the special issue. New Zealand Economic Papers, 46(3), 189-190.
- Grade surprise and the decision to stay on into post-compulsory education. Applied Economics Letters, 19(11), 1095-1099.
- Culture, participative decision making and job satisfaction. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(13), 2661-2679.
- Economic Performance in Rural England. Regional Studies, 46(3), 279-291.
- Students’ perceptions of economics: identifying demand for further study. Applied Economics, 44(9), 1121-1132.
- Wagner's Law revisited: cointegration and causality tests for New Zealand. Applied Economics, 44(5), 607-616.
- Testing the validity of the Feldstein–Horioka puzzle for Australia. Applied Economics, 44(5), 599-605.
- Adopters and non‐adopters of internet banking: a segmentation study. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 30(1), 20-42.
- Real wages, inflation and labour productivity in Australia. Applied Economics, 44(23), 2945-2954.
- Which exhibition attributes create repeat visitation?. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(2), 439-447.
- Does Pluralism in Economics Education Make Better Educated, Happier Students? A Qualitative Analysis. International Review of Economics Education, 10(2), 50-62.
- Sector Variations in SMEs’ Use of External Business Advice. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 25(4), 339-355.
- Environmental Kuznets curves: mess or meaning?. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 17(3), 198-207.
- Sector Differences in Conference Facility Refurbishment. Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development, 7(2), 163-178.
- Attendance and exam performance at university: a case study. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 15(1), 33-47.
- Voting Patterns, Party Spending and Relative Location in England and Wales. Regional Studies, 44(6), 735-760.
- An alternative test to check the validity of convergence results. Applied Economics Letters, 16(18), 1825-1829.
- Regional productivity differentials in England: Explaining the gap. Papers in Regional Science, 88(3), 609-622.
- Who stopped flying around September 11?. Applied Economics Letters, 16(13), 1375-1381.
- Student participation in sporting activities. Applied Economics, 41(9), 1183-1190.
- Choice at 16: school, parental and peer group effects. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 14(2), 119-141.
- Business Productivity and Area Productivity in Rural England. Regional Studies, 43(5), 661-675.
- Basic Needs, Government Debt and Economic Growth. The World Economy, 32(6), 965-994.
- Beyond ‘Access’: Internet Use and Take-up of Online Services by Adults Living in Disadvantaged Areas in England. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 23(1), 47-57.
- Country-level business performance and policy asymmetries in the UK. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 10(4), 305-305.
- Which SMEs Use External Business Advice? A Multivariate Subregional Study. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 39(8), 1981-1997.
- Convergence towards a steady-state distribution. Economics Letters, 94(3), 338-341.
- Church organists: Analysing their willingness to play. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 35(5), 854-867.
- Gender‐specific peer groups and choice at 16. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 11(1), 65-84.
- Income Convergence across U.S. States: An Analysis Using Measures of Concordance and Discordance*. Journal of Regional Science, 45(3), 565-589.
- Reflections on Curriculum Development, Pedagogy and Assessment by a New Academic. International Review of Economics Education, 4(1), 58-73.
- Inequality and Industrial Change: A Global View. The Economic Journal, 114(499), F549-F551.
- Globalization and the Perceptions of American Workers. The Economic Journal, 113(485), F201-F202.
- Regional Factor Price Convergence Across Four Major European Countries. Regional Studies, 37(8), 773-782.
- Rising Wage Inequality: The 1980s Experience in Urban Labor Markets.. The Economic Journal, 113(488), F415-F416.
- School effects that shape students' intentions to stay-on in education. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 8(2), 197-212.
- Policies to stimulate growth: should we invest in health or education?. Applied Economics, 34(13), 1633-1643.
- Who's not Working and Why: Employment, Cognitive Skills, Wages, and the Changing U.S. Labor Market. The Economic Journal, 112(483), F599-F601.
- Rendement des facteurs et hétérogénéité régionale : quels sont les effets des échanges commerciaux et des marchés du travail sur le salaire moyen dans les diverses régions d'Europe ?. Innovations, 15(1), 151-151.
- Trade Elasticities for the G‐7 Countrie. The Economic Journal, 112(480), F377-F378.
- Dematerializing Local Economies: A Case for ad hoc Governance. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 17(2), 96-110.
- Labour's reward across regions of the EU: a distributional dynamic approach. Applied Economics, 34(3), 385-394.
- Book Review: Economic growth and international trade. Progress in Development Studies, 2(1), 67-68.
- A slowing of national income convergence. Applied Economics Letters, 8(11), 709-711.
- Convergence of labour's factor reward between regions of the EU. Applied Economics Letters, 8(5), 355-357.
- ‘Because my friends are’: the impact of peer groups on the intention to stay on at sixteen. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 6(3), 339-354.
Book chapters
- Social pressures to conform to a given set of research methods, Exploring Research Methodology and Research Design (pp. 55-66). Edward Elgar Publishing
- An Alternative Explanation of the Rural–Urban Productivity Gap, Rural Entrepreneurship: Harvesting Ideas and Sowing New Seeds (pp. 71-85). Emerald Publishing Limited
- The Economics of Individual Wellbeing and the Transformation of Society, Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science (pp. 121-135). Springer International Publishing
- How will the effects of Covid-19 on macroeconomic demand and supply affect firm-level productivity?, Productivity and the Pandemic Edward Elgar Publishing
- INNOVATION AND GROWTH IN THE CITY REGION: MICROECONOMIC EVIDENCE OF ASYMMETRIES, Series on Technology Management (pp. 3-27). WORLD SCIENTIFIC (EUROPE)
- Dematerializing economies and local growth: A case for ad hoc governance, European Governance Policy Making Between Politicization and Control (pp. 53-67).
Conference proceedings
- Fluctuating regional house price affordability and the irrelevance of mortgage rates. 2018 Joint Asia Pacific Network for Housing Research and Australasian Housing Researchers Conference Apnhr and Ahrc 2018 Proceedings (pp 135-152)
Preprints
- Migration, Mobility and the Creative Class. Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Research group
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Entrepreneurship, Strategy and International Business
- Grants
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- (2016 - 2018) Welsh Government ‘Understanding productivity variations between England and Wales: A Reassessment’ with Anthony Plumridge and Michael Horswell)
- (2015 - 2016) Welsh Government ‘Understanding productivity variations between England and Wales’ (with Anthony Plumridge and Michael Horswell)
- (2014 - 2016) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Bristol and Bath by Design (with Hoskins, S., C. McMahon, A. Noonan, G. Parry, G. Morton and A. Taylor) http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/30375/1/2016%20BBxD_FinalReport_.pdf
- (2012 - 2014) Joseph Rowntree Foundation ‘'How can employment and skills policy or practice reduce poverty?’ (with Page, D., Veliziotis, M. and Johnson, S.) http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/does-poor-health-affect-employment-transitions
- Teaching interests
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I believe in research-led teaching and incorporate this into my teaching practice through, for example, the use of contemporary case studies and findings from my own research.
- PhD supervision
Prospective PhD students who wish to study productivity (very broadly defined), health, education and/or geographically-related issues are encouraged to contact Don for further discussion. He is very open to qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research.
Professor Don Webber supervises:
He has previously supervised:
Name Thesis title Year of completion Alex Ricketts An investigation into South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's use of social media for community disaster resilience 2025 Laura Bennett Understanding the mechanisms of entrepreneurial ecosystems: An examination of place, processes, people, and perspectives. 2023 Are you interested in applying for a PhD?
