Dr Sergej Ljubownikow
Management School
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management
+44 114 222 3342
Full contact details
Management School
Room D039A
Sheffield University Management School
Conduit Road
Sheffield
S10 1FL
- Profile
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Dr Sergej Ljubownikow is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management within the Entrepreneurship, Strategy and International Business Group at Sheffield University Management School. He holds a BA from the University of Applied Science Dresden (2005) and an MSc and PhD from Aston Business School (2006/2011). His research has been published in leading international journals such as Socio-Economic Review, Sociology, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
His current work examines how organisations navigate volatile and often adverse institutional environments, with a particular focus on civil society, non-profits, and social enterprises in post-Soviet contexts. His academic work aims to bridge insights from strategy, organisation studies, and civil society research to understand how organisations act and adapt under constraint, and how their actions, in turn, shape broader society.
- Research interests
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Dr Ljubownikow’s research lies at the intersection of strategic management, organisation theory, and civil society studies.
His core interests include:
- Organisational legitimacy — how organisations construct and sustain legitimacy in volatile or restrictive institutional environments.
- Non-profit and hybrid organisations — adaptation and strategy in post-Soviet and crisis-affected societies.
- Human service organisations — examining their evolving roles, resilience, and social impact.
- Civic activism — understanding the institutionalisation of informal networks and grassroots movements.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Adapting to survive or thrive? Civil society, the third sector and social movements in ‘post-soviet’ spaces: an introduction to the themed section. Voluntary Sector Review, 15(1), 3-11. View this article in WRRO
- Achieving regulatory legitimacy in volatile institutional contexts: the case of Russian non-profits. Socio-Economic Review, 21(2), 1197-1216. View this article in WRRO
- Environmental governance in the Russian Federation: firms and regulator perception of environmental NGOs. East European Politics. View this article in WRRO
- Creating organisational strength from operationalising restrictions : welfare non-profit organisations in the Russian Federation. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 31(6), 1148-1158. View this article in WRRO
- Restrictive institutions and critical resources : non-profit organisations and volunteer resources in the Russian Federation. Europe-Asia Studies, 72(1), 99-116.
- Civil liberties and Volunteering in Six Former Soviet Union Countries. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45(6), 1150-1168. View this article in WRRO
- Managing Boundaries: The Role of Non-profit Organisations in Russia’s Managed Democracy. Sociology. View this article in WRRO
- Nonprofit Influence on Public Policy: Exploring Nonprofit Advocacy in Russia. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. View this article in WRRO
- Post-Soviet Civil Society Development in the Russian Federation: The Impact of the NGO Law. Europe-Asia Studies, 66(8), 1253-1269. View this article in WRRO
- Civil Society in a Transitional Context. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(4), 759-776.
- The state and civil society in Post-Soviet Russia: The development of a Russian-style civil society. Progress in Development Studies, 13(2), 153-166.
Book chapters
- The hybridisation of Russian non-profit organisations In Billis D & Rochester C (Ed.), Handbook on Hybrid Organisations (pp. 332-347). Edward Elgar Publishing View this article in WRRO
Book reviews
- Smith, D. H., Moldavanova, A. V., and Krasynska (ed.), The Nonprofit Sector in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia: Civil Society Advances and Challenges. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 31(4), 828-829.
- Book Review: Science and Technology Based Regional Entrepreneurship. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 13(4), 313-314.
- Lester M. Salamon: Rethinking Corporate Social Engagement: Lessons from Latin America. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 23(1), 285-286.
Conference proceedings
- Collective Identity Under Pressure. Academy of Management Proceedings, Vol. 2023(1)
- “What’s in a Label?”: Feminism and Women’s Rights Activism in Ukraine. Academy of Management Proceedings, Vol. 2023(1)
- Faith and hybridity in Indonesian sui generis Islamic microfinance organizations. International Social Innovation Research Conference Proceedings, 6 September 2023 - 8 September 2023.
- Assessing the state, impact, and potential of Sheffield's social enterprise community. International Social Innovation Research Conference Proceedings, 6 September 2023 - 8 September 2023.
Reports
- “A social enterprise place": Assessing the state, impact and potential of Sheffield's social enterprise sector
- Adapting to survive or thrive? Civil society, the third sector and social movements in ‘post-soviet’ spaces: an introduction to the themed section. Voluntary Sector Review, 15(1), 3-11. View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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ESIB Research Group
- Grants
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Title Scheme Dates Role Value Beyond Humanitarian Relief: The (Changing) Role of Human Service Organisations during the War in Ukraine British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship September 2024 to September 2025 Principal Investigator £155,037 Expanding Horizons: Civic development and Third Sector Research in Ukraine British Academy Writing Workshop March 2021 to November 2023 Co-Investigator £16,486 Gender Equality in Ukraine GCRF Development Fund Edgehill April 2020 to April 2021 Co-Investigator £4,970.72 Organisational Capacity of Non-profit Organisations in the Russian Federation British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Small Grant April 2012 to April 2014 Principal Investigator £9,908
- Teaching interests
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My commitment as a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management is to guide students—at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels—to become not just knowledgeable graduates, but critical and socially responsible thinkers.
My teaching is research-led, and I draw directly on my own research into non-profits and their crucial relationship with society to bring current, real-world debates into the classroom.
My approach is designed to foster independence and deep understanding:
- Active Inquiry: I use a variety of dynamic methods, including contemporary and historic case studies, business simulations, and role plays, to challenge students. This encourages genuine inquiry, lively discussion, and critical analysis of complex strategic dilemmas.
- Skill Development: By emphasising reflection on learning and encouraging students to ask difficult questions, I help them develop the skills to be agile, self-directed, and independent learners long after they graduate.
I hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and maintain a strong commitment to continuous professional development, ensuring that the learning environment remains engaging, effective, and fully current with best practices in higher education.
- PhD Supervision
Dr Sergej Ljubownikow welcomes PhD students (primarily qualitative studies) interested in how organisations adapt, gain legitimacy, and drive change in challenging institutional contexts.
Key supervision areas include:- Organisational Legitimacy and Institutional Uncertainty: Exploring how non-profits, hybrids, and social enterprises sustain legitimacy under volatile or restrictive conditions.
- Civil Society and Social Transformation in Ukraine: Examining wartime adaptation, civic mobilisation, and gendered activism in Ukrainian civil society.
- Social Innovation and Hybrid Organisations: Investigating how hybrid logics and localised practices foster resilience and societal impact in constrained environments.
I currently supervise:
I have previously supervised:
Name Thesis title Year of completion Valentina Varbanova The effect of corporate social responsibility on the internationalisation of agribusiness small and medium-sized enterprises in South India: who pays the cost of CSR? 2024 Are you interested in applying for a PhD?
