Professor John Cullen

Management School

Emeritus Professor of Management Accounting

john.cullen@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheffield University Management School

Full contact details

Professor John Cullen
Management School
Sheffield University Management School
Conduit Road
Sheffield
S10 1FL

Profile

Professor Cullen joined the University of Sheffield as a professor in 2005 and has a distinguished track record as a researcher particularly in the areas of supply chain accounting, interorganizational accounting, management accounting and management control. He has been one of the pioneers in translating good research into actionable practice and improving the impact of academic research in the real world. Throughout his career in higher education institutions, he has published in most of the top ranked journals in accounting as well as in journals from other academic disciplines. The research that he has undertaken has been collaborative, qualitative and interdisciplinary. Prior to entering the Higher Education Sector, he worked at senior levels in industry and this helped him to engage with practice in terms of his research.

Collaboratively with colleagues, he has been awarded just under £1million worth of research and knowledge transfer grants as well as being a key investigator in HEFCE regional development grants worth £4.1million to support employer engagement and executive type management development courses. He has acted as examiner or supervisor for over 50 PhD students. Many of these students have gone on to have very successful academic careers across a range of Higher Education Institutions.

He has undertaken leading roles at the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) which is the learned society for Accounting and Finance Academics in the UK. He was Vice President (2013-2014), President (2014-2016) and Chair of the BAFA Trustees (2016-2018). He also served as Chair of the Committee of Departments of Accounting and Finance (2009-2014) and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Conference of Professors of Accounting and Finance (2014-2016). In recognition of his work for BAFA, he received the 2019 BAFA Distinguished Contribution Award.

In recognition of his work for the Management School, Professor Cullen became an Emeritus Professor in September 2020.

Research interests

Professor Cullen’s research interests are in the areas of supply chain accounting, interorganizational accounting, management accounting and management control. More specifically, in terms of supply chain accounting, he has been involved during his time at SUMS in two major funded research projects which have produced both academic outputs and research impact outcomes. He has led the Supply Chain Accounting and Reverse Logistics project working alongside other colleagues from SUMS, as well as colleagues from Cranfield University and Sheffield Hallam University. Initial funding for this project came from the Department for Transport and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He has also been a Co-Investigator on a large ESRC Supply Chain Accounting and Employment Practices project which has been led by Professor Pauline Dibben.

The nature of his research has been collaborative, qualitative and interdisciplinary with a particular focus on empirically based case studies. He continues to work with colleagues on the production of academic papers as well as shorter papers targeting related professional body practitioner publications. This is a reflection of his desire to produce both academic and non-academic impact.

Publications

Journal articles

Wanderley C, Cullen J & Tsamenyi M (2021) The Unfolding Rationales Surrounding Management Accounting Innovations: A Balanced Scorecard Case. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. View this article in WRRO
Wanderley CDA, Cullen J & Tsamenyi M (2020) Corporate political strategy: the roles of management accounting in relational work. Accounting Forum, Online first, 0-0. View this article in WRRO
Gong M, Gao Y, Koh L, Sutcliffe C & Cullen J (2019) The Role of Customer Awareness in Promoting Firm Sustainability and Sustainable Supply Chain Management. International Journal of Production Economics, 217, 88-96. View this article in WRRO
Tob-Ogu A, Cullen J, Kumar N & Ballantyne E (2018) Sustainability Intervention Mechanisms for Managing Road Freight Transport Externalities: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, 10(6). View this article in WRRO
Tob-Ogu A, Niraj K & Cullen J (2018) ICT adoption in road freight transport in Nigeria – A case study of the petroleum downstream sector. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 131, 240-252. View this article in WRRO
Bernon M, Cullen J & Gorst J (2016) Online retail returns management: Integration within an omni-channel distribution context. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 46(6/7), 584-605. View this article in WRRO
Wanderley C & Cullen J (2013) Management accounting change: A review. BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da Unisinos, 10(4), 294-307.
Bernon M, Upperton J, Bastl M & Cullen J (2013) An exploration of supply chain integration in the retail product returns process. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 43(7), 586-608.
Cullen J, Tsamenyi M, Bernon M & Gorst J (2013) Reverse logistics in the UK retail sector: A case study of the role of management accounting in driving organisational change. Management Accounting Research.
Wanderley CDA & Cullen J (2012) Um caso de mudança na contabilidade gerencial: a dinâmica política e social. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, 23(60), 161-172.
de Araújo Wanderley C, Cullen J & Tsamenyi M (2011) Privatisation and electricity sector reforms in Brazil: accounting perspective. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 1(1), 53-75.
Bernon M, Rossi S & Cullen J (2011) Retail reverse logistics: A call and grounding framework for research. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 41(5), 484-510.
Baresel-Bofinger ACR, Ketikidis PH, Koh SCL & Cullen J (2011) Role of 'green knowledge' in the environmental transformation of the supply chain: The case of Greek manufacturing. International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, 2(1), 107-128.
de Araújo Wanderley C, Cullen J & Tsamenyi M (2011) Electricity sector reforms and the tariff review process in Brazil, 212-234.
Tsamenyi M & Cullen J (2010) Introduction to management controls and new organisational forms. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 6(1), 5-8.
Meira J, Kartalis ND, Tsamenyi M & Cullen J (2010) Management controls and inter‐firm relationships: a review. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 6(1), 149-169.
Moullin M, Soady J, Skinner J, Price C, Cullen J & Gilligan C (2007) Using the Public Sector Scorecard in public health. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 20(4), 281-289.
Lee B, Collier PM & Cullen J (2007) Reflections on the use of case studies in the accounting, management and organizational disciplines. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 2(3), 169-178.
Bernon M & Cullen J (2007) An integrated approach to managing reverse logistics. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 10(1), 41-56.
Coad AF & Cullen J (2006) Inter-organisational cost management: Towards an evolutionary perspective. Management Accounting Research, 17(4), 342-369.
Tsamenyi M, Cullen J & González JMG (2006) Changes in accounting and financial information system in a Spanish electricity company: A new institutional theory analysis. Management Accounting Research, 17(4), 409-432.
Li X, Ogier J & Cullen J (2006) An economic modelling approach for public sector construction workload planning. Construction Management and Economics, 24(11), 1137-1147.
Dietz G, Cullen J & Coad A (2005) Can there be non-union forms of workplace partnership?. Employee Relations, 27(3), 289-306.
Seal W, Berry A & Cullen J (2004) Disembedding the supply chain: institutionalized reflexivity and inter-firm accounting. ACCOUNT ORG SOC, 29(1), 73-92.
Cullen * J, Richardson S & O'Brien R (2004) Exploring the teaching potential of empirically-based case studies. Accounting Education, 13(2), 251-266.
Cullen J, Joyce J, Hassall T & Broadbent M (2003) Quality in higher education: from monitoring to management. Quality Assurance in Education, 11(1), 5-14.
Soin K, Seal W & Cullen J (2002) ABC and organizational change: An institutional perspective. Management Accounting Research, 13(2), 249-271.
Richardson S & Cullen J (2000) Autopsy of Change: Contextualising Entrepreneurial and Accounting Potential in the NHS. Financial Accountability and Management, 16(4), 353-372.
Seal W, Cullen J, Dunlop A, Berry T & Ahmed M (1999) Enacting a European Supply Chain: A Case Study on the Role of Management Accounting. Management Accounting Research, 10(1).
Seal W, Cullen J, Dunlop A, Berry T & Ahmed M (1999) Enacting a European supply chain: A case study on the role of management accounting. Management Accounting Research, 10(3), 303-322.
Cullen J, Marson J, Berry A, Seal W, Dunlop A & Ahmed M (1999) Inter-firm supply chains: The contribution of management accounting. Management Accounting.
Cullen J, Ahmed M, Berry A, Dunlop A & William S (1998) The consequences of inter-firm supply chains for management accounting: Towards a research agenda. Journal of Financial Information Systems.
Richardson S, Cullen J & Richardson B (1996) The story of a schizoid organization. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 9(1), 8-30.
Jabbour M, Cullen J & Crawford J () Enterprise Risk Management: An Institutional Work Perspective.. Accounting Forum.

Chapters

Dibben P, Wood G, Bonnin D, Crockett G, Haines R, Meira J & Cullen J (2023) Extending the HR Role in Global Value Chains: The Monitoring and Control of HR Practices in the South African Automotive Industry, Managing Human Resources in Africa (pp. 199-225). Springer Nature Switzerland
Dibben PJ, Johnson P, Wood G, Cullen J, Meira J, Bonnin D, Miranda L, Crockett G & Linhares C (2019) Reconfiguration and regulation of supply chains and HRM in times of economic crisis In Collings D, Wood G & Szamosi L (Ed.), Human Resource Management: A critical approach (pp. 156-170). Abingdon: Routledge. View this article in WRRO
Johnson P, Wood GT, Dibben P, Cullen J, Meira J, Bonnin D, Miranda L, Crockett G & Linhares C (2018) Reconfiguration and regulation of supply chains and HRM in times of economic crisis, Human Resource Management (pp. 156-170). Routledge
Cullen J & Meira J (2010) Inter-Organisational Accounting in Dyadic Settings" In Håkansson H, Lind J & Kraus K (Ed.), Accounting in Networks (pp. 35-59). New York: Routledge.
Berry AJ, Cullen J & Seal W (2007) Supply chains: Issues in management accounting, Food Supply Chain Management: Issues for the hospitality and retail sectors (pp. 204-223).
Richardson S & Cullen J (2004) Disseminating Research Through Teaching, The Real Life Guide to Accounting Research (pp. 465-478). Elsevier

Conference proceedings papers

Wanderley C & Cullen J (2010) POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING CHANGE IN A PRIVATISED ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY. AMIS 2010 - PROCEEDINGS OF THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, ACCOUNTING AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (pp 500-530)

Reports

Cullen J, Berry A, Seal W, Dunlop A & Ahmed M (2000) The consequences of inter-firm supply chains for management accounting

Presentations

Cullen J Unknown - IPA conference 2015.
Matos De Meira J & Cullen J Inter-organisational accounting: the facilitator-inhibitor contradictory role of accounting.

Other

Dibben P, Cullen J, Crockett G & Meira J (2020) A tool to strengthen the supply chain.
Cullen J, Crockett G & Meira J (2019) Adding value to reverse logistics – Management accountants have an important cost- reduction role in the retail returns process.
Ballantyne E, Gorst J, Bernon M, Meira J & Cullen J () VIEW from Academia — A Toolkit to help manage Reverse Logistics. REVERSE LOGISTICS MAGAZINE, 4(14), 44-44.

Preprints

Gong M, Gao Y, Koh SC, Sutcliffe CM & Cullen J () The Role of Customer Awareness in Promoting Firm Sustainability and Sustainable Supply Chain Management.

Research group: Centre for Research into Accounting and Finance in Context (CRAFiC)