The University of Salford’s Supply Chains, Procurement and Project Management team is continuing its strong relationship with the International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA) with a number of colleagues representing the University at its 2025 annual conference in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Hosted by the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) and Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM), Salford Business School’s Dr Igho Ekiugbo, Dr Stephen Kelly and Aaron Roberston presented their latest research at this year’s conference.
About the research:
Four research papers were presented, showcasing the results of recent studies from Igho, Stephen and Aaron, alongside their co-authors Dr Yiannis Polychronakis, Dr Stylianos Sapountzis and Dr Cecilia Diaz Ordonez, as well as collaborators from industry plus the University of Birmingham, Örebro University (Sweden) and University Inland Norway.
Research topics included circular sourcing, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in negotiation, sustainability of UK fashion brands and construction procurement skills, aligning closely with Salford’s priorities of improving the environment and sustainability, plus developing cutting-edge creativity and innovative practice.
Sustainability in UK fashion
The research on the sustainability of UK fashion brands, undertaken by Igho and Cecilia, is driven by the increasing demand for sustainability with no clear evidence of its impacts on financial performance. Organisations (i.e. Marks & Spencer) who have promoted sustainability practices appear to be struggling, resulting in the closure of multiple outlets. Early findings in the research indicate there are no statistically significant relationships between environmental practices and financial performance of UK fashion brands. The researchers intend to collect additional environmental and social performance data, as well as data on affiliations of the selected brands and retest the model, before reaching a conclusion.
Circular sourcing in the construction industry
Extending the work of the University’s HIVEE (Housebuilding Innovations in Volume, Environment and Efficiency) research cluster, Stephen and Aaron, alongside their international collaborators at the Universities of Örebro and Inland Norway, have developed a model of circular sourcing categories that can be used to guide and focus organisational procurement activities in the construction industry.
Bridging the procurement skills gap in the construction industry
Aaron, Stylianos, Yiannis and Stephen also presented research on the need for higher levels of procurement skills at senior levels of the construction industry. This work will be further developed into a series of job-focused activities that could be used to inform future skills development.
The use of AI in negotiation
The same author team, along with co-authors from AI development company, Peak, also explored the use of AI in the procurement activity of negotiation, identifying benefits, challenges and critical success factors for implementing these technologies. This work developed some focused areas for future research that will be explored by the team.
Purchasing and supply management education
Stephen, who has been a member of the IPSERA Executive Committee and has previously been its Vice President, also presented the recently completed Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management Special Issue on education, which he co-edited with University of Missouri – St Louis’ Professor George Zsidisin, Dr Matias Enz and Dr Temidayo Akenroye, as well as Marika Tuomela-Pyykkönen from the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Finland).
On the whole experience, Stephen commented: “It’s amazing to see Salford represented strongly on the international stage, helping to spread the word about our University across the globe! Well done to all colleagues involved.”