
Professor Jonathan Beaverstock
BA (Wales), PhD (Bristol)
Expertise
Research investigates the internationalisation and clustering of financial, professional service and fintech firms, the mobilities of transnational professionals and the competitiveness of the City of London.
Current positions
Professor of International Management
School of Management
Contact
Media contact
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Research interests
As an inter-disciplinary social scientist, my research focuses on the globalization of financial and professional service firms, the future of transnational professional work and the competitiveness of the City of London. This research draws on the theoretical lens' of economic geography, urban and mobilities studies, and organisation studies. Current research explores:
- global talent mobilities and the competitiveness of the City of London;
- the role of FinTech ecosystems and financial services clustering in the competitiveness of U.K. city-regions;
- transnational professionals and the future of cross-border knowledge-intensive work;
- sustainable business travel in reconfiguring net zero organisations and city-regions.
I have also published on super-rich capitalism, including seminal work on 'exposing the global super-rich' and private wealth management.
My research has been funded by Research England, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, British Academy, Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. Its impact has informed stakeholders like H.M. Treasury, U.K.'s Migration Advisory Committee, The Corporation of London, Abu Dhabi’s Economic Development Council, The Institute for Public Policy, FinTech West and the West of England Combined Authority. I sit on the Advisory Board of FinTech West and the FinTech National Network, advising on the role of FinTech in the economic development of the Bristol and Bath city-region.
I'm a former Editor-in-Chief of Global Networks, have served on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Contemporary European Studies, Geoforum, Mobilities and Transnational Corporations (UNCTAD), and a member of the Economic and Social Research Council's Global Challenges Research Fund and Standard Grant peer review colleges. I also sit on the Nominations Committee of the U.K. Academy of Social Sciences. I currently hold a Visiting Professorship in Economic Geography at the University of Gent, Belgium, the Co-Directorship of the Globalization and World Cities Network (Loughborough University, UK) and an ESRC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship.
Since joining Bristol in 2014, I've served as the Associate Dean International for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Head of the School of Economics, Finance and Management, Head of the Department of Management and Head of the newly forming School of Management (as well as School Research Director). Previous, I was Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Nottingham, and Professor and Head of the Department of Geography at Loughborough University.
I was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2012.
I am available for PhD supervision on topics like, fintech, fintech4good, globalising professional service firms, professionalisation and professional work, City of London, global talent mobility and sustainable business travel.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
ESRC IAA Knowledge Exchange Fellowship with FinTech West
Principal Investigator
Description
The ESRC IAA KEF will further an existing partnership with FinTech West contributing evidence to the development of key areas of Bristol-Bath FinTech policy, and cluster and capacity building for…Managing organisational unit
School of ManagementDates
01/04/2022 to 28/02/2023
FinTech deepdive
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of ManagementDates
01/10/2020 to 31/12/2020
Learning from London’s fintech cluster: Ensuring the future sustainability and competitiveness of the Bristol-Bath fintech ecosystem.
Principal Investigator
Description
Working closely with FinTech West to identify the specific competitive advantages unique to London’s banking, financial and professional services’ cluster (aka City of London) which can inform best practice in…Managing organisational unit
School of ManagementDates
03/08/2020 to 30/07/2021
Mobility and work-life balance in the digital age
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of ManagementDates
01/10/2015 to 30/06/2016
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
23/11/2022Covid-19 and Global Networks
Global Networks
How financial products organize spatial networks
Environment and Planning A
Using guanxi to conduct elite interviews in China
Qualitative Research
Learning from London’s FinTech cluster:
Learning from London’s FinTech cluster:
World-city network
The Urban Geography Reader