10-11 September 2024
University of Sussex, Brighton
The 2024 Business and Modern Slavery Research Conference will take place on Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th September in-person at Bramber House on the University of Sussex campus in Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9RH. This conference is co-organised by the University of Sussex Business School and Hult International Business School.
Submissions to the conference have now closed.
Abusive labour practices and the business systems that produce, accentuate, and shelter them are increasingly exercising policymakers around the world. As this trend has grown, both scholars and industry experts have undertaken research which is broad in scope, transcending disciplinary boundaries, and offers insights into management practices and working conditions. This conference brings together researchers in the growing research community from across business disciplines to develop ongoing work and build links with peers towards future endeavours, offering a mixture of in-depth analysis and a platform to discuss alternative paths on topics related to modern slavery.
The conference will address the following themes:
Lara is an Associate Professor in Business and Society at Nottingham University Business School, where she is currently the Research Director of the Strategy and International Business Department. She is also an expert at the RightsLab Beacon of Excellence of the University of Nottingham - the world’s largest group of modern slavery researchers.
A political scientist by training, Lara’s current research focuses on workers’ rights in global value chains, as well as on stakeholder engagement and dialogism.
Her latest research project, funded by Research England Policy Funding, aims at assessing migrant workers’ access to remedy for human rights abuses in the UK agricultural sector. Prior to this, she led a Global Challenge Research Fund and an ESRC Impact Accelerator Account research projects on women's agency in conflict-affected societies.
Download the PDF programme brochure here.
Tuesday 10 September
Session 1, 11:15-12:45
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A - Supply Chain Management: Problems and Perspectives Room: Gallery Room 1 Chair: Shilpi Banerjee Examining the role of supply chains in the global business of modern slavery through a critical post-colonial lens Shilpi Banerjee & Matt Gitsham Examining Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: A Stakeholder Theory Perspective Maximilian Hauser Ethical blindness and the failure to prevent modern slavery in supply chains Andrew Crane |
B - Supply Chain Management: Modern Slavery and the Law Room: Gallery Room 2 Chair: Shoaib Ahmed Theorizing the mechanisms between secrecy and transparency in leading to violence in organizations in the global supply chain Shoaib Ahmed & Ziyun Fan The role of supply chain financing in combating modern slavery Simon Croom |
Session 2, 13:45-15:15
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A – Supply Chain Management: Who and What? Room: Gallery Room 1 Chair: Bruce Pinnington The company you keep: the impact of supplier homophily on modern slavery discovery in supply chains Oliver Kennedy Enhancing the effectiveness of modern slavery transparency: Understanding the nature of visibility Bruce Pinnington A Cross Industry Analysis of Forced Labour in Supply Chains: A Structured Literature Review Sibangjit Das, Nancy Southin & Stuart Milligan |
B – Reporting Room: Gallery Room 2 Chair: Caroline Emberson UK Modern Slavery Reporting: Harnessing Specialised Large Language Models Ser-Huang Poon Examining the association between financial indicators and ethical reporting practices related to modern slavery Caroline Emberson Destined to fail? Why Modern Slavery Legislation Cannot Guarantee Extraterritorial Respect for Labour Rights Brent Burmester |
Session 3, 15:30-17:00
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A - Supply Chain Management: From the Bottom Up Room: Terrace Room Chair: Amy Benstead Valuing Worker Voice and Data for Workers’ Rights in Supply Chains Puvan Jegaraj Selvanathan Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence in Supply Chains: Addressing Labour Abuses and Enhancing Management Practices Matthew Skerritt Imbricating worker voice and recognition for supply chain justice: preliminary findings from Leicester’s garment industry Amy Benstead & Victoria Stephens |
B - Technology against Slavery Room: Gallery Room 1 Chair: Adrian Smith “From Chains to Chains”: Blockchain Innovations in Combating Modern Slavery and Enhancing Reporting Eric McLaren Modern slavery risk, ‘AgTech’ and agrifood value chains: can automation and digital work replace growers’ reliance on precarious seasonal migrant labour? Adrian Smith Technology-centred approaches to combatting modern slavery: false hope or final fix? Brent Burmester |
C - Management: Concepts and Critique Room: Gallery Room 2 Chair: Johanne Grosvold Shackled by agency theory: why incentive misalignment leaves corporate boards unable to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains Johanne Grosvold Accounting and Corporate Sustainability for Socioeconomic and Cultural Injustice of Female Tea Plantation Workers in Sri Lanka Chaya Jayathileka Modern slavery statements of FTSE 100 companies: Symbolic or substantive? Aditi Gupta |
Wednesday 11 September
Session 4, 09:30-11:00
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A – Leadership Room: Gallery Room 1 Chair: Matthew Gitsham 'Modern Slavery Just Transition Framework (MSJTS): Transitioning from a policing mindset to a joint venture' Fatima Annan-Diab Challenging Modern Slavery Through Ethical Leadership Boglarka Radi Exploring Engagement of UK Universities with issues relating to modern slavery Antonietta Balestra |
B – Law: Partnerships and Public Policy Room: Gallery Room 2 Chair: Mike Rogerson Government Leverage to tackle modern slavery in Public Health Supply Chains: integrating zero tolerance, transparency and direct engagement approaches Olga Martin-Ortega & Cindy Berman Impacts of Brexit's Immigration Policies on the United Kingdom’s Agriculture Labor Market Haley Jo Mack, Mariana Mesa & Emily Tricker Setting the Legal Imperative for Promoting Sustainable Corporate Practices through Shareholder Engagement in the UK — On the Road to Somewhere? Rafael Savva |
Session 5, 11:15-12:45
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A – Radical Views Room: Gallery Room 1 Chair: Robert Caruana Conceptualizing Stakeholder Influence on Modern Slavery Legislation: Towards Greater Transparency in Australian Supply Chains Talita Meira Beyond Awareness: Mobilising Consumers Against Modern Slavery Deirdre Shaw Shifting Sands: The intersectional impact of macro-contextual change on women working in the transitioning societies of Kazakhstan and Mongolia Aidan McKearney |
B - New Approaches Room: Gallery Room 2 Chair: Shilpi Banerjee An exploration of the impact of the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) on procurement practice: a Transaction Cost Economics Perspective Stuart Milligan & Nancy Southin Accounting and accountability for poorly designed public work programs in Botswana Gofaone Koorapetse A New Form of Slavery? An Examination of the Global Fertility Chain and the Role for Healthcare Professionals Yingyi Luo |
Parallel Workshops, 14:00-17:00
Paper Development Workshop - Gallery Room 1
Early Career Researcher Workshop - Gallery Room 2
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Early Career Researcher Workshop |
Paper Development Workshop |
Authors are invited to submit a 500 - 1,000 word abstract, excluding title, authors, figures, tables, and references on any aspect of business and modern slavery. Abstracts can be summaries of completed papers, works in progress, or proposals for future projects.
Authors are required to send their abstract by email to the conference dedicated inbox; modernslaveryconf24@sussex.ac.uk, adhering to the submission guidelines*. More information on the submission guildlines.
*If you are submitting as a PhD student, proof of your student status should also be emailed to the same address when you submit your abstract.
The deadline for abstracts submission is the end of the day onFriday 31 May 2024. Submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Committee.
Decisions will be communicated to authors on Friday 14 June 2024. Authors participating in the conference Paper Development Workshop will be required to submit a full paper of approx. 5,000 - 10,000 words by Wednesday 31 July 2024.
We will also host workshops on Wednesday 11 September for anyone interested in submitting to the special issue in Supply Chain Management: An International Journal and for Early Career Researchers. The workshops will be held in parallel from 14:00 - 17:00.
The paper development workshop is an amazing opportunity for those interested in more in-depth feedback on their work on a one-to-one basis with senior scholars, possibly for submission to the special issue on Modern Slavery and Supply Chain Management.
Find out how to apply.
The Early Career Researcher workshop is perfect for early career scholars seeking to build their research skills and connections in the area of business and modern slavery. Early career scholars, defined as PhDs, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty at Lecturer (Assistant Professor) level can apply for the workshop by including a request for involvement in the email to which they attach their abstract.
Please let us know, in your email, what your discipline is, what you would like to get from the workshop, and the identities of any senior faculty with whom you have already worked (so that we can try to build your network by not pairing you with people with whom you already have a working relationship).
Friday 31 May – Deadline for submission of abstracts
Friday 14 June – Notification of decisions & Early Bird Registrations opens
Sunday 30 June – Early Bird Registrations closes
Wednesday 31 July – Deadline for submission of full papers for the Paper development workshop
Friday 16 August – Registrations closes
Tuesday 10 September– 09:00 - 17:00 Main conference
Wednesday 11 September – 09:00 - 14:00 Main conference; Paper development workshop & Early Career Researcher workshop running in parallel from 14:00 - 17:00
There will be a conference dinner on Tuesday 10 September. The cost of this is included in the conference fee.
Registrations to the conference are now open. Please register here.
| Registration Type | Dates | Fee (£) |
| Early Bird | 14/06 - 30/06 | 150 |
| Standard Registration | 01/07 - 16/08 | 200 |
| PhD Student | 14/06 - 16/08 | 50 |
Attendance of 2 main conference days
Attendance of the Paper development workshop OR Early Career Researcher workshop (if accepted)
Conference dinner
Lunches and coffee breaks at the conference days
Travel costs
Accommodation costs
Transfers from Brighton to the University of Sussex, Falmer campus
Pre-conference drinks for early arrivals (optional)
Brighton will be busy at the beginning of September. We recommend that you book your accommodation ASAP.
We recommend the following hotels, near Brighton train station:
1. The IBIS hotel Brighton Station. The hotel is located a couple of minutes away from the Brighton train station. The address is 88-92 Queens Rd, East Sussex, Brighton BN1 3XE, (tel +44 1273 201000), email here: H6444@accor.com.
2. The Leonardo hotel Brighton station (Formerly Jurys Inn) close to the train station. The address: 101 Stroudley Rd, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 4DJ and a phone is: +441273 862121, email here: Brighton@leonardohotels.com.
Alternative accommodation at many Brighton hotels for all budgets, at a preferential rate, for a certain period of time is curated by Visit Brighton, please check here https://book.passkey.com/go/usms2024
Getting to the campus
The campus, located in Falmer, is well-served by public transport, with Falmer train station on the south side of campus, and frequent buses to and from Brighton. Please find below detailed instructions about Travelling to campus – for detailed information on how to reach the campus by train, bus, car or taxi.
By train
If travelling by train from Brighton, getting to Falmer Station is a 10-minute train ride from Brighton Station, where trains to Falmer depart from platforms 7 and 8 usually every 10 minutes (please check train times in advance).
From Falmer train station, follow the signs to the University of Sussex campus.
By bus
The number 25 and 25X bus brings you from central Brighton all the way to University of Sussex campus.
By car
If you intend to drive to the event, a “Car Parking Permit” PDF will be shared with registered attendees closer to the event.
Transfer from the airport
If your flight arrives in Heathrow Airport, kindly check which Terminal it lands on. A very easy way to come to Brighton would be by coach (National Express).
Gatwick Airport train station is located at the South Terminal, just a short walk from both departures and arrivals. The station is easily accessible from the North Terminal by a free shuttle. You can buy train tickets at the station, online or by using your contactless payment card at the ticket gates. There are very frequent trains to Brighton and the duration of the journey is about 30 minutes. More information www.nationalrail.co.uk.
For more information about the conference, please get in touch.