Simon Gerard

I joined Coventry University in September 2017 as a Lecturer in Sport Management in the School of Management and Marketing. My primary teaching areas are Management of Sport Organisations, Management and Leadership in Sport and Events, Contemporary Issues in Sport Management and Disability Sports. Before working at Coventry University I did my PhD at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Ottawa (Canada). I am also a Research Associate in the Olympic Chair Henri de Baillet Latour & Jacques Rogge in Management of Sport Organisations (Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium) and in the Center for Research in Entrepreneurial Change and Innovative Strategies (Louvain School of Management, Belgium).

My research primarily focuses on Organisation and Management Theory (OMT) with a particular interest for Institutional Theory and Stakeholder Theory. I aim to unpack mechanisms by which institutions and organisations can contribute to social oppression but also social empowerment of marginalised groups, in particular disabled people. I also research how and why organisations change over time especially in the sector of sport and how it impacts organisational performance and practices. Overall I wish to suggest effective solutions to develop a more inclusive economy and society. I have published articles on institutional change and institutional entrepreneurship in various journals and authored chapters in several academic books such as the Routledge Handbook of Football Business and Management, the Management global du sport or Research Handbook on Sports Governance. I have presented multiple papers in prestigious international conferences, such as the European Academy of Management (EURAM), European Group for Organisation in Studies (EGOS) and the European Association for Sport Management (EASM). 

Research Interests: Sport Governance, Institutional change, Historical and Management aspect of Disability and Paralympic Sports