Dr Sally Kah

Dr. Sally Kah is a Senior Lecturer in Business Management within the Faculty of Business and Law. Her research focuses on exploring contemporary business factors that impact social enterprises in developed and developing economies. Presently, her scholarly investigations are centred on elucidating the strategies employed by social entrepreneurs to bolster resilience in the face of the cost-of-living crisis. Concurrently, she delves into the dynamics of sustainability and social impact within micro, small and medium-sized organisations in remote contexts.

Sally has published in esteemed journals recognised by the Association of Business Schools (ABS). Her dedication to advancing knowledge extends to presenting her research findings at prominent national and international conferences.

She is the Founder of the Social Enterprise Research Group and an active member of distinguished professional organisations, including the European Council for Small Business Entrepreneurship and the British Academy of Management. Her affiliation with these esteemed institutions underscores her commitment to furthering research and scholarship in social entrepreneurship.

Contemporary business topics evolve. I am interested in supervising committed and passionate doctoral candidates who want to explore contemporary topics in the general areas of social entrepreneurship, including, but not limited to:

• Social Impact Measurement
• Social Enterprise Resilience 
• Social Innovation Ecosystems
• Art and Creativity for Social Change
• Social Entrepreneurship in Conflict and Post-Conflict Contexts

Forthcoming Publications

• Jones, J., Stewart, J., Kah, S., Robert, H., Lundgren, H., Poell, R.F. and Scully-Russ, E. (20**) HRD practitioner roles in organizations: challenges, congruence and changes. HRD 2024 Handbook of Human Resource Development.
• Murithi, W. and Kah, S. (20**) Tuskys supermarket: The good, the bad, and the ugly in the Kago family business. Edward Elgar Publishing. 
• Kah, S. (20**) Social enterprise. International Encyclopedia of Business Management. Elsevier. 

Journal Articles

• Lundgren, H., Stewart, J.., Kah, S., Jones, J., Poell, R.F., Hamlin, G. R. and Scully-Russ, E. (2023) Mind the gap – a comparative analysis of (in-) congruences in HRD role perception. Human Resource Development International. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2023.2244711
• Gonibeed, A., Kah, S. and Wanjiru, R. (2023). How small organisations develop sustainability-oriented strategies: evidence from northwest Himalayas. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(6), pp 1269-1289. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-08-2022-0716
• Akenroye, O.T., Dora, M., Kumar, M., Elbaz, J., Kah, S. and Jebli, F. (2021) A taxonomy of barriers to the adoption of sustainable practices in the coffee farming process. Journal of Cleaner Production, 312, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127818
• Kah, S. and Akenroye, T. (2020). Evaluation of social impact measurement tools and techniques: a systematic review of the literature. Social Enterprise Journal, 16(4), pp.381-402. https://doi-org.proxy.library.dmu.ac.uk/10.1108/SEJ-05-2020-0027
• Kah, S., O’Brien, S., Kok, S. and Gallagher, E. (2020) Entrepreneurial motivations, opportunities, and challenges: An international perspective. Journal of African Business, 23(2), pp.380-399, DOI: 10.1080/15228916.2020.1838835

Book Chapters 

• Kah, S. (2024) An analytical reflection on conducting virtual focus groups with young women exhibiting limited to moderate digital literacy skills. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
• Kah, S. and Murithi, W. (2023) A practical approach to conducting systematic inquiry in social entrepreneurship research. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529629057

Practitioner Journal Articles & Industry Analysis

• Kah, S., Murithi, W., Mbogo, E., Ahmed, S. and Camara, M. (2023) Can social entrepreneurs end gender inequality? A critical discussion with social entrepreneurs. Social Innovations Journal. Available at: https://socialinnovationsjournal.com/index.php/sij/article/view/6781 
  
• Kah, S. (2023). Local solutions for national problems: How nonprofit organisations tackle the sustainable development goals, Social Innovations Journal, 19. Available at: https://ddec1-0-en-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=https%3a%2f%2fsocialinnovationsjournal.com%2findex.php%2fsij%2farticle%2fview%2f5646&umid=d3ae1654-7e07-4524-8afd-7edbaef4d8f0&auth=06e76e57000ea428f34b63fea08893688229b6ce-869551aea8ed298024f1b29b13d7e36dd4ebd01a
• Jones, J. and Kah, S. (2022). How well is HRD meeting the needs of those it is intending to serve? From diffusion to confusion. The International Journal of HRD: Practice, Policy and Research, 6(1), pp. 39-49. https://ddec1-0-en-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.ijhrdppr.com&umid=d3ae1654-7e07-4524-8afd-7edbaef4d8f0&auth=06e76e57000ea428f34b63fea08893688229b6ce-95a67b42ed1e2726551ef1fb685eee2a3cc79a6b
• Kah, S. (2022) What are best practices in impact measurement to support organisations in measuring the triple bottom line of sustainability? Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4122608
• Kah, S. (2020) How the ecosystem can enable social enterprise to build back better. Social Enterprise Mark. Available at: https://www.socialenterprisemark.org.uk/how-the-ecosystem-can-enable-social-enterprises-to-build-back-better/
• Kah, S. (2019) The Contribution of the Social Enterprise Sector to the UK Economy. European Journal of Business and Management, 11(20), pp.15-25.

I am currently leading two research projects in the areas of social entrepreneurship. Details of the projects are outlined below:

Social Enterprise and Cost-of-Living Crisis, 2023-2025

This project investigates the strategies employed by social enterprises in the UK to address and adapt to the cost-of-living crisis. We classify these response strategies within a matrix of response strategy modes. Subsequently, we establish a framework highlighting various organizational types with dynamic capabilities to illustrate the behaviours and actions that have contributed to organizational resilience.

This collaborative research involves colleagues from Strathmore University, Birmingham City University, and Nottingham Trent University.

Social Entrepreneurship in Uncertain Environments, 2021-2024

While prior research has explored the diverse contextual challenges present in Africa, a comprehensive understanding of the specific contextual factors driving social entrepreneurial activities and the precise solutions they offer remains elusive. To address this gap, we systematically investigate the underlying contextual hurdles that impact African social entrepreneurial endeavours and the specific solutions they employ. Results from this study were presented at the first social enterprise research group webinar in December 2022.

This is a collaborative research with an academic at Strathmore University.

• Social entrepreneurial resilience in times of economic crisis: Evidence from minoritised social entrepreneurs. Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Birmingham, UK, 2023.
• Mind the gap- a comparative analysis of (in-) congruences in HRD role perception. Academy of Human Resource Development. USA, 2023.
• Strategic leadership in practice: An exploration of personal values-guided social entrepreneurship in the US energy sector. British Academy of Management. Brighton and Hove, UK 2023.
• How do minoritised social entrepreneurs respond to the cost-of-living crisis? Exploring actions and impact. DMU Faculty of Business and Law Research Conference. Leicester 2023.
• Historical existence and contributions of social enterprise in Africa: A systematic review of the literature. International Social Innovation Conference. Milan, Italy [Virtual], 2021.
• Organisational legitimacy a taxonomy of barriers of social impact assessment in social enterprises. Corporate Responsibility Research Conference. Israel [Virtual], 2021.
• Social impact measurement: A systematic review of the literature. International Social Innovations Research Conference. Glasgow, UK, 2019. 
• To measure or not to measure? Dilemma of social impact measurement for social enterprises. Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Glasgow, UK, 2015.
• An investigation into performance measurement in social enterprises in the UK. British Academy of Management. Portsmouth, UK, 2015.