LSST Birmingham Academic Honoured at BAM 2025 – Best Full Research Paper and Two Further Conference Publications
By Kunal Chan Mehta | Article Date: 3 October 2025
By Kunal Chan Mehta | Article Date: 3 October 2025
LSST is delighted to announce that Dr Mahmuda Begum, Senior Lecturer in Business at LSST Birmingham, and a member of LSST’s Research Ethics Committee, has been awarded the Best Full Research Paper in the Leadership & Leadership Development track at the British Academy of Management (BAM) 2025 conference. The award was announced following Dr Begum’s highly praised presentation of “The development of a sustainable approach to reduce the dark leadership: A grounded theory”.
In addition to the Best Paper accolade, Dr Begum acted as Session Chair for the Leadership & Leadership Development track. Her scholarship was further highlighted through two additional peer-reviewed conference outputs: “Stakeholder integration in sustainability-oriented innovation: Toward a framework of sustainable business model”, presented in the Sustainable and Responsible Business track at BAM 2025; and “The collaborative dialogue for the cooperative and inclusive learning: A study within the context of higher education in the UK”, which was accepted, presented, and published at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) 2025 conference.
Mr Ali Jafar Zaidi, LSST’s CEO, said: “We are extraordinarily proud of Dr Begum. This recognition marks LSST’s commitment to research that is both theoretically robust and socially consequential – scholarship that improves student experience and informs better leadership practice across sectors.”
Dr Begum’s award-winning study interrogates what is often characterised in management literature as “dark leadership”, where leadership behaviours are unethical or corrosive to organisational culture and people-centred outcomes. Using grounded theory methodology, the paper articulates a systems-level framework designed to identify, mitigate and even prevent such leadership forms. The research shows conceptual clarity and practical instruments that can inform leadership development programmes, ethical governance and organisational policy.
Translation to Practice
The Best Full Research Paper distinction at BAM – a leading professional body for management scholarship – is a measurable indicator of research quality and impact for LSST. The recognition enhances LSST’s expanding research profile and strengthens its portfolio of expertise that combines methodological rigour with operational relevance in leadership.
“Dr Begum’s scholarship exemplifies the synthesis of methodological research rigour and pedagogic relevance we prize at our Birmingham campus,” said Mr Mohsin Riaz, Dean of LSST Birmingham. “Her work on inclusive learning and sustainable business models will directly inform curriculum development and research supervision.”
“I am honoured to receive the research benchmarks. Much of the research emerged from sustained qualitative enquiry and an abiding concern to design systems that prevent destructive leadership and promote organisational flourishing,” said Dr Mahmuda Begum, Senior Lecturer in Business, and member of LSST’s Research Ethics Committee.
To maximise the scholarly and reputational impact of Dr Begum’s work, LSST will organise an internal seminar and research showcase where Dr Begum will present her grounded theory framework.
For additional information or interviews, please direct questions to LSST’s Public Relations Manager via kunal.mehta@lsst.ac.
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