Following a ten-year career in the British Army, Steven Brown’s business career took centre stage. With over 20 years of senior leadership experience in industries such as telecommunications, consumer electronics and global logistics, Steven brings a broad range of experience to his research. He completed an MBA in 2007, an experience which first got him thinking about the possibility of pursuing research further. Now, as a PhD student at the University of Greenwich, Steven is diving deep into the evolving field of Open Strategy—bringing both curiosity and humility to the process.
“It has been a roller coaster!” he admits. “People warned me about that from the very beginning; however, I think I’ve been slightly taken by surprise by how much of the success of a research degree is down to other people: your supervisors, your peers, the people you’re working with to gather data. I have been very lucky to be working with some exceptional people on all those fronts.”
Steven credits his supervisor with opening the door to NUSC and to new methodological possibilities. “He took an almost instant and enthusiastic interest in my proposal, and opened my eyes to methods and research design options that I would almost certainly never have known about.” That early encouragement, combined with a welcoming and egalitarian research community, made him feel “part of something right from the beginning.”
Speaking on his experience of NUSC, Steven loves the ‘unpredictability’- the eclectic collection of experts who share their research. He elaborates:
“There is such a wide variety of research interests and fields of specialism, you never know what will be presented next, or who you might meet. For example, I have a previous career in the military; I would never have expected significant research in a military context to have been something I’d see at NUSC. However, one of the senior academics in the group has spent the last few years researching military learning in an international context. The variety of interests is astonishing.”
By the way, You can read about the research Steven’s referring to in our last blog post! Learning Under Fire: How NATO Militaries—and Others—Can Adapt Faster
Exploring Open Strategy
Steven’s research focuses on participation in Open Strategy—a concept that is still new to many. “I’m still surprised by how few people (including people in practice) know that Open Strategy is a thing.”
His current project involves a consumer electronics firm in Denmark that is making deliberate moves to open up their strategy work. This longitudinal study uses a mixed-method approach, including semi-structured interviews, Social Network Analysis, and more traditional quantitative approaches. The approach allows Steven to explore how openness and participation evolve over time. “Perhaps unsurprisingly, the literature characterises corporate strategy work as (historically) closed and elitist”, Steven states; “so, opening that up raises questions around empowerment, identity, and trust, all of which are interesting for my project.”
One unexpected insight? “I have been surprised about how critical some interview respondents have been about open strategy as a concept. For example, I was surprised to hear that some of the less senior staff at the firm thought that strategy work could be ‘too open’. Their argument was that a certain amount of structure and competence was needed in order to make it really work. I was surprised to hear that; but they make an excellent point, one which is echoed in some parts of the extant literature.”
Why It Matters
Steven’s work aims to uncover the obstacles and enablers for participation in open strategy. With companies increasingly interested in opening up strategy work, his research could help optimise how participation is designed and implemented.
“So far, no one has used Social Network Analysis in open strategy research, although it has been suggested in the literature.” Thus Steven’s work represents the first Social Network Analysis study on Open Strategy, generating important findings for firms aiming to truly democratise strategy work.
Beyond Academia
Outside of research, Steven is a passionate musician. “In the beginning, it was mainly orchestral stuff (I was a trombone player from a young age). As I got older, I’ve become much more interested in Celtic folk music.” He claims to have a ‘slightly too large’ collection of bagpipes, tin whistles and mandolins—a nod to his enthusiasm for the contemporary revival of the genre.
And if he could meet any researcher? “Henry Mintzberg. I really like the way he writes: he has a way of making things accessible in a way that not many people can”, Steven explains, “I think we would also agree on the importance of emergent versus deliberate strategy. He has been a strong critic of the historical dominance of deliberate strategy in the literature; my own research interests very much align with that criticism.”
Want to connect with Steven? Reach out via LinkedIn or email him at steven.brown@gre.ac.uk.
Disclosure: This blog post was drafted and polished with the assistance of AI tools to enhance clarity, structure, and engagement. All content has been reviewed and approved by the author and named lead researcher to ensure accuracy and alignment with the intended message.