Professor Ilaria Boncori
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Email
iboncori@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 873854
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Location
EBS.3.63, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
I am a Professor in Organization Behaviour and Human Resources Management in Essex Business School. Initially focused on international cross-cultural business and expatriates, my research interests now lie in social in/justice at the intersections between identity, race, the body, gender, sexuality and processes of organising, as recently investigated in studies focused on aspects such as transgender and gender non-conforming inclusion in organizations, parenting and miscarriage in organisations. With a particular interest in qualitative methods (both narrative and arts-based approaches), I have used autoethnography, photoethnography, semi-structured interviews and the analysis of secondary texts like films in order to explore concepts and contexts. From January 2022 to January 2026, I will be leading the project 'Transitions and Transformations: the Black Researcher's Journey' funded by Research England – part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) - and the Office for Students. See here for more information: https://www.essex.ac.uk/news/2021/11/24/new-generation-of-black-researchers-to-be-supported-by-pioneering-project Editorial roles: Co-Editor in Chief of the international journal Culture and Organization (January 2023 to date) Associate Editor: Management Learning (September 2024 to date) Associate Editor of Tamara: Journal for Critical Organizational Inquiry (August 2024 to date) Editorial Board member of the journal Organization Associate Editor and founder of puntOorg International Journal Other roles and professional membership: Member of the Research England EDI Expert Advisory Group (2023 to date) Academic Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, 2023) Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA, 2019) Fellow of the Leadership Foundation (FLF, 2016) Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE, 2020) Steering Group member of the Humanistic Management Network UK Chapter Chair of the Essex LGBT Alliance (2016 to 2020) Member of the Race Equality Charter institutional Self-Assessment Team at the University of Essex My Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=B43WfB0AAAAJ&hl=en PhD students (completed) Costanza Cardullo: Formality and Informality in delegation processes of family businesses (co-supervised with Professor L.M. Sicca, University of Naples Federico II) Davide Bizjak: Organizing diversity in organizations: from liminality to inclusion (co-supervised with Professor L.M. Sicca, University of Naples Federico II)
Qualifications
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PhD Management Studies (Essex, UK)
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MA Marketing and Communication (Rome, Italy)
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BA (Hons) Oriental Languages and Cultures (Rome, Italy) 110 cum laude
Appointments
University of Essex
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Dean Postgraduate Research Development and Engagement, University of Essex (1/8/2024 - 31/12/2024)
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Deputy Dean Postgraduate Research Training (DD PGRT), University of Essex (1/1/2022 - 31/7/2024)
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Faculty Dean Undergraduate, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Essex (1/7/2021 - 31/12/2023)
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Deputy Dean (Education), University of Essex (1/1/2018 - 29/6/2021)
Other academic
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Professor in Organization Behaviour and Human Resources Management, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/10/2023 - present)
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Professor in Management and Marketing, Essex Pathways, University of Essex (1/10/2020 - 30/9/2023)
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Senior Lecturer in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Essex (1/10/2014 - 30/9/2020)
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Lecturer in EAP and Business studies, Insearch, University of Essex (17/9/2007 - 1/10/2014)
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Lecturer, SILC, Shanghai University (1/7/2005 - 30/6/2007)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
identity work
transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming inclusion
auto/ethnography and arts-based methods
Writing Differently in management and organisation studies
embodied experiences in the workplace
affective processes in organisations and organising
I am particularly interested in emotions in processes of organising, and processes focussed on care, solidarity and feminist approaches
Pregnancy endings/baby loss
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Current research
Gender in organizations
equality and inclusion
race and ethnicity
ethnographic methods
Body of work: Wellcome Trust funded project (20219-2021)
The Body of Work project was funded by the Wellcome Trust to facilitate a series of four events between academics, third sector professionals, doctoral students and the wider public.
Project team:
Professor Ilaria Boncori (Principal Investigator) University of Essex
Dr Deborah Brewis (Co-Investigator), University of Bath
Rachel Weightman (Project Officer), University of Essex
This project seeks to enrich our understanding of embodied experiences associated with work, and of practices that marginalise the bodies of certain groups. Although underrepresented in organisation studies, knowledge of how the body affects one’s work, and how work affects the body, is crucial to shaping inclusive policies, practices and career pathways.
Videos and other resources can be found under each event page, which can be browsed via the navigation menu or as a link through from the homepage.
More information about this project
Pregnancy endings
I have been working on projects related to preganncy endings since 2016. Please find more information on the related web pages belwo.
More information about this project
Conferences and presentations
Researching and Writing Differently in Business Ethics
The Society for Business Ethics (SBE) 2024, 10/8/2024
Stream 7: Grief and Loss in organizations and processes of organising
Gender Work and Organization 2024, Gender Work and Organization 2024, 17/6/2024
Mobilising rage as methodology and praxis in researching differently”, Gender, Work and Organization
Gender Work and Organization, 29/6/2023
Embodied and affective spaces of parenting in academia
Invited presentation, Remaking the City” in ‘Empowered bodies: politics of space through feminist perspectives, 28/6/2023
Critical development workshop: Nurturing half-baked ideas
International Critical Management Studies, 22/6/2023
Academic doors and ladders: Feminist vulnerability in contemporary careers
EGOS, 7/7/2022
Understanding the experience of early pregnancy endings
Gender, Work and Organization, 24/6/2022
Developmental workshop for the Special Issue on Embodied Writing
SCOS, 6/7/2021
Leaning in and spilling over: Becoming a parent whilst pursuing an academic career
Gender, Work and Organization, 30/6/2021
Reflecting and learning in lockdown: leadership approaches to crisis management
Invited presentation, International Conference of the Humanistic Management Network, 6/11/2020
Opening up the gender continuum
Critical Management Studies, 27/6/2019
2017 Hunter, C. , Boncori, I. and Pecis L. Emotions, objects and meaning in organizations stream for 10th International Critical Management Studies (CMS) Conference 2017 Liverpool, UK (3 5 July).
Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2017
2017 Chair of the organising Committee of SCOS Roma 2017 Carne: Flesh and Organizations. Other organisers include Jo Brewis (Leicester), Mauro Gatti (Rome), Edoardo Mollona (Bologna), Luigi Maria Sicca (Naples), Charlotte Smith (Leicester).
Rome, Italy, 2017
2016 Boncori, I and Bizjak, D. 'Taming the beast', SCOS (Uppsala, 11-14 July)
Uppsala, Sweden, 2016
2015 (on-going) Conference stream organiser at the European Academy of Management Institutional resistance, war of positions and power maintenance (http://www.criticalmanagement.org/node/3183). Standing track.
2015
2015 Boncori, I. Factors affecting the experience of pregnancy and parenthood in female academic careers, Critical Management Studies Conference (Leicester, 6-9 July).
Leicester, United Kingdom, 2015
2015 Boncori, I., Bizjak, D. and Sicca, L.M. Resistance in Academia: workload models as instruments of transparency or as a form of managerial panopticon?, EURAM (Warsaw, 17-21 June).
Warsaw, Poland, 2015
2015 Cardullo, C., Bizjak, D., Boncori, I. and Sicca, L.M. Entrepreneurial resistance in Italian medium-sized family firms. Delegation of power and strategic decision making processes, EURAM (Warsaw, 17-21 June).
Warsaw, Poland, 2015
2014 Shortt, H. and Boncori, I. Playing the Academic Game, Doctoral workshop, SCOS Conference (Utrecht, 7-10 July).
Utrecht, Netherlands, 2014
2013 Höpfl, H. and Boncori, I., Managing The Beast, Doctoral workshop, SCOS Conference (Warsaw, 11-14 July).
Warsaw, Poland, 2013
2012 Boncori, I. and Höpfl, H. No place like home. Expatriates' itinerant artefacts and the liminal home, 2012 SCOS Conference (Barcelona, 11-14 July).
Barcelona, Spain, 2012
2012 Boncori, I. 'The importance of Cultural Diplomacy in the management of international business relations: the case of Italian expatriates in China', Keynote speech (invited) delivered at the ICD Annual Academic Conference on Cultural Diplomacy (Berlin 15-18 December 2011).
Berlin, Germany, 2012
2011 Organiser of the Convivium: Global Citizenship and Collaboration Conference (University of Essex, 5th May 2011) on the role of collaboration in international relations, cross-cultural management and business.
Colchester, United Kingdom, 2011
2011 Boncori, I. Recovering identity: expatriates autoethnographic self-reflections of identity negotiation and re-construction upon repatriation, 2011 SCOS Conference (Istanbul, 14-17 July 2011).
Istanbul, Turkey, 2011
2011 Fathulla, K., Boncori, I. and Holst-Larkin, J.A. Enriching the notion of Internationalisation poster presented at the Internationalisation of Pedagogy and Curriculum in Higher Education Conference (University of Warwick, 16-17 June 2011).
Coventry, United Kingdom, 2011
Publications
Journal articles (20)
Middlemiss, AL., Boncori, I., Brewis, J., Davies, J. and Newton, VL., (2024). Employment leave for early pregnancy endings: A biopolitical reproductive governance analysis in England and Wales. Gender, Work and Organization. 31 (1), 75-91
Boncori, I., Brewis, D., Mandalaki, E. and van Amsterdam, N., (2024). Embodied Writing. Culture and Organization. 30 (3), 221-229
Abdellatif, A., Boncori, I. and Mandalaki, E., (2024). Exploring academic careers through the metaphors of doors and ladders: a relational, feminist and vulnerable approach. Organization
Boncori, I. and Williams, KS., (2023). Reclaiming space in family histories: impressionistic memory work as a feminist approach to historiography and storytelling. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management. 18 (5), 20-38
Suhomlinova, O., O'Shea, SC. and Boncori, I., (2023). Rethinking gender diversity: Transgender and gender nonconforming people and gender as constellation. Gender, Work and Organization. 31 (5), 1766-1785
Boncori, I., (2022). Book review: The Routledge Companion to Organizational Diversity Research Methods. Management Learning. 53 (3), 621-622
Manzoor, H., Nocker, M. and Boncori, I., (2022). The performativity and politics of emotions in NHS boards. Culture and Organization. 28 (6), 509-527
Boncori, I., (2021). Book Review: ‘Writing Differently’ by Alison Pullen, Jenny Helin and Nancy Harding. Gender, Work and Organization. 28 (1), 443-445
Abdellatif, A., Aldossari, M., Boncori, I., Callahan, J., Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, U., Chaudhry, S., Kivinen, N., Liu, S-JS., Utoft, EH., Vershinina, N., Yarrow, E. and Pullen, A., (2021). Breaking the Mould: Working through our Differences to Vocalize the Sound of Change. Gender, Work and Organization. 28 (5), 1956-1979
Boncori, I. and Smith, C., (2020). Negotiating the doctorate as an academic professional: identity work and sense making through auto ethnographic methods. Teaching in Higher Education. 25 (3), 271-285
Boncori, I. and Strauβ, A., (2020). Foreign women in academia: double strangers between productivity, marginalization and resistance. Gender, Work and Organization. 27 (6), 1004-1019
Boncori, I., (2020). The Neverending Shift: A feminist reflection on living and organising academic lives during the Coronavirus pandemic. Gender, Work and Organization. 27 (5), 677-682
Boncori, I., (2020). Book Review: Spiritual Herstories by Amanda Williamson and Barbara Sellers-Young. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion
Boncori, I., Sicca, LM. and Bizjak, D., (2020). Workload allocation models in academia: Panopticon of neoliberal control or tools for resistance?. Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry. 18 (1), 51-69
Boncori, I., (2020). Spiritual herstories: call of the soul in dance research : by Amanda Williamson, A., & Sellers-Young, B. (Eds.), Chicago: Intellect Books, 550pp., £120.00 (hardback), ISBN 9781789380828. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion. 17 (5), 459-463
Boncori, I. and Smith, C., (2019). I lost my baby today: Embodied writing and learning in organizations. Management Learning. 50 (1), 74-86
Boncori, I., Brewis, J., Sicca, LM. and Smith, C., (2019). Carne – flesh and organization. Culture and Organization. 25 (4), 249-252
Boncori, I., (2018). Negotiating motherhood and career options through sharing narratives. e-Organisations & People. 25 (4), 13-20
Boncori, I., (2017). Mission impossible: A reading of the after-death of the heroine. Culture and Organization. 23 (2), 95-109
Boncori, I. and Vine, T., (2014). 'Learning without thought is labour lost, thought without learning is perilous': the importance of pre-departure training and emotions management for expatriates working in China. International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion. 6 (2), 155-155
Books (5)
Boncori, I., (2022). Researching and writing differently. Policy Press. 1447368142. 9781447368144
Boncori, I. and Loughran, T., (2020). Health and Wellbeing - The University of Essex Reader. Editoriale Scientifica. 978-88-9391-663-9
Boncori, I., (2018). Race, Ethnicity and Inclusion - The University of Essex Reader. Editoriale Scientifica
Boncori, I., (2017). LGBT+ Perspectives -The University of Essex Reader. Editoriale Scientifica. 978-88-9391-045-3
Boncori, I., (2013). Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 9781349451173
Book chapters (24)
Boncori, I., Learning and doing autoethnography: resonance, vulnerability and exposure. In: Organizational Ethnography An Experiential and Practical Guide. Editors: Pandeli, J., Sutherland, N. and Gaggiotti, H., . 9780367898687
Boncori, I., Intersectional approaches to inclusivity and digital inequality for staff and students in Higher Education. In: Global Inclusion and Diversity in the virtual organization. Editors: Groutsis, D., Georgiadou, A. and Ng, E., . Routledge
Williams, KS. and Boncori, I., (2025). Culture and Organization. In: Elgar Encyclopedia on Gender in Management. Edward Elgar Publishing. 77- 78. 9781803922058
Batta, A. and Boncori, I., (2024). Being, becoming and knowing through poetry. In: How to do Social Science that Matters. Editors: Kociatkiewicz, J. and Kostera, M., . Edward Elgar Publishing. 88- 100. 9781035314539
Boncori, I., (2022). Writing the personal. In: How to Write Differently: A quest for meaningful academic writing. Editors: Kostera, M., . Edward Elgar Publishing. 22- 32. 9781800887725
Boncori, I., Harrison, P., MacKenzie, B., Schwabenland, C. and Slater, R., (2022). Reflecting and learning in lockdown: leadership approaches to crisis management. In: Humanistic crisis management – lessons from COVID-19.. Editors: Amann, W., Stachowicz-Stanusch, A., Tripathi, S. and von Kimakowitz, E., . Palgrave MacMillan. 215- 243. 9783031042515
Boncori, I., (2022). Writing the personal. In: How to Write Differently: A Quest for Meaningful Academic Writing. 21- 31
Boncori, I. and Vaswani, N., (2020). Fifteen. In: Health and Wellbeing - The University of Essex Reader. Editors: Boncori, I. and Loughran, T., . Editoriale Scientifica
Boncori, I., Sicca, LM. and Bizjak, D., (2019). Transgender and Gender Non-conforming People in the Workplace: Direct and Invisible Discrimination. In: Inequality and Organizational Practice Volume I: Work and Welfare. Editors: Nachmias, S. and Caven, V., . Springer. 141- 160. 3030116441. 9783030116446
Boncori, I. and Yakubu, H., (2018). Is money colour-blind? financing ethnic minority businesses. In: Race, Ethnicity and Inclusion - The University of Essex Reader. Editors: Boncori, I., . Editoriale Scientifica
Boncori, I. and Lawley, S., (2017). "LGBT+ experiences of sport in educational settings". In: LGBT* Perspectives - The University of Essex Reader. Editors: Boncori, I., . Editoriale Scientifica. 171- 189. 978-88-9391-045-3
Boncori, I., (2017). The Salience of Emotions in (Auto) ethnography: Towards an Analytical Framework. In: Ethnographic Research and Analysis. Editors: Vine, T., Weir, D., Clarke, J. and Richards, S., . Palgrave Macmillan. 191- 215. 978-1-137-58555-4
Boncori, I., Sicca, LM. and Bizjak, D., (2017). Lex, legis: lontano dalla norma. Resistenze organizzative e passaggi di testimone nelle imprese 3M. In: Il mestiere di crescere. Strategie e performance delle medie imprese industriali nel Mezzogiorno. Editors: Izzo, F., . Editoriale Scientifica. 978-88-6342-941-1
Bizjak, D., Boncori, I. and Fazzari, P., (2015). Identità organizzativa, identità individuale e transformazione. In: Transformare le pratiche nelle organizzazioni di lavoro e di pensiero. Editors: Sicca, LM., Valerio, P. and Oliverio, S., . Editoriale Scientifica. 229- 247. 978-88-6342-825-4
Boncori, I., (2013). No Place Like Home. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 152- 159. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). Expatriate Adjustment. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 103- 151. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). Introduction to International Business in China. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 3- 27. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). A Good Beginning is Halfway to Success. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 31- 38. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). Pre-Departure Knowledge. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 39- 53. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). Returning Expatriates. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 163- 171. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). Expatriates in the Middle Kingdom. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 92- 102. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). Repatriation Adjustment. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 172- 190. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). When in China Do as the Chinese Do. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 81- 91. 9781349451173
Boncori, I., (2013). Recruitment and Preparation. In: Expatriates in China. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 54- 77. 9781349451173
Reports and Papers (1)
Boncori, I., Brewis, J., Davies, J., Foroughi, H., Middlemiss, A., Mullan, K., Newton, V. and Schnitzler, K., (2024). Understanding the experience of early pregnancy endings as a workplace issue
Other (2)
Rodrigues Silva, C., Pullen, A. and Boncori, I., Editorial. Sexism in business schools (and universities): structural inequalities, systemic failures and individual experiences. Gender, Work and Organization,Wiley
Rodrigues Silva, C., Pullen, A. and Boncori, I., (2024).Sexism in business schools (and universities): Structural inequalities, systemic failures, and individual experiences. Gender, Work and Organization. 31(5),Wiley
Grants and funding
2025
Toolkit for organisations: Supporting the experience of pregnancy endings in the workplace
University of Essex (QR Impact Fund)
2023
Early pregnancy endings and the workplace
Open University (Funder)
Supporting organisations and individuals in dealing with pregnancy endings
University of Essex
2022
Historic Considerations of Diversity and Inclusion
Unilever PLC
2021
Early pregnancy endings and the workplace (up to 24 weeks gestation)
Open University (Funder)
2020
Understanding the individual and organisational experiences of miscarriage and stillbirth in the workplace
British Academy
2019
The Body of Work
Wellcome Trust
