Muhammad Shujahat

Biography

I have been a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Business and Management at the University of Essex since October 2022, following the completion of my PhD at the University of Hong Kong in July 2022. As evidenced below, I am equally committed to and have an excellent record of accomplishment in research, teaching, and internal and external leadership and citizenship. My research sits at the intersection of Human Resource Management, Organizational Behaviours, and Knowledge Management. My current research focuses on enhancing employee sustainable well-being and performance. I investigate how the design of managerial practices (e.g., work design) affects the determinants of employee outcomes, thereby impacting the organization (non)favourably. I welcome enquiries from potential PhD students and collaborators on this theme. On the above theme, I have published impactful research papers in specialist journals that publish world-leading, internationally excellent research, including the Human Resource Management Journal, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Research, and Technovation, among others. My research papers have achieved several impact distinctions, including the three Web of Science ESI Top 1% Highly Cited Articles, the Best Research Postgraduate Paper Award, and the Journal’s Most Downloaded Articles in a year. Furthermore, my research has been featured in the European Union’s 2020 Innovation Policy Report. I have served as PI and Co-I on several grants totaling more than 100,000 USD from the Gulf University of Science and Technology, Kuwait; the University of Hong Kong; and King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. I am a co-first Guest Editor of the special issue, “Common-good human resource management: Global and comparative perspective,” in The International Journal of Human Resource Management. Furthermore, I serve as an Executive Editor of Knowledge Management & E-Learning, a Web of Science- and Scopus-indexed journal published by the University of Hong Kong (QS Ranking: 12th). Additionally, I serve as an editorial advisory board member for academic and practitioner journals, including Management Decision (a long-running journal in the management field), the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, and the International Journal of HRD: Practice, Policy & Research. I am an ad hoc peer reviewer for several journals, including Human Resource Management (USA), The International Journal of Human Resource Management, and Technovation. I was awarded the Publons/Web of Science Top Peer-review Award in 2018. I am an adjunct faculty member in the Faculty of Management at the University of Wah in Pakistan, where I provide research consultancy. I have delivered invited guest talks internationally, including at the 5th Business Innovation, Sustainability, and Technology International Conference at Universitas Negeri Malang (Indonesia) in 2025, the 10th Multidisciplinary Research International Conference at the University of Wah in October 2025, and then in the same University in January 2025 for a Foreign Faculty Guest Lecturer, and at COMSATS University Islamabad in 2021. I am highly committed to supporting students in both in-class and out-of-class learning, as well as achieving learning and employment outcomes. To these ends, I employ a socio-cognitive constructivist approach in my teaching and assessment, treating students as active novice learners and using technology to support learning. Hence, I use a range of individual and group activities that incorporate technology, individual and group reflection, and knowledge application, including gamified e-quizzes, individual and group discussions, and presentations. I am the module leader of New Venture Creation, Business Model Innovation, and Professional and Academic Development at the University of Essex. Additionally, I teach and assess other modules, including Strategic Management and Business Model Innovation. I served as the Module Co-Leader and Lecturer in Knowledge Management for the Master’s in Library & Information Management program at the University of Hong Kong. I was recognized as one of the Student-Nominated Most Inspiring Teachers for my approach to teaching and learning at the Excellence in Education Award on November 3, 2023. I have received the renowned Advance HE Fellowship (formerly HEA) since February 2024. I have published highly cited research on gamified e-learning in world-leading education journals, such as Computers & Education (Web of Science ESI Top 1% Highly Cited Article) and Educational Research Review (Web of Science ESI Top Highly Cited Article). I conduct external examinations for modules and PhD theses at several international universities, including Ulster University (2024-2027), the University of Wah (2024), COMSATS University Islamabad (2022), Qurtuba University (2023), and Khushal Khan Khattak University (2023). I was recently recruited as an Academic Member of the Assessor College of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), serving on and chairing multidisciplinary evaluative panels to manage the Council’s research grants. I am currently the Early-career Researchers (ECRs) Representative for my Group at Essex Business School, communicating ECRs' interests to the School Research Committee. My life is not limited to academia 😊. In my free time, I enjoy running, reading, and spending time with my favourite people.

Qualifications

• PhD University of Hong Kong, (2022)

• M.S. (Management Science) COMSATS University Islamabad (Attock Campus), (2017)

• B.S (Business Administration) COMSATS University Islamabad (Attock Campus), (2015)

Appointments

University of Essex

• Lecturer, Essex Business School, University of Essex (20/10/2022 - present)

• Academic Personal Tutor, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/10/2024 - present)

• Early-career Researchers Represnetative, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/10/2025 - present)

Other academic

• Lecturer, University of Hong Kong (3/5/2021 - 28/2/2022)

• Adjunct Faculty Member (Remote Research Advising), Faculty of Management, University of Wah (1/11/2024 - present)