Roland Calori Prize 2019

A Reader in Human Resource Management and Professor of Organisational Analysis from Cardiff Business School have received the 2019 Roland Calori Prize for their research paper on deception in a call centre.

The prize, which has been awarded biennially since 2003, was presented to Dr Sarah Jenkins and Professor Rick Delbridge at the 35th European Group of Organisation Studies (EGOS) Colloquium in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Created to pay tribute to Professor Roland Calori and his invaluable contributions to EGOS, Emlyon Business School and the academic journal Organisation Studies, the winning paper displays methodological quality and theoretical innovativeness and reflects the diversity of social science perspectives as they relate to organisations and the organised.

Dr Jenkins’ and Professor Delbridge’s co-authored paper, entitled: Trusted to Deceive: A Case Study of ‘Strategic Deception’ and the Normalization of Lying at Work, examines the case of VoiceTel, a market leader in the high-quality virtual reception business.

Deception was a cornerstone of the VoiceTel’s business from its start and key to its ongoing success.

Over the course of their study, the researchers examined how lying becomes institutionalised, rationalised and socialised into the structure and culture of an organisation to the extent that it becomes embedded, maintained and strengthened over time as a legitimate and integral part of the job.

Reflecting on the paper’s award recognition, Dr Jenkins said: “I think I speak for both Rick and I, when I say our reaction to the prize was one of surprise. As so many good papers were shortlisted, we’d not expected to win…”

In the spirit of Roland Calori's own work, the prize reflects pluralism in research traditions and diversity of paradigms. It is accompanied by a cash prize of €2,000 sponsored by Emlyon Business School.

Find out more about Dr Jenkins’ and Professor Delbridge’s research, here.