Cardiff Business School is an AACSB International and AMBA-accredited business school with a clear public value purpose: to make a positive impact in the communities of Wales and the world.
SPARK is Cardiff University’s new social science research park; a state-of-the-art interactive space that brings together thirteen world-leading social science research centres.
With expertise in applied social science research, including education, health, civil society, labour markets, public policy, and innovation and with practitioners, policymakers and community stakeholders, SPARK acts as a catalyst for change by inspiring the out-of-the-ordinary thinking we need for the complex challenges of our time.
Working together, Cardiff Business School and SPARK have significant potential to establish and drive an international reputation for Cardiff University in research and real-world impact on modern slavery and social sustainability. Modern slavery is a complex and concealed issue, challenging for research efforts exploring its full nature and extent. Research on sustainability tends to over-focus on economic and environmental aspects at the expense of social sustainability.
Whilst research groups and centres focusing on modern slavery exist, there is no dedicated research collaboration on modern slavery within the context of social sustainability in Wales. These fields have a shared focus on people, human rights, equity, diversity, inclusion and social cohesion.
The unique legislative and policy context produced by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 provides a conducive environment to explore both modern slavery and social sustainability feeding into ‘what works’ for both current and future generations
Aims
We will work with key partners across academia, industry, business, the public and voluntary sectors to build shared expertise and reputation - and to provide evidence-based solutions to challenges in - this field. As such, we will have significant potential to inform evidence-based policy and practice at multiple levels, making a positive impact for communities in Wales, the UK and on an international scale.
As a research group, we will:
- encourage and enable inter-disciplinary and multi-sector research collaboration at quality and with impact on policy and practice
- be action-focused, agile, well-positioned and equipped to quickly collaborate and respond to opportunities for research and funding as they arise
- adapt and innovate to develop and share relevant and effective methodologies and ethical positioning for impactful, safe research in this domain
- drive an international reputation for Cardiff University in research and real-world impact on modern slavery and social sustainability
Research
Modern slavery will be this Group’s primary priority research focus. Aligning with the declared sub-groups of the Welsh Government’s Anti-Slavery Forum for Wales (ASFW), research will be organised around the following themes:
- training and awareness
- victims and survivors
- prevention
- supply chains and international
However, the Research Group will also be open to proactively exploring other areas of interest and innovation in this field as well as in the broader domain of social sustainability.
With modern slavery a highly sensitive, high risk and dynamic, societal phenomenon, this group will also explore, adapt and innovate to develop and share relevant, effective methodologies and ethical positioning for impactful, safe research in this domain.
Projects
Examples of projects where co-leads of the Research Group are currently principal investigators:
- Dr Anna Skeels, principal investigator. Support for children with lived experience of modern slavery in England and Wales. 2023, UKRI Fellowship, Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre (MSPEC) (£100,000).
- Dr Maryam Lotfi, ESRC Wales DTP Collaborative studentship 2023 of £155000, for the project of “Understanding and modelling the impact of consumer purchasing behavior on the global supply chains' decisions in adapting anti-slavery practices” (2023-2027). This is a collaboration with UNSEEN, a UK based anti-slavery charity.The funding gives the opportunity for a PhD student to be recruited and work on the project and the supervisory team includes Dr Maryam Lotfi, Dr. Bahman Rostmai Tabar, Dr. Nicole Koenig-Lewis and Professor Anatoly Zhigljavsky.
- Dr Maryam Lotfi, main applicant and main investigator, Seedcorn fund of Global Collaboration, internal from Cardiff Business School (£5000), "Modern slavery risk management in the hospitality sector: a moral legitimacy approach on hotel groups disclosure and an institutional logics approach on accepting responsibility", 2023.This project is in collaboration with University of Queensland, Australia.
- Dr Maryam Lotfi and Professor Yingli Wang, Public Value Engagement Fellowship funding of £5000, "Netting Ethical Shrimp: How Technology Can Revolutionize Sustainable Seafood Practices”, Internal Cardiff Business School Public Value Engagement Fellowship Scheme, (2023-2024). This project is in collaboration with Bangladesh Agriculture university and Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Uncovering modern slavery in global supply chains - Dr Maryam Lotfi
How many engineering degrees do you need to become an expert on modern slavery? In the first episode of our new series, Peter speaks with Dr Maryam Lotfi, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Supply Chain Management, about her background and the compassion driving her work on the hidden realities in global supply chains.
She also shares how her research shapes her teaching and role in establishing the Modern Slavery and Social Sustainability Research Group.
Meet the team
Research Group Co-leads
Dr Maryam Lotfi
Senior Lecturer of Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Deputy Head of Section Research, Impact and Innovation
Academic staff
Postgraduate students
Associated staff
Professor Yingli Wang
Pro-Dean for Research, Impact and InnovationProfessor in Logistics and Operations Management
Affiliates
- Professor Donna Marshall
- Professor Alexandra Trautrims
- Professor Mohan Sodhi
- Professor Divya Singhal
- Professor Patricia Hynes
- Professor Hinrich Voss
- Dr Mireia Guix Navarrete
- Dr Zahra Shirgholami
- Professor Anita Franklin
- Dr Claire Lindsay
- Professor Ryszard Piotrowicz
- Dr Amin Vafadarnikjoo
- Mr Varun Otari
- Professor Stefan Gold
- Dr Reza Alikhani
- Dr Juping Yu
- Dr Mahmoud Elmarzouky
External postgraduate students
News
- Research aims to improve shrimp supply chain sustainability
- Symposium fosters cross-sector collaboration on modern slavery issues
- Dr Maryam Lotfi selected for prestigious Welsh Crucible programme
- New research group tackles modern slavery and social sustainability
- Anti-Slavery conference spearheads fight against modern slavery
Feature
Events
The Business and Modern Slavery Conference: Towards Humanising Supply Chains
9-10 September 2025
Venue: Post Graduate Teaching Centre, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff, UK
We are excited to announce the fourth Business and Modern Slavery Conference hosted by the Modern Slavery and Social Sustainability Research Group at Cardiff University.
This two-day conference will bring together scholars, policymakers, and business leaders to explore how we can reconcile ethical practices with business operations.
Organised by Dr Maryam Lotfi and Dr Anna Skeels.
For more information and to book places, please visit our event page.
Past Events
2023 Anti-Slavery Wales Conference
Modern Slavery and Social Sustainability Research Group: Kick-off Workshop
Thursday 27 Jul 2023
Please join us for a Kick-Off Workshop for the Modern Slavery and Social Sustainability Research Group in Room 6.35, sbarc | spark, Cardiff University.
In brief, the agenda for the workshop will include:
- coffee and pastries on arrival
- welcome and introduction to the MSSS Research Group (Dr Maryam Lotfi, Dr Anna Skeels)
- ‘lightning talks’
- lunch
- break-out groups focused on two themes (individuals at risk: victims and survivors; supply chain modern slavery risk management)
- conclusion and next steps
The workshop will be facilitated by Dr Maryam Lotfi, Lecturer of Supply Chain Management from Cardiff business School and Dr Anna Skeels from SPARK.
The workshop is supported by the Kickstarter Funding 2023 from Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation and Institute.
Publications
- Guix, M. and Lotfi, M. 2025. Doing the right thing? The hotel industry’s management of, and reporting on, modern slavery. Tourism Management 107 105084. (10.1016/j.tourman.2024.105084)
- Wang, Y. and Lotfi, M. 2024. How climate change and modern slavery interact in the supply chain: A conceptual model development through a systemic review. Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility (10.1111/beer.12722)
- Lotfi, M. and Walker, H. 2024. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil? Barriers to modern slavery risk management in supply chains: an empirical investigation. Production Planning and Control (10.1080/09537287.2024.2335496)
- Lotfi, M. and Pisa, N. 2024. Child slavery in supply chains: Actors of the dirty scene. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management 18 a942. (10.4102/jtscm.v18i0.942)
- Strand, V. et al. 2024. A systematic literature review of modern slavery in supply chain management: State of the art, framework development and research opportunities. Journal of Cleaner Production 435 140301. (10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140301)
- Riefler, R. , Tosun, O. K. and Baeckström, Y. 2023. The role of gender in sales behaviour: Evidence from institutional financial brokerage. Finance Research Letters 55 (Part A) 103914. (10.1016/j.frl.2023.103914)
- Lotfi, M. and Boote, A. 2023. The unsustainable impact of patriarchy on the industry. Lampoon Magazine 27
- Colombo, L. A. , Bailey, A. R. and Gomes, M. V. P. 2023. Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives. Organization (10.1177/13505084221147480)
- Rostami-Tabar, B. et al. 2022. Forecasting for social good. International Journal of Forecasting 38 (3), pp.1245-1257. (10.1016/j.ijforecast.2021.02.010)
- Wang, Y. and Pettit, S. eds. 2022. Digital supply chain transformation: emerging technologies for sustainable growth. Cardiff: Cardiff University Press. (10.18573/book8)
- Maxwell, N. and Wallace, C. 2021. Child criminal exploitation in Wales.
- Lotfi, M. , Walker, H. and Rendon-Sanchez, J. 2021. Supply chains’ failure in workers’ rights with regards to the SDG compass: a doughnut theory perspective. Sustainability 13 12526. (10.3390/su132212526)
- Bennett, S. T. , Hammer, N. and Jenkins, J. 2021. Rights without remedy: the disconnection of labour across multiple scales and domains. Work in the Global Economy 1 (1-2), pp.75-93. (10.1332/273241721X16286068772666)
- de Lima, F. A. , Neutzling, D. M. and Gomes, M. 2021. Do organics standards have a real taste of sustainability? A critical essay. Journal of Rural Studies 81 , pp.89-98. (10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.08.035)
- Mannay, D. et al. 2019. Enabling talk and reframing messages: working creatively with care experienced children and young people to recount and re-represent their everyday experiences. Child Care in Practice 25 (1), pp.51-63. (10.1080/13575279.2018.1521375)
- Jenkins, J. 2019. Siddharth Kara modern slavery: a global perspective New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. 342pp. [Book review]. Organization Studies 40 (1), pp.147-149. (10.1177/0170840618789389)
- Maxwell, N. et al. 2019. A systematic map and synthesis review of child criminal exploitation. Project Report.National Safeguarding Panel: Wales.
- Hallett, S. 2016. ‘An uncomfortable comfortableness’: ‘care’, child protection and child sexual exploitation. British Journal of Social Work 46 (7), pp.2137-2152. (10.1093/bjsw/bcv136)
- Ricketts, D. et al., 2013. Operative caries management in adults and children.. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 3 CD003808. (10.1002/14651858.CD003808.pub3)
- Hallett, S. 2013. Child sexual exploitation in South East Wales: problems and solutions from the perspectives of young people and professionals. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.