Dr Kadja Manninen

Dr Kadja Manninen

Senior Lecturer in Digital Innovation

Centre for Enterprise

My profile

Biography

Dr Kadja Manninen is an interdisciplinary academic specialising in digital entrepreneurship, digital business model innovation, and the creative industries, with a background in contemporary circus arts. She earned her PhD in Digital Entrepreneurship as a member of the EPSRC-funded Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training 2018 cohort at the University of Nottingham, where she was based at the Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at University of Nottingham Business School.

During her doctoral studies, Kadja was involved in several research projects through her industry partner, The Space, including the AHRC-funded Digital Access to Arts and Culture project (https://digiaccessarts.org/). She also played a role in academia-industry collaborations, serving as the creative producer for the Fineline Immersive project, which was supported by the Nordic Culture Fund and XR Network+ and focused on prototyping a VR circus performance (https://xrnetworkplus.xrstories.co.uk/project/fineline-immersive/).

After submitting her PhD thesis, Kadja joined the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University as Lecturer in Entrepreneurship in the Digital Creative Industries. In 2024, she advanced to the position of Senior Lecturer in Digital Innovation at the Centre for Enterprise, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. She currently acts as the Academic Lead on the Greater Manchester Electrochemical Hydrogen Cluster (GMEHC) project, funded by Innovate UK, and the Cheshire Innovation Network (CIN), funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Both projects focus on supporting SMEs in their innovation journeys. 

Kadja also teaches undergraduate Business and Management students in subjects such as Business Creation and Employability.

Get in touch

[email protected]
Business School

Research outputs

Carter, C., Noke, H. and Manninen, K. (2024) Instagram as an External Enabler: The Roles and Mechanisms that Shape Entrepreneurial Activity. Academy of Management Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2024.19454abstract

Manninen, K., Carter, C.J., Noke, H. (2024) Instagram and Emergent Business Models, book chapter in De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110764222

Leguina, A., Manninen, K., Misek, R. (2023) Beyond the “substitution effect”: the impact of digital experience quality on future cultural participation. Cultural Trends. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110764222

Manninen, K., Carter, C.J. (2023), Case Darkfield – Digital Transformation in a Small Performing Arts Enterprise. Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference 2023 proceedings. Best Paper Award in the Creative Industries entrepreneurship track.

Benford, S., Manninen, K., Martindale, S., Hazard, A., Tenant, P., Brundell, P., Barnard, P. (2023) Infrastructures for Virtual Volunteering at Online Music Festivals. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction CSCW1. https://doi.org/10.1145/357949

Manninen, K., Carter, C.J. (2022) Digital Business Model Innovation in Performing Arts – An Emergent Framework. Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference 2022 proceedings. Nominated for the Best Paper Award in the Creative Industries entrepreneurship track.

Noke, H., Manninen, K., Carter, C.J. (2022) Instagram as an External Enabler of New Venture Creation. Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference 2022 proceedings. 

Misek, R, Leguina, A, Manninen, K (2022) Digital access to arts and culture, final report, available at: https://digiaccessarts.org/report/

Manninen, K., Martindale, S., Carter, C.J., Leyshon, A., (2021). Digital Business Models in Performing Arts. British Academy of Management Conference proceedings.

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