Kate Schmidt Sullivan

Dr Kate (Katya) Sullivan is currently an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Enterprise at Heriot-Watt University. A Chartered Psychologist (accredited by the British Psychological Society), she is a Fellow of Advance HE and founding member of the editorial board of the Journal of Motorsport Culture & History.

Kate is currently the Year 1 Coordinator for Undergraduate Management and the co-lead for the communications working group (external-facing) of the Athena SWAN committee for the School of Social Sciences. She teaches on undergraduate, postgraduate, and graduate apprenticeship courses, with a focus on making theory accessible, relevant, and applicable to modern contexts.

She serves on the steering committee of the British Academy of Management's Identity special interest group (SIG).

In addition to her PhD in psychology, Kate holds an MSc (Dist) in business psychology and a BA (hons) in anthropology with concentrations in archaeology, the classics, and theatre.

Kate's industry experience includes over 12 years in the public, private, and third sectors, centreing around media and publishing, start-ups and scale-ups, and consumer psychology.

Research Interests

A highly interdisciplinary, eclectic scholar, Kate's research focuses on the intersections of work and leisure, the subjective construction of value, and the dynamics of motivation in creative and entrepreneurial contexts.

Her interdisciplinary expertise spans applied psychology, history, behavioural economics, media studies, and anthropology, with current projects exploring gamification, innovative pedagogies, immersive learning experiences, and applied performance strategies for the neurodiverse.

Kate's work dynamically bridges theory and practice, emphasising the practical applications of business history, critical heritage studies, and psychology to address contemporary challenges.

Teaching Roles

• Undergraduate Management
  • C17EB: Management in a Global Context
    
    
• Postgraduate Taught
  • H11EN: Entrepreneurship & Creativity
  • H11EV: Entrepreneurial Venturing
    
    
• Graduate Apprenticeships
  • C17GG: Management in a Global Context
  • C10GI: Global Trends & Risks
    
    

Citizenship, Leadership, & Institutional Roles 

First-Year Coordinator | Department of Management

Communications Co-Lead | SoSS Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee (EDIC) & Athena SWAN

Committee Member | SoSS Athena SWAN application committee

Induction Working Group | Project HoPE 2024

External Engagement

• Editorial Associate | Journal of Motorsport Culture & History
• Steering Committee Member | Argetsinger Symposium on International Motor Racing History
• Community Manager & Neurodiversity Advisor | Ehlers-Danlos Support UK (Scotland)

Journal Review Activity

I have been invited to review academic papers for the following recognised journals over the last five years:

• Reviewer | International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Innovation | since 2022

Areas of Expertise

My primary areas of expertise are in work and well-being, including motivation and self-efficacy; work identity and meaning; and burnout.

My research focuses on boundaries and intersections, such as work & leisure; hobby & business; start-up & scale-up; financial & affective motivation; authenticity & performativity.

I often work with micro-entrepreneurs and alternative-value metrics; much of my research is situated within the creative industries.

I also explore work and well-being in the context of physical, cognitive, and mental differences, including neurodiversity and invisible or spectrum disabilities (eg, MS, Ehlers-Danlos syndromes).

I have notable research expertise in critical heritage studies and ethnoarchaeology, studying the historical construction of value and its transmission and application today. I am a founding member of the automotive heritage discipline and contributed to the extensively reviewed seminal text in the field, the Routledge Companion to Automobile Heritage, Culture, and Preservation.

I am an editorial and publishing expert, with more than 15 years of industry experience in academic and commercial publishing.

Research Methods Expertise

• Qualitative
  • Phenomenology
  • Action research
  • Case studies
  • Historical
  • Ethnographic
• Conceptual
• Applied

I am a skilled archival and artifactual researcher with a background in ethnoarchaeology and the archaeology of the now.

Disciplinary Intersections

• Work & Leisure
• Business History
• AI, Psychology, & Theory of Mind
• Posthumanism
• Critical Heritage (material & intangible)

Research Collaborations

I am seeking new collaborations with scholars interested in the intersection of work and leisure; critical heritage studies; and game design and game-based learning.

I am also seeking collaborations with scholars and individuals with an interest in exploring neurodiversity and disability strategies and coping mechanisms in diverse lived contexts.

• work & well-being
• neurodiversity
• entrepreneurship
• human-centred business
• leisure studies
• critical heritage studies
• post-humanism
• SoTL
• game-based learning

2018 - Historic Vehicle Association Research Merit Award (£500)

2018 - Watt Scholarship (£138,000)

2017 - Heriot-Watt Distinction Scholarship (£20,000)

2001 - Colgate University Alumni Memorial Scholar (£1,500)

Prizes & Awards

2016 - Golden Quill Award

2015 - Golden Quill Award

2014 - Golden Quill Award

2005 - Undergraduate Writing Prize, Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, State University of New York at Albany