International Business and Development Hub
Drawn from a need to reinforce our appreciation of how businesses not only can best respond to the variant institutional challenges and global crises, but also how they can have a meaningful impact upon them, the International Business and Development (IBD) Group supports research on both (a) the impact that the institutional environments in home countries have upon firm strategies and (b) how firms’ strategies impact on, and interact with, host countries.
Our Group conducts research on the interactions between large multinational enterprises (MNEs), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), their partners in global value chains (GVCs), and the institutional environments within which they operate. We are one of the top centres of International Business research in the United Kingdom (Global Research Performance Database, 2017), while drawing upon the reputation of the University of Sussex as a renowned location for research on development studies (1st in the world for Development Studies, QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022).
- Members
- Research Projects
CIBID’s primary research focus is to address some of the current research questions on international business and development and examine the interaction between large multinational enterprises (MNEs), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), their partners in global value chains (GVCs), and the institutional environments within which they operate. To investigate these cutting-edge questions, the CIBID will bring together actors and projects within three very distinct and interrelated areas of research on:
a) International Business Strategies and Governance
b) Institutional Context and Development
c) Global Value Chains and Networks
- Research themes
Our current research embraces three distinct and interrelated areas of research on:
International Business Strategies and Governance
Acknowledging that MNEs and SMEs are major players in international business, our work highlights the evolution of internationalization strategies, entry mode and location decisions, as well as divestment motives in countries at different levels of economic development. The strategies developed in non-market environments, their performance implications and key ethical issues are also examined. Additional work focuses on how ownership structures (e.g. State, family, institutional) and corporate governance (including Board) characteristics impact upon firm strategies.
Discover more about MNE Governance and StrategyInstitutional Contexts and Development
The increasing significance of the “emerging economies” and of “emerging economy multinationals” (EMNEs) in the global economy has brought into focus the importance of the institutional environments in MNEs’ home countries in hindering and/or facilitating the international strategies of those MNEs. Our work addresses the potential economic and social developmental impacts of MNEs on host countries, and broader issues related to corporate social responsibility (i.e. MNEs and corruption), as well as host countries’ institutional impacts on firm strategies.
Discover more about Institutional Context and DevelopmentGlobal Value Chains and Networks
Most contemporary goods and services generally involve value-creating activities located in several countries, with these activities linked together through global value chains (GVCs) and networks. Some of these GVCs are internalized within MNEs, but others may be externalized (outsourced) and involve many independent partners. Our work considers how these organizationally-fragmented and geographically-dispersed GVCs are coordinated, and by whom. Additionally, we look at knowledge transfers, reverse knowledge transfers, and lateral knowledge transfers within MNEs.
Discover more about Global Value Chains and Networks - Information on related courses
The academic faculty in the Group are fully involved in the teaching activities of the Business School and contribute primarily to the International Business BSc (and related undergraduate degrees), International Business and Development MSc and the International Management MSc.
- News and events
Our Research Hub is actively engaging in promoting academic collaborations and disseminating current knowledge in our discipline. During the years, we have established strong collaborations both internally to the University of Sussex and the Business School but also externally with other Universities and colleagues from the International Business domain. Indicative examples are the collaborations with:
(a) Internal to the UoS: The “Responsible Business Research Mobilizer”
(b) Internal to the UoS: The “International Development Group” of the School of Global Studies: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/development/
(c) External to the UoS: The department of Strategy and International Business of the University of Surrey Business School: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/department-strategy-international-business
Some indicative workshops organized are provided below:
Collaboration
Date of Event
Presenters
Topic
Sussex-Surrey
19-01-2022
Prof. Shameen Prashantham (CEIB)
Gorillas can dance: Lessons from Microsoft and other corporations on partnering with Startups
Sussex-Surrey
16-02-2022
Professor Keith D. Brouthers (Kings College London)
Charting New Courses to Enter Foreign Markets: Conceptualization, Theoretical Framework, and Research Directions on Non-traditional Entry Modes
Sussex-Surrey
23-02-2022
Prof. Anu Phene & Prof. Heather Berry (George Washington University)
Global Innovation
Sussex-Surrey
09-03-2022
Prof. Jonathan Doh (Villanova Bus. School)
Corporate Social Responsibility of the MNEs
Sussex-Surrey
19-10-2022
Prof. George O. White III
(Univ. of Michigan)
Laying down the law: Assessing the effects of ethical codes and legalism on MNE monitoring of foreign subsidiary supply chain partners in emerging markets.
Sussex-Surrey
23-11-2022
Prof. Zaheer Kan
(University of Aberdeen)
Exploring the influence of dynamic management capabilities on emerging markets SMEs business model innovation during external shocks.
Sussex-Surrey
7-12-2022
Prof. Mirko Benischke (RSM)
Emerging Multinationals and Pro-Market Reversals: Escape OFDI In Response to Institutional Change.
Sussex-Surrey
25-02-2023
Prof. Padaig Carmody (Trinity College of Dublin)
A Global Digital Reversal? Interrogating the Potential of Digital Technology in the Global South
Sussex-Surrey
23-03-2023
Prof. Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki
Two sides of the Coin: Methodological Pluralism and Fit in Qualitative Research
Sussex-Surrey
10-04-2023
Prof. Adam D. Dixon (Edinburgh Business School) and Dr. Javier Capapé (IE University Madrid)
Sovereign Wealth Funds: Between the State and Markets
Sussex-Surrey
22-04-2023
Prof. Rebecca Piekkari (Aalto University, Finland)
Apples with Apples or Apples with Oranges? Comparative Reasoning and Theorising in International Business Research
The IBD Hub hold regular research seminars with internal and external speakers. Find out about the group's most recent seminars.
- Academic conferences
The IBD group has a long history and experience in organizing academic events and conferences. In specific:
i) Hosting the 46th UK & Ireland Chapter of the Academy of International Business (AIB-UKI), April 2019. This was a highly successful international conference with more than 500 attendees. The conference theme was focused on “Multinational Enterprises and their Non-market Social and Political Strategies”, and Chaired by Dr. Vikrant Shirodkar.
https://www.aib-uki.org/past-conferences.html.
ii) Hosting the British Academy of Management (BAM) Annual Conference, in September 2023. The conference is being chaired by Prof. Vassiliki Bamiatzi and Dr Marianna Marra both of the IBD group. The conference expects 1,000 attendees from the UK and around the world.
https://www.bam.ac.uk/events-landing/bam2023-conference.html
iii) BAM Special Interest Group on International Business and International Management
Dr Marianna Marra of the IBD group is also the Chair for the Special Interest Group (SIG) on International Business and International Management at the British Academy of Management. In the fast-changing global economy, there is an increasing need for cross-disciplinary approaches to phenomena arising from across the globe which can cut across the fields of international management, economics, finance, and international business. The IB/IM SIG is meeting the challenges of managing in this rapidly evolving environment, by building up a strong academic community and identity that can lead the way to novel academic research that can address the new challenges posed while engaging actively with the non-academic community, in particular government and the commercial international business community.
https://www.bam.ac.uk/bam-community/special-interest-groups/international-business-and-im.html
In this light, the IB/IM SIG in collaboration to the IBD group organize workshops and panels in key conferences of focus, i.e. AIB, AIB-UK, BAM to promote aspiring ideas for development and extensions of the IBD themes with a focus on interdisciplinary associations and connections that can push even further the frontiers of IB research and our overall appreciation of the explored phenomena (i.e. Global Value Chains and Corruption: Operational, Managerial and Legal Perspectives).
For any enquiries, email Vasiliki Bamiatzi: v.bamiatzi@sussex.ac.uk