International Business and Enterprise
About us
The International Business and Enterprise (IBE) research cluster is a leading centre for the study of business and management in an international context. We are embedded in the Adam Smith Business School and offer a platform for world-class research, teaching and knowledge exchange on international business and management.
Our work is broadly organised around the following research streams:
- International entrepreneurship (IE) and the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
- Inclusion and decolonisation in business and academia
- Professional service firms and globalisation
- Sustainable development and the business-society nexus
We embrace interdisciplinarity and maintain productive links with disciplines such as Business and Society, Development Studies, International Marketing, International Political Economy and Organisation Studies.
The IBE cluster was previously known as the Centre for Internationalisation and Enterprise Research (CIER). CIER was launched by Professor Stephen Young and Professor Marian Jones in 2006. Professor Pavlos Dimitratos joined CIER in 2006 and led the centre in the 2010s before passing the baton to Professor Mehdi Boussebaa in 2020.
Our research themes
International Entrepreneurship and SMEs
International entrepreneurial firms and SMEs are of key interest to IB scholars. We address three key areas. First, we examine the internationalisation of established SMEs and why, what, where and how these firms address the challenges of doing business in foreign countries. These include exporters and micro multinationals, the latter employing advanced market entry models.
Second, we are concerned with early and/or rapidly internationalising firms and how they address the effects of newness and smallness.
Third, support for firms to succeed internationally is of importance for national governments, and we are interested in how policy can support the way in which SMEs can effectively innovate and compete in response to the changing global environment.
Dr Junzhe Ji, Professor Margaret Fletcher, Dr Rose Narooz, and Dr Yee Kwan Tang
Inclusion and decolonisation in business and academia
We explore how organisations can promote inclusion and decolonisation in their practices, structures and relationships, particularly in the context of global North-South relations. We also study how to reduce structural barriers for marginalised entrepreneurs across the global North and South.
This stream also addresses how business schools can work toward decolonial futures by adopting more inclusive governance and work practices, enabling fairer collaboration and representation and undoing West-centric thought in research and education.
Our aim is to contribute to a more inclusive and equitable global landscape in both business and academia.
Professor Mehdi Boussebaa, Professor Margaret Fletcher, Dr Saurabh Lall, Dr Rose Narooz, Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam, Dr Abrar Ali Saiyed
Professional service firms and globalisation
We investigate the internationalisation of professional service firms (PSFs), and the role played by large, transnational PSFs in the globalisation of the world economy.
Specifically, we examine how PSFs expand and organise across nations, how they adapt (or not) to different institutional contexts and how they (re)shape societies around the world in line with corporate objectives.
We also examine how PSFs seek to shape transnational governance regimes to create a global market for their services.
Professor Mehdi Boussebaa
Sustainable development and the business-society nexus
We investigate how organisations can conduct business in an environmentally and socially sustainable way without risking financial viability.
Specifically, we examine how firms work or collaborate with a wide range of other actors towards the SDGs and how SMEs and MNEs can use innovation to future-proof their business models and establish resilience in the face of increasing resource constraints and other grand challenges (climate change, rising inequalities, migration)
Professor Mehdi Boussebaa, Dr Saurabh Lall and Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam.
Impact and engagement
Learn more about our projects and activities
Internationalisation and poverty reduction: Mexican SMEs
Internationalisation is considered a significant mechanism for creating jobs and alleviating poverty. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are very important to the Mexican economy as they generate more than 7 out of 10 jobs and contribute more than 50% of the country’s GDP. Dr Rose Narooz is working with partners in Mexico on a Newton Fund Institutional Links/British Council-funded project which aims to gain new insights into the barriers to internationalisation for SMEs in the country.
Related links
Globalisation: Chinese professional service firms
Professor Mehdi Boussebaa is the principal investigator on a British Academy-funded project examining the internationalisation strategies and practices of Chinese professional service firms. The research seeks to understand why, where and how these firms are expanding internationally. It will inform ongoing academic and policy debates about professional service firms as outcomes and agents of globalisation and will be equally useful for regulators of the business professions.
Related links
Combating energy poverty
Dr Yee Kwan Tang is a co-investigator on a £299,701 Innovate UK-funded project which aims to provide clean, affordable and secure electricity to a remote village in Bangladesh. This innovative collaboration between industry and academia involves Dr Chong Li (PI) from the James Watt School of Engineering, UK technology company SEMWaves Ltd and local partners in Bangladesh. The team will test build a solar-hydraulic power generation system and its distribution in the region. The project aims to support Bangladesh in meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on universal access to affordable clean energy.
Related links
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem Development in the Global South
Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam is involved in multiple projects around building entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems in the Global South. Current projects are predominantly focused on India, such as creating entrepreneurship ecosystems in rural areas, creating innovation ecosystems to tackle grand challenges, and exploring the role of digital public infrastructure in entrepreneurship development. These projects are funded through multiple sources, including the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, the British Council, and the Government of India.
Related links
- Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam
- Sahasranamam, S. , Soundararajan, V. and Chatterjee, D. (2024) Co-creating innovation ecosystems in contexts of absolute uncertainty: The case of low-cost heart valves in India. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 41(2), pp. 501-526. (doi: 10.1111/jpim.12715)
- Sahasranamam, S., & Prabhu, J. (2024). Digital Public Infrastructure for the Developing World. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://doi.org/10.48558/XDTX-PW77