Frontline IB: Conversations With International Business Scholars

Eric Tsang

Eric W. K. Tsang received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. Before joining academia, he worked as corporate banker at HSBC in Hong Kong. He is the Dallas World Salute Distinguished Professor at the Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, and is an AIB fellow.
Dr. Tsang’s research interests include foreign direct investment, strategic alliances, organizational learning, entrepreneurship, and philosophical analysis of methodological issues. He has published in top-tiered journals, such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of International Business Studies, MIS Quarterly, Marketing Science, and Strategic Management Journal. He has served on the editorial boards of most major IB journals − Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Management, Journal of World Business and Management International Review − in addition to other management journals.
Besides being an IB researcher, Dr. Tsang is a leading scholar in applying philosophy to solve methodological problems related to assumption, explanation, generalization, ontology, replication, and theory testing. Some of these research results were included in his book The Philosophy of Management Research (Routledge, 2017). His 2016 Academy of Management Review article “A Realist Perspective of Entrepreneurship: Opportunities as Propensities” (with Stratos Ramoglou) contributes to the debate about the ontological nature of entrepreneurial opportunities.
Dr. Tsang’s publications have been well cited and have made significant contributions to the IB and other literatures. For example, his article “Social Capital, Networks, and Knowledge Transfer” (with Andrew Inkpen) won the 2015 Academy of Management Review Decade Award.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/eric-tsang/ for the original video interview.

José de la Torre

José de la Torre is the Chair and Co-Founder of the EMBA Consortium for Global Business Innovation and a professor at the Bologna Business School, Italy.  Until 2010 he was the J.K. Batten Professor in Strategy (now Emeritus) and served as the Founding Dean of the Chapman Graduate School of Business at Florida International University. Previously he served on the faculty at UCLA’s Anderson School, INSEAD (France), and Georgia State University, and held visiting appointments at INCAE (Central America), U. del Valle (Colombia), U. Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile), Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden), Theseus (France), and Georgetown University.
José is the author of 70 books and articles and more than 30 case studies in the fields of international business and strategy.  He has written on the management of multinational firms, the relationship between corporate strategy and government policy and on foreign investment in developing countries.  Recent articles deal with the structure and efficiency of multi-country operations, the management of corporate alliances, the determinants of trust in inter-corporate collaborations, the operations of multinational and local companies in Latin America, the international expansion of family-owned firms, and the importance of Global Citizenship.  His publications have appeared in the J. of International Business Studies, Academy of Management Review, Management Science, Organization Science, California Management Review, Management Research, European Management Review, Management International Review, Global Strategy Journal, J. of World Business, Strategic Management Review and other leading professional journals.
De la Torre earned a doctorate from the Harvard Business School and degrees in engineering and business from the Pennsylvania State University.  He has been a director of international companies based in Mexico, India and Florida and served on the International Advisory Boards of business schools in France, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay, and Cyprus.  He is a Fellow of the AIB, the International Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society and the Business Association for Latin American Studies and was named Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Academy of Management in 2013.  He served as President of EIBA (1981-82) and AIB (1998-2000) and is a member of the Global Support Network for Ashoka.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/jose-de-la-torre/ for the original video interview.

Eleanor Westney

Eleanor Westney is Sloan Fellows Professor of Strategy and International Management Emerita at MIT Sloan School of Management, where she taught for twenty-five years. After completing a B.A. and an M.A. in Sociology and Japanese studies at the University of Toronto, she received a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1978 from Princeton University, and began her teaching career in the Department of Sociology at Yale University.  In 1982 she joined the International Management group of the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.  From 2007 to 2014 she was the Scotiabank Professor of International Business and Professor of Organization Studies at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.
Her first book, Imitation and Innovation: The Adoption of Western Organizational Forms in Meiji Japan (Harvard University Press, 1987), explored the patterns of cross-border organizational learning, a theme that has continued to be a major focus of her interests.  With Sumantra Ghoshal, she edited Organization Theory and the Multinational Corporation (Macmillan, 1993; second edition 2005).
She has written extensively on the organization of multinational corporations, on Japanese MNCs, and on the internationalization of research and development.  She has been a visiting researcher at Hitotsubashi University and the University of Tokyo in Japan, a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, a Fellow of the Academy of International Business since 1997, Chair of the International Management division of the Academy of Management, and Dean of the AIB Fellows from 2008 to 2011.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/eleanor-westney/ for the original video interview.

Benjamin Gomes-Casseres

Ben Gomes-Casseres has worked on partnership strategies for thirty years, as a researcher, teacher, and advisor. He is the Peter A. Petri Professor of Business and Society at Brandeis University, where he directs the Asper Center for Global Entrepreneurship and teaches courses on alliances and acquisitions, strategy, and innovation. At Brandeis, he has helped build the business programs and faculty of the International Business School and has twice received the Excellence in Teaching Award.
Ben began his academic career as a student and then professor at Harvard Business School, working on international strategy, and in particular on the use of joint ventures in international business. Before that, he worked as an economist at the World Bank. Ben received the Journal of International Business Studies Decade Award in 2000. His work has also appeared in Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Strategic Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, The New York Times, and in other journals and periodicals.
His book Remix Strategy: The Three Laws of Business Combinations (Harvard Business Press, 2015) won the Silver Medal from Axiom and was a finalist at Thinkers50. He has two popular online courses on LinkedIn Learning, on “Strategic Partnerships” and on “Ecosystems and Platforms.”
Ben is a speaker and advisor to global companies seeking to create value through partnerships and ecosystems. He holds a DBA from Harvard, an MPA from Princeton, and a BA Brandeis. A native of Curaçao, he speaks four languages.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/benjamin-gomes-casseres/ for the original video interview.
 

Robert Hoskisson

Robert E. Hoskisson is the George R. Brown Emeritus Chair of Strategic Management at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University. Dr. Hoskisson received his Ph.D. from the University of California-Irvine. His research topics focus on corporate governance, acquisitions and divestitures, corporate and international diversification, and cooperative strategy. He has taught courses in corporate and international strategic management, and strategy consulting. He has co-authored over 30 books, including a recent book entitled Understanding and Managing Strategic Governance.
Dr. Hoskisson has served on several editorial boards for such publications as the Strategic Management Journal (Associate Editor), Academy of Management Journal (Consulting Editor), Journal of International Business Studies (Consulting Editor), Journal of Management (Associate Editor), and Organization Science. His research has appeared in over 130 publications, including the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Perspective, Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, California Management Review, and Journal of World Business.
Dr. Hoskisson is a fellow of the Academy of Management and Strategic Management Society. He completed three years of service as a Representative-at-Large on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Management. He also served as President of the Strategic Management Society, and served on the Executive Committee of its Board of Directors for six years as well as another six years as a director prior to serving on the Executive Committee.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/robert-hoskisson/ for the original video interview.
 

Christos Pitelis

Chris Pitelis is the Head of International Business Division and Professor of International Business and Sustainable Competitiveness, University of Leeds and Life Fellow, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge. He is the Director of the Cambridge-founded Centre for International Business and Management (CIBAM), part of a registered Charity that he also Chairs. He has served as the inaugural Head (Dean) of Brunel Business School, Brunel University London, Dean of the College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, President of the Hellenic Organization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Head of the Strategy and International Management group at Bath University, Director of Studies in the Economics, the Management and Manufacturing Engineering Tripos at Queens’ College, Cambridge and International Expect of the European Commission Networking for Innovation (NETWIN) program on innovation clusters.
He is also an Editor of the Cambridge Journal of Economics, a member of the Cambridge Political Economy Society and the literary executor of the collected papers of Edith Penrose. He has researched and published in books and in journals such as Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, The Leadership Quarterly, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Business History Review, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Industrial and Corporate Change, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Regional Studies, and served at the editorial boards of among others Organization Science and Organization Studies.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/christos-pitelis/ for the original video interview.

April Knill

Dr. April Knill is the SunTrust Associate Professor of Finance and Courtesy Professor of Law at Florida State University. Before joining Florida State University, she was a consultant for the Development Research Group at the World Bank in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Knill currently serves as a Consulting Editor at the Journal of International Business Studies and an Associate Editor at Global Finance Journal. 
Her research interests include corporate finance, international finance, venture capital, and the intersection between law, finance and politics. Professor Knill has published in journals such as Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Business, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Financial Management and Journal of Comparative Economics, among others.
Her research has received numerous awards including the Dean’s Emerging Scholar Award and the CIBER/FMA Award for the Best Dissertation in International Finance. Professor Knill has served as a Guest Editor at both Journal of International Business Studies and Journal of Corporate Finance and has recently been elected by her peers to be the Vice President of Programs for the Eastern Finance Association.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/april-knill/ for the original video interview.
 

Vikas Kumar

Vikas Kumar is Head of Discipline and Professor in the Discipline of International Business at the University of Sydney Business School. His previous appointments were at Bocconi University as Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, and as Visiting Scholar at Stanford University and Dunning Fellow at University of Reading. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of International Management (JIM), and has previously served as Senior and Reviewing Editor at Asia Pacific Journal of Management (APJM) and as Associate Editor at Cross Cultural and Strategic Management (CCSM). He was the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Asia Business Studies (JABS) in 2019.
Vikas is interested in studying the internationalization strategies employed by firms from emerging markets such as India and China. His research involves understanding the unique aspects of the institutional and cultural context of emerging markets and the influence context has on firm strategies. Vikas was co-chair for the Sydney SMS Special Conference in 2014, program chair of the Australia New Zealand International Business Academy (ANZIBA) Conference in 2016 and co-program chair for the Asia Academy of Management (AAOM) Conference in 2017. He is founding director of the Emerging Markets Research Group at the University of Sydney Business School. In a 2016 article published in the Journal of International Management, Vikas was ranked among the top 15 authors based on impact in the field of ’emerging market firm internationalization’. Vikas has co-edited a book on ‘Global outsourcing and offshoring’ published by Cambridge University Press and on ‘Emerging Market Firms’ published by Emerald.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/vikas-kumar/ for the original video interview.
 

Peter Liesch

Professor of International Business at the UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Australia, Peter Liesch has a Bachelor of Business degree majoring in Economics, Postgraduate Diploma in Agricultural Economics, Masters degree in Economics majoring in Agricultural Economics, and a Ph.D in Economics from The University of Queensland. His research interests are in firm internationalization processes and international business operations in their entirety.
Peter Liesch has published textbooks in international business with Dowling, Gray and Hill. (2009). International Business, Asia-Pacific Edition, McGraw-Hill; and with Hill, Hult, Wickramasekera and Mackenzie. (2017). Global Business: Asia-Pacific Perspective, McGraw-Hill. He has co-edited Special Issues with the Journal of International Business Studies, the Journal of World Business, Management International Review, and the Journal of Business Research.
He is currently an Area Editor of the Journal of International Business Studies, he has been a Senior Editor of the Journal of World Business and the Australian Journal of Management, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of International Management.
His journal publications appear in the Journal of International Business Studies, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of World Business, Management International Review, International Business Review, Industrial Marketing Management and many other journals. He was awarded a Fiftieth Anniversary Silver Medal for publications in JIBS, 2019.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/peter-liesch/ for the original video interview.
 
 

Andrew Inkpen

Andrew Inkpen is the Seward Chair in Global Strategy at Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University. He has a B. Commerce. degree from St. Mary’s University and MBA and Ph.D. degrees from Ivey Business School.  Prior to entering academe, Dr. Inkpen worked in public accounting and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Canada.  He has taught at Temple University, Ivey Business School, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and has been a visiting professor at European Business School.
He has published in various journals including Academy of Management Review, California Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, Organizational Dynamics, Organization Science, Decision Sciences, and Organization Studies. He has written more than 50 teaching cases and is director of the Thunderbird Case Series. He is on the editorial boards of several journals including Organization Studies, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Journal of International Management, and Management and Organization Review.  He is a co-author of The Global Oil and Gas Industry: Management, Strategy, and Finance (Pennwell) and Global Strategy: Value Creation and Advantage in the International Arena (Oxford). He has won awards for his research, teaching, and case writing.
He has been involved in many Executive Education programs for companies such as Exxon Mobil, Ericsson, Pfizer, CEMEX, Kuwait Petroleum, Alcatel, Brasil Telecom, Airbus, General Motors, LG Electronics, Teleflex, Goodyear, DENSO, Cisco Systems, Solar Turbines, McDonald’s, TRW,  Volvo Penta, Textron, Vitro, Rockwell, KLA-Tencor, SK, Caremark, Baker Hughes, Smith International, TNK-BP, and RasGas.
Visit https://www.aib.world/frontline-ib/andrew-inkpen/ for the original video interview.