Workshop Introduction
Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) presents a one day workshop on “Excellence in International Academic Publishing”, aimed at offering a day full of learning, skill building and networking for research scholars from social science, business and management institutions in India. This workshop is designed and developed by CRB in collaboration with Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, Aston Business School, Aston University, University of Basel, Deakin University, and Schulich School of Business, York University. The workshop will be in two parts: a) Part I will be an introductory course on theorising to model building; and b) Part II will be learning from the editors of international journals on developing excellence in academic publishing.
Theorising to Model Building – Course Objectives
Publishing research papers in international journals is increasingly emphasized by social science, business and management schools in India. Editorials on what constitutes a strong international journal article repeatedly stress the importance of theory in addition to rigor and relevance. While one does not build theory from scratch, there are different ways to approach theory building. This four hours introductory workshop explores what theory is and what it is not, the types of theories, and the different stages of the theory building process. Participants will be introduced to a range of software tools that support the initial theorizing and research question development process. We will also look at different ways to operationalize initial concepts.
The workshop will focus on the following main topics:
- Research question development and theorizing
- Theory building, concept development and operationalization of constructs
- The interplay between qualitative and quantitative research
Course Instructors
Dr. Noemi Sinkovics
Lecturer in International Business and Management, Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester. Dr. Sinkovics research interests are theoretical and practical issues surrounding entrepreneurship (including international and social entrepreneurship), human rights, social value creation, global value chains and global production networks, business model design, innovation and capability development, conscious business practices, mindfulness and well-being in organizations, and research methods. She received her PhD from the University of Manchester and holds a master’s degree from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU-Wien).
Dr. Bimal Arora
Dr. Bimal Arora is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainability, standards and ethical trade expert with experience in diverse industry sectors. He is the honorary Chairperson of CRB, a specialist centre on CSR, Business Responsibility and Sustainability. Global in orientation, CRB is a centre of excellence facilitating social impacts and organizational behaviour change towards incorporating responsible business strategies, policies and practices. Dr. Arora is a faculty member at Aston Business School, Aston University, UK he is associated in the capacity of a Honorary Research Fellow at Global Development Institute (GDI), University of Manchester, and Visiting Fellow at the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR), Nottingham University Business School. Dr Arora is a gold medallist in Bachelor of Laws, Masters from London School of Economics (LSE) and Ph.D. in Sustainability and CSR from ICCSR, Nottingham University Business School.
Learning Outcomes
This introductory workshop is designed to look at the stages of research question development and theorizing, together with the subsequent operationalisation of theoretical concepts. The learning objectives are to: (1) contribute to theory by usefully developing novel concepts and operationalisations; (2) look into ways of framing research problem in theoretically grounded way; and 3) a short introduction and methodological appreciation of the research software Nvivo, a computer assisted qualitative data analysis tool that can be a valuable aid in theorising and scale development.
Specifically, participants will learn to appreciate the following topics:
- Research question development and theorizing
- Research problem framing
- Model development
- Approaches to scale development (operationalising constructs)
Teaching and Learning Methods
- Lectures/Presentations: The sessions will cover theory and its application. All participants will receive PDF files of the presentations.
- Computer exercises o Nvivo and Endnote: Specifically, systematic harvesting academic literature for critical review and theoretically grounded idea and concept/item development.
Teaching Resources
Alvesson, Mats and Dan Kärreman (2007), “Constructing mystery: Empirical matters in theory development,” Academy of Management Review, 32 (4), 1265-1281. (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2007.26586822).
Sinkovics, Noemi (2016), “Enhancing the foundations for theorising through bibliometric mapping,” International Marketing Review, 33 (3), 327-350. (DOI: 10.1108/IMR-10-2014-0341).
Sinkovics, Noemi (2018), “Pattern matching in qualitative analysis,” in The Sage handbook of qualitative business and management research methods, Catherine Cassell, Ann L Cunliffe, and Gina Grandy (Eds.). London: Sage Publications.
Sinkovics, Noemi, Rudolf R. Sinkovics, and Mo Yamin (2014), “The role of social value creation in business model formulation at the bottom of the pyramid – implications for MNEs?,” International Business Review, 23 (4), 692-707. (DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.12.004).
Sinkovics, Noemi, Samia Ferdous Hoque, and Rudolf R. Sinkovics (2016), “Rana plaza collapse aftermath: Are CSR compliance and auditing pressures effective?,” Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability, 29 (4), 617-649. (DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-07-2015-2141).
Sinkovics, Rudolf R. and Eva A. Alfoldi (2012), “Progressive focusing and trustworthiness in qualitative research: The enabling role of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS),” Management International Review, 52 (6), 817-845. (DOI: 10.1007/s11575-0120140-5).
Weick, Karl E. (1989), “Theory construction as disciplined imagination,” The Academy of Management Review, 14 (4), 516-531. (DOI: 10.5465/AMR.1989.4308376).
Learning From International Journal Editors
The second part of the workshop will be about meeting and learning from the editors of international journals. Editors associated with international journals will be sharing their experience and perspectives on joys, rewards, demands and challenges of publishing in international journals. Talks will be delivered by the editors of international journals, followed by a practice session conducted by the editors. Prof. Pawan Budhwar, Co-Editor in Chief of British Journal of Management (BJM) and Associate Editor of Human Resource Management (HRM); Prof. Dirk Matten, Co-Editor of Business & Society; and Prof. Linda Hancock, Oceanic Representative of Journal of Cleaner Production and Editorial Board Member of Journal of Corporate Citizenship (JCC) will deliver the talks and conduct the practice sessions.
Editors Bios
Prof. Pawan Budhwar is Professor of International HRM at Aston Business School, Aston University Birmingham, UK. He is also the Joint-Director of Aston India Centre for Applied Research, Co-Editorin-Chief of British Journal of Management and Associate Editor of Human Resource Management (HRM). He is also the co-founder and first (now past) President of Indian Academy of Management, an affiliate of the Indian Academy of Management. Prof. Budhwar’s research interests are in the broad area of managing human resource in emerging markets with a specific focus on India. He has published over 100 articles in leading journals and has also written and/or coedited 17 books. Over 50% of his publications are related to various aspects of people management in India. Pawan served as an advisor to the Commonwealth Commission for scholarships and fellowships from 2007-2013 and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, British Academy of Management, the Academy of Social Sciences and the Indian Academy of Management. He is also a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Prof. Dirk Matten is a Professor of Strategy at the Schulich School of Business in Canada, where he holds the Hewlett-Packard Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility. Prof. Matten is a co-editor of the journal Business & Society (SAGE). He has a doctoral degree and the habilitation from Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf. He also serves as Schulich’s Associate Dean, Research and the Co-Founder and Director of the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (COERB) at Schulich School of Business. Prof. Matten has published 24 books and edited volumes as well as more than 80 articles and book chapters which have won numerous prestigious awards. His work has appeared in many international journals including Academy of Management Review, California Management Review, Human Relations, Journal of Management Studies, and Organization Studies. He is frequently cited and interviewed for newspapers and TV and writes Op-Eds for papers such as Der Spiegel and The Globe and Mail. The Cambridge based think tank CSR International ranked him among ‘Top 100 CSR Leaders’.
Prof. Linda Hancock holds a Personal Chair in Public Policy at Deakin University in Australia at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation and researches on public policy analysis, applied social policy, regulatory theory global governance, CSR and the social, ethical and political implications of new technology; in particular, corporate-government relations. She has been visiting Professor at London School of Economics, Berkeley University, University of British Columbia, University of Edmonton, Dalhousie University, Essex University, Cambridge University and the OECD Paris office. She has held a number of Ministerial appointments and positions in professional associations. She serves on the editorial boards of numerous national and international journals.
Who should attend?
This workshop has been designed for faculty members, early career researchers and PhD students of social science, business and management institutions in India, who are interested in learning and sharpening their skills on how to step-up their research towards well-designed, theoretically grounded, and publishable outputs that potentially survive the test of time and are read and cited.
Interested participants may be offered guidance, mentorship, and co-authorship (as appropriate) for paper development by the course instructors and other colleagues and their wide network.
Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Description |
| 13 November 2017 |
9.00-10.30 |
From Theorising to Model Building |
| 10.30-10.45 |
Tea/Coffee Break |
| 10.45-13.00 |
Practice Session |
| 13.00-14.00 |
Lunch Break |
| 14.00-15.00 |
Editors’ Perspectives |
| 15.00-15.30 |
Practice Session |
| 15.30-15.45 |
Tea/Coffee Break |
| 15.45-17.00 |
Practice Session |
