INSEAD SERT members publish book chapter on social entrepreneurship

Professor Stephen J. Mezias and researcher Mohamad Fakhreddin have published a book chapter focused on the role of community institutions and corporate social action in spurring economic development at the base of the pyramid. An abstract of their chapter follows; a link to the full text is below the abstract.

In emerging economies, the need for corporate social action to spur economic development is critical, but governmental support has been weak and civil society underdeveloped. We explore the implications of these facts from an institutional perspective at the community level and argue that support for these kinds of corporate social action, which is critical, can be understood in terms of a theoretical sequence. We suggest starting with cultural cognitive institutions, then social normative institutions and completing the cycle by reforming regulative institutions. In our conclusion, we discuss implications for theory and practice, proponents of corporate social action and policy makers. The link to the full text is as follows:

http://centres.insead.edu/socio-economic-research/social-entrepreneurship/documents/FromPrivatetoPublic-Chapter11-PatternsinSocialEntrepreneurshipResearch.PDF

Abu Dhabi Paper Development workshop draws scholars from UK, US, India, and the UAE

Abu Dhabi Paper Development workshop draws scholars from UK, US, India, and the UAE

On August 23, 2012, the SERT hosted a full day paper development workshop that brought together a group of scholars who presented their work and gave each other feedback with the intention of achieving top tier journal publication. The schedule was as follows:

Here comes the revised schedule for the workshop on the 23rd:

10:30 – 11:00: Welcome coffee

11:00 – 11:45: John Mezias / Stephen Mezias paper

11:45 – 12:30: Juliane Reinecke / Shaz Ansari paper

12:30 – 14:00: Lunch

14:00 – 14:45: Anindya Sen / Prodyumna Goutam / Chirantan Chatterjee paper

14:45 – 15:30: Florian Schloderer / Stephen Mezias paper

15:30 – 16:00: Coffee break

16:00 – 16:45: Maritza Salazar / Theresa Lant paper

16:45 – 17:30: Stephen Mezias / Mohamad Fakhreddin paper

19:30 – 21:30: Dinner in the Toshi restaurant in Grand Millennium

AOM ITC PDW "Closing the Gap: Developing Research Ecosystems of Global Excellence in Emerging Markets", 4.8.2012, 12:30-14:45 in Boston

Organizers: Florian Schloderer (INSEAD), Victor Zengyu Huang and Constance Van Horne (Zayed University, College of Business Sciences) and Kathy Ning Shen (UOWD)

Panelists: Mary F. Sully de Luque (Thunderbird), Carl F. Fey (Nottingham University Business School China), Akbar Zaheer (University of Minnesota), Jia Lin Xie (University of Toronto) and Stephen J. Mezias (INSEAD Abu Dhabi Campus)

Emerging markets play an increasingly important role for the global economy. Consequently, these regions have come to attract significant attention from academics around the globe. Academic research can significantly aid in furthering our understanding and promoting economic and social development in emerging markets. While some countries, e.g. the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), have already made significant progress in developing local research ecosystems, others, for example in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, only recently have begun their efforts. However, the development of thriving research ecosystems of global excellence is a challenging task which requires deep understanding of the underlying social and institutional processes: the development of a local research community and its struggle for legitimacy in the local ecosystem, the creation of connections between the local and global research ecosystem, and the struggle for legitimacy of local research in the global research ecosystem. Understanding these processes is important for actors who aim to develop thriving research ecosystems and for young scholars in emerging markets. This PDW aims to share best practices of research ecosystem development in emerging markets with examples from the BRIC countries and the MENA region. Based on these examples, PDW participants will develop new insights and recommendations on how to develop local research ecosystems and “close the gap” to the global research ecosystem. This PDW will also aid young scholars in emerging markets to plan the trajectories of their academic careers. This PDW has two modules: a panel discussion and an interactive workshop.

Pre-registration is required for this workshop. To register online, please visit https://secure.aomonline.org/PDWReg. The deadline to register online is August 1, 2012. 

Research in Abu Dhabi and the UAE on the Rise

By Dr. Florian Schloderer and Professor Stephen Mezias
INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Team

There is broad agreement that research plays a crucial role for progress, innovation, development and wealth of countries. These days, the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the UAE, face twin challenges with respect to economic development. First, they must diversify their economies away from dependence on natural resources to become fuller participants in the global knowledge economy. Second, they must generate employment and income opportunities, in particular for the large number of younger persons who currently experience disproportionately high levels of unemployment. Basic research conducted at universities can play a crucial role by providing the “intellectual fuel” to help manage these challenges. At the same time, it is clear that expenditures on research and development as a percentage of GPD and scientific publications have lagged in the region.

One part of the need to enhance research and development capacity can be understood in terms of socioeconomic research. For example, the membership breakdown of the leading global research association for business scholars, the Academy of Management, is revealing. While about 20 out of a million American residents are academic members of this association, this number drops to 4 out of a million in Germany and to slightly more than 1 in the GCC. In the UAE, this number has increased in recent years to the level of Germany.

While contemplating these abstract numbers can help to illuminate the problem, there are also many practical steps that can improve the situation. Indeed, INSEAD Abu Dhabi remains at the forefront of promoting a thriving research community in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. This was evident on the 19th of April as we convened the Second Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Conference with 19 presentations from academic institutions across the UAE such as Zayed University, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi University, University of Wollongong Dubai, American University of Sharjah and INSEAD. The research presentations addressed topics that are highly relevant for the economic transformation of the country such as entrepreneurship, community development, education systems, human capital development, economics and finance, and management and operations. So the good news is: There are many more interesting research projects with high relevance to the development of the country than we – and many others – would expect.

Clearly, the seeds of research in Abu Dhabi and the UAE have been sowed and germinated. To grow further, the research community needs to be embedded in a thriving ecosystem. The INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Team has started a process aiming at the development of a thriving research ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Today, we can share seven insights from our experiences how to further grow this research ecosystem: 

• Promoting close interaction and collaboration of researchers across institutional boundaries
• Building legitimacy of research among citizens and key stakeholders
• Proposing research agendas well aligned with development needs
• Embedding researchers in the local community and engaging citizens
• Knowledge exchange with the global research community to boost quality of research output
• Promoting legitimacy of research from the UAE in the global research community
• Changing mindset: research is a risky investment with high returns and needs significant funding

The authors of this blog, Dr. Florian Schloderer and Professor Stephen J. Mezias, are proud to be part of this process to grow a thriving research ecosystem which produces the “intellectual fuel” for the development of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

2nd INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Conference (19.4.2012)

Following the big success of last year's INSEAD Abu DhabiSocio-Economic Research Conference in 2011, the 2nd INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Conference will take place on the 19th of April at the INSEAD Abu Dhabi Campus. More information about the conference (including submission guidelines) can be found by clicking here.

INSEAD's Collaboration with Zayed University advances Learning and Development of Entrepreneurial Capacity in the UAE

Text adapted from the INSEAD press release of March 27, 2012

INSEAD, the leading international business school hosted the INSEAD Abu Dhabi Entrepreneurship Day recently. The full-day event served to contribute to the sustainable development of entrepreneurial capacity of citizens in the United Arab Emirates.

INSEAD's Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Team organized the entrepreneurship day to make a contribution to the sustainable development of entrepreneurial capacity by focusing on three core topics: an academic paper development workshop to promote a thriving entrepreneurship research community in the UAE, a session with the presentation of entrepreneurship cases on Emirati entrepreneurs with learning content most relevant to the UAE, and a panel on entrepreneurship programs to exchange and discuss partnerships with educational institutions.

“INSEAD’s capacity to link theory and practice is an important resource in addressing shifting economic paradigms,” said Stephen Mezias, Academic Director of INSEAD Abu Dhabi. “We are pleased to work with Zayed University to help the UAE prepare for future economic transformation,” Mezias added.

The day's events began with a paper development workshop where faculty members from INSEAD, Zayed University and Abu Dhabi University presented and discussed their working papers on entrepreneurship. Presenters received extensive feedback from other scholars including Stephen J. Mezias, Academic Director of INSEAD Abu Dhabi. This workshop helped to further grow the research community of entrepreneurship scholars in the UAE.

A clear highlight of the INSEAD Abu Dhabi Entrepreneurship Day came in the afternoon with the presentation of the entrepreneurship cases by students from the Zayed University, College of Business Sciences. Under the supervision of faculty from INSEAD and Zayed University, the students developed these cases to focus on different stages of the entrepreneurial processes: the creation of a business idea and identification of an opportunity, the entrepreneurial mindset, setting up a business, growing the business, and expanding the business internationally. Entrepreneurs for the project were identified from participants in the AKOUN workshop, sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, which also supported the project.

“Collaboration of academic institutions in the region is critical to advancing entrepreneurial capacity in the UAE”, remarked Dipak C. Jain, Dean of INSEAD. “The collaboration between Zayed University and INSEAD increases the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education and enhances the students’ competences to adopt entrepreneurial competencies,” added Jain.

John Seybolt, Dean, College of Business Sciences, Zayed University, added, “With the UAE aiming at diversifying its economy, the entrepreneurship day presented an ideal opportunity for our students to contribute to the promotion of entrepreneurship education by developing these case studies".

Professors Victor Huang and Constance Van Horne of Zayed University discussed the importance of developing these cases on Emirati entrepreneurial role models, and Gillian St leger and Florian Schloderer from INSEAD discussed innovative approaches to make learning from the cases more effective with the use of new media. The afternoon session closed with the presentation of certificates of participation to the students by Deans Dipak C. Jain (INSEAD) and John Seybolt (College of Business Sciences, Zayed University).

The day concluded with a panel on best practice programs for entrepreneurial capacity development with speakers from Dr. Halah El-Sokari from Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Jennifer Green from the AKOUN Workshop, Sara Falaknaz from the Dubai Start-Up Weekend, Pierre Atallah from INJAZ UAE, Dr. Sarah Mavrinac from AIDHA (Singapore), and Christian V. Keller from My Finance Coach Foundation (Germany & Indonesia).

The National: Case Studies of Entrepreneurs Close to Home (22.3.2012)

Case Studies of Entrepreneurs Close to Home - The National