Professor Marina Papanastassiou and Professor Peter Buckley, Leeds University Business School, discuss different issues affecting multinational enterprises, global value chains, and the fractured global economy, in each episode of this series.

Globalisation

Insights

Dr Annina Kaltenbrunner and Dr Bianca Orsi talk about the implications different types of currency internationalization have, particularly in the context of emerging markets, and discuss their research on the Brazilian real. They highlight the strategy of currency regionalisation, rather than full currency internationalisation, and introduce the SML – a South American regional payment mechanisms – which could support such a currency regionalisation.    

You can read the reports on currency internationalisation and on the SML on the project webpage.

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

 Dr Annina Kaltenbrunner is Associate Professor in the Economics of Globalisation and the International Economy at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on money, finance and macroeconomic policy in developing and emerging economies . Dr Bianca Orsi is a Teaching Fellow in the Economics division, with research interests in monetary policy, inflation, capital controls, currency internationalization and currency hierarchy.

What is currency internationalization and why does it matter?

Professor Marina Papanastassiou speaks to Professor Peter Buckley about Global Value Chains (GVC) and the role of emerging market multinationals. They discuss how recent phenomena – Brexit, the pandemic, and the semiconductor chip shortage – have affected Global Value Chains. Professors Papanastassiou and Buckley also talk about the role the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds (CIBUL) plays in International Business (IB) theory development. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

Visit the CIBUL website for further information. 

About the speakers: Marina Papanastassiou is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is a member of the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL). Marina’s research interests include the global innovation strategies in multinationals (MNEs) and their network of overseas subsidiaries and R&D laboratories; the decision making process in MNEs and in particular the dynamics between HQs and subsidiaries; global value chains and the role of MNEs in SDGs such as food security; impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on growth and development; the internationalisation of start-ups, and the role of incubators in local systems of innovation. 

Peter Buckley OBE is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Founder/Director of CIBUL. His current research interests centre on the theory of the multinational firm; knowledge management in multinational firms; the international transfer of technology; the impact of foreign direct investment particularly in China; and outward direct investment from emerging countries: China and India.

Global Value Chains and the role of Emerging Market Multinationals

Professor Marina Papanastassiou and Professor Peter Buckley discuss the deep and growing fracture in the global economy, how it affects the Sustainable Development Goals, and how it may be changing the role of multinationals. 
 
This podcast episode was recorded remotely in April 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact  research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   
Visit the CIBUL website for further information. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-cibul
 
About the speakers: Marina Papanastassiou is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is a member of the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL). Marina’s research interests include the global innovation strategies in multinationals (MNEs) and their network of overseas subsidiaries and R&D laboratories; the decision making process in MNEs and in particular the dynamics between HQs and subsidiaries; global value chains and the role of MNEs in SDGs such as food security; impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on growth and development; the internationalisation of start-ups, and the role of incubators in local systems of innovation. 
 
Peter Buckley OBE is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Founder/Director of CIBUL. His current research interests centre on the theory of the multinational firm; knowledge management in multinational firms; the international transfer of technology; the impact of foreign direct investment particularly in China; and outward direct investment from emerging countries: China and India.

A fractured global economy

Dr Danat Valizade and Dr Manhal Ali discuss their paper on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for global inequalities in work and employment. 
This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact  research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/276/podcast_episode_52_-_transcript

Read the paper: “Inequalities in the disruption of paid work during the Covid-19 pandemic: A world systems analysis of core, semi-periphery, and periphery states.” Industrial Relations: A journal of Economy and Society. Danat Valizade, Manhal Ali, Mark Stuart https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12310 
 
About the speakers:  
Dr Danat Valizade is an Associate Professor in Quantitative Methods in the Work and Employment Relations Department. His research interests coalesce around the changing nature of work with a specific focus on the quality of working lives, inequalities and digital futures at work. 
Dr Manhal Ali is a Lecturer in Human Resource Management in the same department. His areas of expertise include Organisational Economics; Managerial Economics; Health Economics; Digital Economy; Data Science.

How the Covid-19 pandemic has affected global inequalities in work and employment

Dr Marketa Dolezalova is joined by Ewa Jamroz and Ewa Lelontko from Migration Yorkshire. Following on from the previous episode with Migration Yorkshire, Marketa, Ewa and Ewa talk about the main barriers for migrants entering the UK workforce, as well as examples of good practice from organisations.  

Visit the project webpage. This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 

This episode was recorded on Wednesday 10th August 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Dr Marketa Dolezalova is a Research Fellow in Labour Migration at Leeds University Business School. Her research interests revolve around migration, mobility, and the economic strategies of migrants, including mobility as both an economic strategy and as migrants’ social capital. 

Ewa Jamroz is a policy, data and development officer at Migration Yorkshire. She is the project lead for the Hong Kong Welcome Programme for BN(O) status holders coming to the UK through a new BN(O) visa route and policy lead for EU nationals (including Roma communities). 

Ewa Lelontko is an employer engagement manager at Migration Yorkshire. Her role focuses on the economic integration of refugees and other migrants in Yorkshire & Humber.

The barriers migrants face when entering the UK workforce

Professor Marina Papanastassiou is joined by Professor Peter Buckley to discuss new challenges for multinationals in the fractured global economy, including political challenges, governance issues, and resilience in Global Value Chains. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

Visit the CIBUL website for further information about the research discussed in this episode. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-cibul

About the speakers: Marina Papanastassiou is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is a member of the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL). Marina’s research interests include the global innovation strategies in multinationals (MNEs) and their network of overseas subsidiaries and R&D laboratories; the decision making process in MNEs and in particular the dynamics between HQs and subsidiaries; global value chains and the role of MNEs in SDGs such as food security; impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on growth and development; the internationalisation of start-ups, and the role of incubators in local systems of innovation. 

Peter Buckley OBE is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Founder/Director of CIBUL. His current research interests centre on the theory of the multinational firm; knowledge management in multinational firms; the international transfer of technology; the impact of foreign direct investment particularly in China; and outward direct investment from emerging countries: China and India.

New challenges for MNEs within fractures of the global economy

Dr Olga Ustyuzhantseva speaks to Mattia Dessì about Russia’s energy situation and the state's views on it; the ecological impact of coal in Russia; and the role of the labour movement in Russia's coal industry. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-record/research-projects/1990/just-transition-action-concepts-debates-and-strategies-an-international-comparison-across-11-countries

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/294/podcast-just-transitions---a-global-exploration
 
About the speakers: Mattia Dessì is a Postgraduate Researcher at Leeds University Business School. His PhD research focuses on new technologies and the future of work in the South African mining industry. 

Dr Olga Ustyuzhantseva is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). Her recent research focus is on the sociotechnical transition to the sustainable development of coal-mining countries (South Africa and Russia), particularly climate, energy, and just transition policies and their impact on the coal phase-out trajectory.

Just Transitions – a global exploration: Russia

Drs Gabriella Alberti and Jo Cutter are joined by Caroline Keohane and Tanya Barringer from the Food and Drink Federation to discuss how the workforce in the UK food and drink sector has been affected since the end of the free movement of labour from the EU, and other subsequent crises. 

This episode has been recorded as part of the Labour Mobility in Transition (LIMITS) project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Visit the project webpage (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-record/research-projects/1870/labour-mobility-in-transition-a-multi-actor-study-of-the-re-regulation-of-migrant-work-in-low-skilled-sectors-limits).

You can read the manifesto discussed in the episode here (https://www.fdf.org.uk/globalassets/about-fdf/powers-our-nation/fdf-2024-manifesto.pdf), and the LIMITS project Employer Survey report here (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/332/employers-post-brexit-workforce-strategies-and-their-use-of-migrant-workers). 

This episode was recorded on 11 June 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/333/podcast-transcript---labour-shortages

About the speakers: 

Dr Gabriella Alberti is an Associate Professor in Work and Employment Relations. Her research interests revolve around the conditions of workers at the bottom end of the labour market, whether on non-standard contracts, engaged in gig/platform work, excluded from social protections, migrants and minorities workers facing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination and exclusion. 

Dr Jo Cutter is a lecturer in Work and Employment Relations. Her research focuses on employment relations, social dialogue and the regulation of work with a core focus on skills formation and training. She is currently researching these themes in relation to two contexts: workers and the just transition and labour mobility. 

Caroline Keohane is Head of Industry Growth at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) which is the voice of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. Caroline leads FDF’s policy work on growth, productivity and investment and works closely with senior government officials within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). She is also a Non-Executive Board member of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink. 

Tanya Barringer is a Senior Industry Growth Policy Executive at the Food and Drink Federation.  Her areas of focus include skills (apprenticeships and skill shortages), employment and migration, the uptake of automation and digitalisation and supply chain fairness.

Labour shortages, automation, and upskilling in UK food and drink manufacturing

Professor Aristeidis Theotokis speaks to special guest, Rashik Parmar MBE, about AI and the implications it could have on both business and society as a whole. In the episode, they discuss AI’s potential and limitations; people’s perceptions of AI; who the winners and losers are when it comes to creating value from AI; and what the biggest risks are when it comes to AI. 

Both Aristeidis and Rashik presented at Leeds University Business School’s “The Business of AI” event as part of Leeds Digital Festival in September. 

The HBR article Rashik referenced in this episode is “What is responsible computing?” 

This episode was recorded on 11th October 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Aristeidis Theotokis is Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. He conducts research in the areas of shopper psychology, retail technology and prosocial behavior. He examines theories and phenomena in the areas of consumer psychology, behavioural economics and social psychology. His current research includes exploring how consumers understand and interact with AI. 

Rashik Parmar, MBE is a member of Leeds University Business School’s Research International Advisory Board. Rashik is Group CEO of British Computer Society (BCS) where he is responsible for realising the BCS mission to make IT good for society. He is focused on inspiring the programmes that the BCS colleagues, members and partners that help us deliver the BCS strategy. Previously he was the IBM Fellow and Vice President responsible for creating and driving IBM’s European technical strategy. Rashik is a member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Council and also chairs the Employment and Skills Panel at the Leeds City Region LEP and the Board of Trustees for We are IVE.

The limitations and potential of AI - and the role humans have to play in its success

Dr Ziko Konwar is joined by Dr Christopher Hassall and Professor Ulf Andersson to discuss the intricate linkages between biodiversity and business strategies, with an emphasis on operations of multinational enterprises. As part of the conversation, they explore questions such as how can businesses co-create value when it comes to preserving biological resources and mitigating the pace of biodiversity loss. And what are some of the major challenges for multinational companies integrating nature-based solutions into their business models? 

This episode was recorded on 3rd October 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Dr Ziko Konwar is an Assistant Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Director of Internationalization for the International Business Department. His research interests are in global strategy of multinational enterprises, with an emphasis on cross-national institutional and systemic challenges. He is the Leeds University Business School Research Lead for the 24-26 Cheney Fellowship project (see below), University of Leeds.   

Dr Christopher Hassall is an Associate Professor of Animal Biology in the School of Biology at the University of Leeds. He co-directs the Leverhulme Extinction Studies Doctoral Training Programme and co-leads the Aeroecology Research Group, which focuses on using radar for biodiversity monitoring. His research interests span fundamental ecology and biodiversity conservation, with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary solutions to biodiversity challenges. 

Professor Ulf Andersson is a Professor of Business Studies in Mälardalen University, Sweden. Ulf is a research leader and expert on subsidiary management strategy of multinational enterprises, and is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business and European International Business Academy. Ulf is the first Cheney Fellow to be hosted at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds. 

About the project:

The Cheney fellowship project will utilize inter-disciplinary research expertise to address the role of global strategy of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in biodiversity loss (e.g. species/habitat extinction and MNE global innovation). The research team comprises Professor Ulf Andersson (incoming Cheney Fellow), Dr Ziko Konwar, Professor Yingqi (Annie) Wei and Professor Frank McDonald (Leeds University Business School), Dr Christopher Hassall (Faculty of Biological Sciences,) and Professor George Holmes (School of Earth and Environment). Over the past ten years, the Cheney Fellowship programme has established fruitful and high-impact research partnerships in areas such as water security, molecular biology, medicine and materials science. This programme has been made possible through a $4 million gift from Bacteriology and Biochemistry graduate Peter Cheney and his wife Susan.   

All quiet on the biodiversity strategy front: multinational enterprises, value creation and sustainable ecosystems

David Loseby, Visiting Professor of Research Impact at Leeds University Business School, interviews Frank Lee, Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Collaborative Working, asking what makes a great partner, and how value can be created through collaboration. 

Both David and Frank spoke at the “Ideas in Practice: Supply Chain Summit 2024”, which was co-hosted by Leeds University Business School and the Institute for Collaborative Working. The event, held in November 2024, explored how managing complex supply chains is increasingly vital to all organisations. 

Additional note: In the episode, David and Frank mention ISO 44000 and ISO 44001. These are standards created by the International Organization for Standardization, that provide frameworks for successful collaborative business relationship management. 

This episode was recorded on 3rd February 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/354/podcast-transcript---collaboration-done-right)

About the speakers: 

David Loseby is Professor of Research Impact in Supply Chain Management at Leeds University Business School. He is a modern day “pracademic” that has spent over three decades in procurement and supply chain roles internationally across a diverse set of sectors from pharmaceuticals, banking, retail, manufacturing, and public sector (NHS and Westminster City Council) and more recently as the Group CPO for Rolls Royce. He is also a visiting scholar at the University of East Anglia involved in Executive MBA and MSc programmes, as well as his own active research portfolio in Behavioural Science.  

Frank Lee is the Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW), a role he has held since early 2023. He joined ICW after more than 30 years with the British Standards Institution (BSI), where he held various leadership roles. Frank has been instrumental in establishing a new vision and purpose for ICW, transforming it into a modern, agile, and outward-focused institution. 

Collaborative working

Leeds University Business School’s Research and Innovation podcast brings you insights from our expert researchers. From the future of work, to disruptive technologies; green behaviours to emerging markets, we’ll be covering a wide-range of topical issues and novel ideas. 

Listen to the podcast to find out more about our research and how it’s inspiring business managers, informing policymakers and influencing society.

If you have any comments regarding any of these episodes, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.