'Problematizing Space in International Business Research: Toward a Social Production of Space', a seminar by Professor Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki (University of Vienna)

Problematizing Space in International Business Research: Toward a Social Production of Space

By Professor Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki (University of Vienna)

Abstract:

Despite the inherent focus of International Business (IB) on firm behavior across spatial boundaries, surprisingly little attention has thus far been given to what constitutes space and its underlying assumptions. This article embarks on a problematization approach to uncover the dominant and alternative ontological and epistemological assumptions on space in IB. We develop a typology of four different approaches on how space is treated in IB, combining objective vs. subjective and fixed vs. changing assumptions of space. Building on our typology, we turn to the work of sociologist and philosopher Henri Lefebvre to extend the view of space in IB. We go beyond the conventional perspectives of location and distance dominating IB to consider space as a social product produced over time by social relationships and action. We discuss how Lefebvre’s view assists IB scholars to reconceptualize space through the notion of the ‘global factory’ and provide conceptual and methodological implications of situating Lefebvre’s view of space in IB scholarship.

About the speaker:

Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki, BA, PhD is Chaired Professor of International Business at the Department of Marketing and International Business at the University of Vienna, Austria. She is Fellow of the British Academy of Management (BAM) and the European International Business Academy (EIBA). She is Visiting Professor at Leeds University Business School, UK and University of Turku, Finland.

Before she joined the University of Vienna, Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki was Professor of International Business at the University of Leeds, UK. She holds a PhD from the University of Strathclyde, UK where she subsequently remained as a Post-Doctoral Fellow. Her doctoral studies were supported by the Greek State Scholarships Foundation, while her Post-doctoral research was funded by the Economics and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK.

Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki currently serves as Associate Editor at the British Journal of Management. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) and International Business Review (IBR). Her research interests refer to qualitative research in International Business; SME and family firm internationalization and international entrepreneurship. She also seeks to understand and problematize the role of time, context and space in International Business theorizing. She has published in highly ranked academic journals including the Academy of Management Review, British Journal of Management, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Economic Geography, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business and Journal of Management Studies.

Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki has been awarded the Medal for Research of the British Academy of Management (BAM) in 2023. In 2021, she received the prestigious Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) Decade Award for her co-authored paper entitled “Theorising from Case Studies: Towards a Pluralist Future for International Business Research”. She is regularly invited as a guest Professor and keynote speaker at leading international universities and conferences and provides supervision for PhD Theses.