Group members


Members

Dr Abrahim Althonayan Dr Abrahim Althonayan
Email Dr Abrahim Althonayan Senior Lecturer in Ops Management
Abraham Althonayan is a Senior Lecturer in Operations, Strategic Management and Supply Chain and Lecture on the MBA at Brunel Business School for the past 13 years. He is a Senior Follow in Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Abraham is strategy consultant and member of the Centre for International Business (CEIB) and Operations and Information Systems Management Research Group (OISM). Abraham is also acted Director of International Business Development and is also active in executive development delivery. He holds a PhD, MSc and BSc and lived in several countries, including Asia, Middle East (Dubai), USA and UK. For 35 years. Abraham frequently works with both national and international companies in sectors as varied as aviation, chemical and diversified services, financial services and not-for-profit sectors (including higher education institutions in the Asia, EU, Kazakhstan, Middle East, Turkey, Russian Federation countries) and UK. Abraham actively participated in several funded projects including Institutional Link in collaboration with Kazakhstan. He successfully managed to initiate, develop and implement many development and consultancy international projects in diverse challenging environments. In addition, Abraham is Programme External and PhD Examiner in several UK and international universities. Abraham is Certified Life Coach (CLC), Certified Executive Coach (CEC) and Certified Organisation Development Coach (CODC). Office Hours: Tuesday from 09:30 – 10:30 and Friday from 10:30 – 12:30 Strategic Management Technology Strategy Integrating Technology Strategy with Business and Corporate Strategies Enterprise Risk Management Leadership and Decision Making Supply Chain Management Critical Thinking Strategic Management Technology Strategy Integrating Technology Strategy with Business and Corporate Strategies Enterprise Risk Management Leadership and Decision Making Supply Chain Management Critical Thinking Operation Management Research group(s) Strategy Entrepreneurship and International Business (SEIB) Operations and Information Systems Management Research Group (OISM) Strategic Management; Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Airline Management. Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday from 11:30 – 12:30
Dr Ozlem Ayaz Dr Ozlem Ayaz
Email Dr Ozlem Ayaz Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management
Ozlem Ayaz Arda received her PhD in Management and Organisations in 2016 from Bahcesehir University Istanbul. She joined Brunel Business School in February 2020. Dr Ayaz-Arda has several years of management experience in strategic management, working at big companies in Turkey. Her research is embedded in the strategic management field specifically interested in the integration of management systems with different operational aims. Her interest also resides in the role of leadership, social and business value creation ethical organisations during the digital era started with Industry 4.0. Dr Ayaz-Arda has published widely in internationally well-regarded academic journals such as Journal of Business Research, Decision Support Systems, Business Strategy, and the Environment. She has presented her research output at international conferences such as Academy of Management Conference in 2016, 2018, and 2020. My research interests lie at the intersection of strategic management (particularly management systems integration, sustainability, environmental management, and organizational capabilities) and organizational behaviour studies (particularly leadership and organizational citizenship behaviours). I have a experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In most of my research, I followed quantitative methods and used advanced statistics programmes like SPSS, AMOS, Smart PLS, Super Decisions, and STATA extensively. Currently, I have an independent, internationally recognised research agenda and pipeline in organisational studies. Corporate Sustainability - Evironmental, social and financial performance Integrated Management Systems - quality, environmental, environment health and safety, corporate social responsibility systems integration Industry 4.0 and the workforce - diversity, transparancy My teaching experience resides in tutoring and individual mentoring to both undergraduate and graduate courses. I have experience in designing and planning learning activities for postgraduate students in various disciplines in management and organisation studies including master of business administration, strategic management, and organizational behaviour. I pursue the research-led teaching philosophy which is a strong way to develop critical thinking abilities for students.
Dr Xiaoqing Li Dr Xiaoqing Li
Email Dr Xiaoqing Li Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
I am a Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Entrepreneurship, and Director of Postgraduate Programs at the Brunel Business School. Before joining Brunel, I worked as a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management and International Business at the Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. Since September 2022, I have been leading postgraduate studies at Brunel Business School, overseeing twelve Master’s degree programs. Prior to this, I served for five years as the Inaugural Program Leader for the BSc Business Management with Entrepreneurship program. I believe in a hands-on and practical approach to entrepreneurship education. I implemented this in program delivery, significantly developing students' entrepreneurial edge. This not only helps them stand out in job hunting but also equips them with the entrepreneurial competencies needed to successfully run start-up companies, some of which are now actively operating in the real market, contributing to sustainability, innovation, and economic development. I have received a series of awards and nominations in teaching, leadership, and being initiative at work. I won the CBASS College Staff Prize, recognised as being purposeful and agile in a changing world. I have been recognised as one of the Brunel Business School's top lecturers with feedback from students outlining my outstanding quality of delivery. I was nominated for the 'Ken Darby-Dowman Memorial Prize' for my contribution to the student experience with a focus on the compassion; for leading by example in demonstrating excellence in work, and for being behind the scenes wonder. My research and teaching interests are in the areas of strategy, international business, and entrepreneurship. I have authored 20+ publicaitons in internationally renowned, peer-reviewed journals, such as International Business Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Studies in Higher Education, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research and so on. Internationalization of firms, especially firms from emerging countries. Knowledge-intensive organisations' internationalisation Entrepreneurship education Social enterprises in the developed and developing markets Entrepreneurship and innovation Digitalization in business and management Research group(s) Strategy Entrepreneurship and International Business (SEIB) Postgratuate Level modules: International Management Corporate and Competitive Strategy (MBA) Udergratuate level modules: New Venture Creation Entrepreneurship and Small Business Ventures International Business Strategy Issues and Controversies in Management Undergradute Placement Visit Office hours: Monday and Wednsday: appointment required due to large modules that I lead
Professor Francesco Moscone Professor Francesco Moscone Francesco Moscone leads the area of Healthcare Management and Wellbeing at BBS, where his research concentrates on sustainable health expenditure, exploring potential savings from both demand and supply perspectives. On the demand side, he examines scenarios such as potential savings if the smoking population transitions to reduced-risk products like vaping, if heavy drinkers shift to moderate drinking, and if individuals become more physically active. On the supply side, his research explores questions such as the productivity gains in hospitals if physicians adopt more cost-effective medical technologies. Francesco is Professor of Business Economics, former Division Lead for Organisations and People, former head of the Centre of Research into Entrepreneurship, International Business in Emerging Markets, former Director of the MBA programs, and former Director of Internationalisation. He also teaches policy evaluation at the University Ca' Foscari University of Venice. He has previously worked at the University of Leicester, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics (LSE), University of Bergamo, and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Rome. He has held visiting scholar positions at University of California-Berkeley, University Pompeu Fabra, and LSE. He has worked as health economist for the National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children's Health, and the National Agency for Regional Health Services. Francesco has been co-investigator of a major EPSRC (UK government funding) grant entitled "Semantic Credit Risk Assessment of Business Ecosystems". He has also been the principal investigator on an ESRC (UK government funding) research grant entitled "Statistical Modelling of Interdependence in Economics", and on the UK part of a major EU grant entitled "Biopool- Services associated to digitalise contents of tissues in Biobanks across Europe". Further, he has acted as co-investigator for the grant "Economic Performance and Quality of Life in European Cities" awarded by the Economics Education and Research Consortium. Francesco has served as associate editor for Economic Modelling and he is currently associate editor for the journal Empirical Economics and a Senior Member of ESRC Peer Review College. Francesco is also a co-editor, with Professor Badi H. Baltagi, of Contributions to Economic Analysis, Emerald Publishing. Here you can follow Francesco on LinkedIn and X (better known as Twitter) Francesco Moscone (@MosconeF) / X Francesco Moscone's research focuses on sustainable health expenditure, investigating possible savings from both demand and supply perspectives. Regarding the demand side, he explores scenarios like potential savings if the smoking population transitions to reduced-risk products like vaping, if heavy drinkers shift to moderate drinking, and if individuals become more physically active. On the supply side, his research delves into questions such as the potential productivity gains in hospitals when physicians adopt more cost-effective medical technologies. The fact remains that anything we do in life will never be entirely risk-free. However, what we can strive for is risk reduction. Transitioning from excessive alcohol intake (defined as consuming, on average, more than half a liter of wine a day) to moderate drinking may not eliminate the risk of certain liver-related diseases, but it can significantly reduce those risks. Similarly, the well-known fact that tobacco consumption claims millions of lives worldwide each year emphasises the potential life-saving impact of adults switching to reduced-risk products like vaping. Moreover, a sedentary lifestyle, spending most of the day on the sofa, is detrimental to health and increases the likelihood of developing numerous chronic pathologies. Engaging in physical exercise is recommended to counteract these risks. Interestingly, transitioning toward various reduced-risk behaviors not only saves lives but also proves to be financially advantageous. My recent published work demonstrates that in Italy, we could save over one billion euros annually in the National Health Services by promoting physical exercise, reducing wine consumption, and encouraging the switch to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.Furthermore, another scientific study of mine revealed that if half of the smokers in England transitioned to vaping, the NHS could save more than a billion pounds each year. This presents a unique opportunity in the public health sector to free up resources, which could be reinvested to revitalise the healthcare system. Such a strategy offers an alternative approach to making the NHS more resilient against shocks like Covid-19 and addressing urgent health issues such as rising waiting times. I've also been exploring healthcare system sustainability from the supply side. My research delves into the connection between hospital quality and health expenditure. It's uncertain whether augmenting health resources, such as having more physicians, will invariably enhance people's health. Conversely, increased spending might increase mortality rates in cases of inefficiency. Recent findings underscore the significance of adopting medical technologies, like increasing the use of aspirins, beta blockers, and statins for patients with cardiovascular issues, to potentially save more lives. These research areas cover a broad spectrum of health economics and healthcare management, offering valuable insights into the financial aspects of healthcare and social care systems. In these fields I contribute to evidence-based policymaking and the development of efficient and sustainable healthcare systems Feel free to reach out if you're interested in learning more about my research. Research group(s) Strategy Entrepreneurship and International Business (SEIB) Healthcare Policy; Business Economics; Analytical Skills; Quantitative Methods in Business and Management Office hours: Tuesday 5-6pm and Thursday 11am-12
 Riccardo Nucci Riccardo Nucci Dr. Riccardo Nucci is Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Brunel Business School, Brunel University London. Prior to joining Brunel Business School, he had been a Research and Teaching Fellow at the University of Bath School of Management. His research focuses on Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Learning. Specifically, Riccardo concentrates on learning from business failures and from the observation of other entrepreneurs. He is a multi-method researcher with experience in in-depth interviews and experiments. He analyses data with NVivo, SPSS and also is an open-source software enthusiast mastering the use of R programming language applied to statistical analysis. He is an engaged scholar with extensive experience in collaborating with business incubation and growth platforms. Driven by his passion in entrepreneurial learning, he engages practitioners and nascent entrepreneurs providing pro bono mentoring support and helping them navigating through the journey of business start-up. OFFICE HOURS: Thursday from 11am to 12pm - Friday from 1pm to 2pm. Send an email to book an appointment at riccardo.nucci@brunel.ac.uk To study the experiences of individual entrepreneurs, my research is deeply rooted in the field of psychology and my work builds on identification theories by Erik Erikson, experiential learning theories by David Kolb, and social learning theories by Albert Bandura. I have experience in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. I carried out qualitative data collection with in-depth interviews and further analysis with NVivo. I also designed and executed in-class and on-line experiments. I performed statistical analysis, both correlational and experimental, using SPSS and R programming language. My research interests reside in the area of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial learning. Drawing from social psychology theories, I am passionate to discover how individuals learn, adapt, and change throughout the entrepreneurial process. I am particularly interested in studying how entrepreneurs learn from business failures and from the observation of others. To gain insights into the cognition and emotions of individuals, I adopt both qualitative and quantitative methods. I teach the modules: MG5592 Entrepreneurship MB5537 Quantitative Methods Workshop My office hours are: Monday from 4pm to 5pm Thursday from 2pm to 3pm During office hours, I will be available on Zoom for drop-in sessions. Students can access the Virtual Meeting Room by clicking here. Use the following passcode to enter the room: 3834745428
Professor Ainurul Rosli Professor Ainurul Rosli
Email Professor Ainurul Rosli Honorary Professor - BBS
I am a Team Coach and an Entrepreneurial Mindset Practitioner (EMP). I am an avid believer in the importance of university-industry-community interaction. I am part of Team Academy (Tiimiakatemia, Finland), a global team-learning community that aims to equip young adults with the skills, knowledge and personal qualities required to run their own businesses while pursuing a degree. I specialise in entrepreneurship, inter-firm collaboration, innovation strategy and knowledge exchange. This enables me to be part of fantastic organisations and projects that embrace collaboration and co-creation to support their innovative community engagement initiatives. Prior to joining Brunel, I was a co-Director for MSc Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Enterprise Development at the University of Westminster. I also had worked in University of Wolverhampton and Birkbeck University of London, where I gained my PhD in 2013. I have an MSc in Operational Research from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a Bachelor in Financial Engineering (Hons) from Multimedia University, Malaysia. My previous professional experience includes various entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation consulting work in London and abroad. I also have worked for several years with the R&D arm of a telecommunication company in Malaysia. I have secured major grants from Quintin Hogg Trust, European Life Long Learning Programme, British Academy of Management and British Academy/Leverhulme to name a few. I also have won several competitive awards including a grant by the Malaysian government towards my PhD research; Ronald Coase Institute Fellowship and Dynamics of Institutions and Markets (DIME) Fellowship to name a few. My work with my colleagues has won the Best Innovation paper awards at British Academy Management (BAM) 2015. Entrepreneurial Team Learning Co-creation and entrepreneurial ecosystem – engaged scholarship/engaged practice (driver, process, outcome, impact), value creation process and ecosystem development, the role of co-creation process, impacts, strategies. University-industry collaboration - The role of university knowledge transfer/Third Mission strategy, process, mechanism and impact; Role of intermediaries (such as accelerators) and its innovativeness. Entrepreneurial community- sustainable capacity building mechanism; 'entrepreneurialism'; the practice of entrepreneurship through community engagement Social Impact through entrepreneurial action - Influencing and crafting social impact/value at the grassroots level. How universities and businesses work together to create value and societal impact? What challenges in measuring social impact/ social value creation, taking into consideration of different views among academics and practitioners? What opportunities resulting from the desire to resolve social challenges, and the role that entrepreneurs and business enterprises can play in generating ethical and sustainable solutions. I believe in research with impact, which drives forward businesses and societal transformation (see especially my 2017-2018 British Council project to build resilient academic for community engagement and also Haringey Entrepreneurship project supported by Mayor of London Funds). My research on engaged scholarship, co-creation and impact measurement enabled me to design a clear measurement of impact for knowledge exchange, enterprise and outreach engagement for Professional Practice in Entrepreneurship project, funded by Quintin Hogg Trust (2017-2018). Corporate and Competitive Strategy (with Entrepreneurship)-MBA Strategic Management (PG) I work with small business leaders through business support programmes (Help to Grow Management and Small Business Leadership Programme)
Dr Cristina Stoian Dr Cristina Stoian
Email Dr Cristina Stoian Reader in International Business
I am a Reader in International Business and Director of Postgraduate Research. My research is in the areas of International Business, Entrepreneurship and International Marketing Strategies in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Within these areas, I have published articles in leading academic journals and received Best Paper awards at the British Academy of Management Conference (International Business and International Management track). I have received research funding from the ISBE/RAKE Award (Supported by ESRC and Barclays Bank) as principal investigator. I have long-standing relationships with the entrepreneurial community in the UK and abroad as well as with trade institutions such as the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where I was a member of their International Trade Committee, and The Institute of Export and International Trade. This has led to publications in professional journals advising SME business managers on internationalisation strategies. SME Internationalisation International Entrepreneurship Knowledge approaches to international business Sustainable development in international business The influence of stakeholders on internationalisation strategy Professional Advisory Services for SMEs Research group(s) Strategy Entrepreneurship and International Business (SEIB) International Entrepreneurship (MSc) Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management (MSc) Entrepreneurship (MSc) Corporate and Competitive Strategy (MBA) International Business Strategic Management Issues and Controversies in Management Project
Professor Catherine Wang Professor Catherine Wang
Email Professor Catherine Wang Strategy and Entrepreneurship/Professor
I am a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) Lead at Brunel Business School. I founded the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Entrepreneurship and Sustainability and was the Centre Director for seven years at Brunel University of London. Previously, I held academic posts at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Oxford Brookes University. In the academic community, I am an elected Fellow of the British Academy of Management, and also hold other roles: a British Academy of Management Peer Review College Fellow (Inaugural Cohort), an ESRC Peer Review College Member, and a journal editorial board member for British Journal of Management, International Journal of Management reviews, and International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. I have served as a Scientific Evaluator on a number of international grant panels in the UK, the US, Finland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Kazakhstan. I have also served as a judge of the European Business Awards and Sage Group Innovation Awards. My research interests are at the intersection of entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation, in particular, how firms can turn strategic and entrepreneurial resources and capabilities into successful innovation and create economic and social value in commercial and social enterprises, based on interdisciplinary theory, methods and practice. Currently, I am particularly interested in digital, social and sustainable entrepreneurship. My research has received awards from prestigious research councils, such as the Economic and Social Research Council and its Digital Good Network, British Academy, Leverhulme, and Arts and Humanities Research Council. I have published in leading international journals, including FT50, CABS 4* and CABS 4 journals, such as Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, British Journal of Management, Journal of Business Research, International Small Business Journal, Journal of Small Business Management, Small Business Economics, International Journal of Management Reviews, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, European Journal of Information Systems, R&D Management, and Technovation. My Google Scholar profile shows over 15338 citations, an h-index of 33 and an i10-index of 48 in 2025, and I am honoured to be among the top 2% of business and management researchers worldwide according to Stanford University’s citation analysis published by Elsevier. Prior to joining academia, I worked on small business support and international trade at Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce in the UK, and international business in China. Enterprise development and business engagement is an integral part of my research and teaching activities. Having led several funded industry engagement projects, I have worked with stakeholders in private and public sectors to transfer and co-create knowledge, through engaged research (for example, Digital Technology Adoption in UK Charities, Stronger Together: Collaborative Innovation between Small Firms and Large Corporations, and Social Enterprises: Ten Years On) and practice-led teaching. Her research interests are at the intersection of entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation, in particular, how firms can turn strategic and entrepreneurial resources and capabilities into successful innovation and create economic and social value in commercial and social enterprises, based on interdisciplinary theory, methods and practice. Currently, Catherine is particularly interested in digital, social and sustainable entrepreneurship. Specifically, her expertise falls in these core themes: Entrepreneurship and innovation Social entrepreneurship: Social enterprises, community interest companies, and B Corporations; business models, growth and internationalization strategies; triple bottom-line performance and social impact. Digital entrepreneurship: digital capabilities, digital crowdfunding platforms, and new business models in the digital age. Entrepreneurial orientation in small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporations, social enterprises, ethnic minority firms, high-tech firms, and family businesses; digital entrepreneurial orientation; the dark side of entrepreneurial orientation. Entrepreneurial cognition and learning from success and failure in different organizational and industry contexts, especially in the new product development process. International entrepreneurship and innovation: entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities in firms across nations, especially in the UK and China comparative context. Strategic management The resource-based view of the firm and dynamic capabilities: conceptual development, empirical validation and practical application. Organisational ambidexterity: exploratory and exploitative capabilities; success and failure traps; organizational control systems on ambidexterity. Middle management in strategy processes, especially in pursuing dynamic capabilities, organizational ambidexterity, and corporate entrepreneurship. Artificial intelligence in strategy: AI in strategic decision-making and implementation, in private and public sectors. PhD supervision: I have supervised a number of doctoral students to completion, and acted as external PhD supervisors in collaboration with other universities. Currently, I am interested in taking on new doctoral students in any of the above research areas, and in particular, the following topical areas: Digital crowdfunding Digital entrepreneurship Artificial intelligence adoption in strategic decision making and entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial orientation in different organisational contexts such as small firms; family businesses, medium to large organisations, and technology-based firms; Socially responsible and sustainable entrepreneurship; Corporate entrepreneurship and innovation; Entrepreneurial learning, unlearning and feedback; Organisational ambidexterity; Entrepreneurial opportunities and decision-making; Ethnic minority entrepreneurship The relationship between dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurship; The role of knowledge and absorptive capacity in innovation; Entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging market economies; International comparative studies of entrepreneurship and innovation. MG3607 Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation (UG) MB5537 Business Project and Professional Development (MBA) MG6700 Business Research Methods (PhD) MG5590 Business Planning (MSc) Office hours: 11:00-12:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays in Term 1. Please email me for an appointment: Catherine.Wang@brunel.ac.uk