Research

Stephanie Bertels assembles working group to tackle environmental awareness, outcomes

Apr 9, 2013

Organizations in a number of business sectors are still struggling to embed sustainability into their culture. While this is not a challenge that will be accomplished overnight, it is one that Beedie School of Business assistant professor Stephanie Bertels is attempting to unravel. Bertels has a long-standing interest in sustainability, specifically how organizations can develop and implement innovative strategies for a sustainable future. Her latest research has resulted in tangible outcomes that are already helping […]

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Sustainable supply chains

Mar 26, 2013

Jeremy Hall explores effect of sustainable development considerations in the Brazilian energy industry. A 2010 share listing which raised $72.8 billion confirmed oil and gas giant Petrobras as the fourth largest company in the world. However, research from the Beedie School of Business argues that Petrobras’ route to becoming the global giant it is today has not necessarily involved the organization following textbook management advice when it comes to sustainable supply chains. The research argues […]

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Information and fit key to understanding outsourcing opportunities: Beedie research

Mar 7, 2013

While politicians and economic leaders continue to speak to the virtues or pitfalls of outsourcing by companies and countries, the resulting benefit or lack thereof, accrue to organizations on a case by case basis – hinging on information, resources and skills – according to new SFU research. Entitled “Understanding outsourcing contexts through information asymmetry and capability fit”, the research article was authored by Beedie professors Ian McCarthy and Jan Kietzmann, and University of Winnipeg professor […]

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Entrepreneurship competition pays dividends for BC economy: Beedie study

Mar 4, 2013

A new study by the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University makes the case for mentored entrepreneurial competition as a means to contributing to the British Columbia economy. The research report, entitled “New Ventures BC Economic Impact and Entrepreneurial Research Impact”, was co-authored by Beedie Professors Elicia Maine and Pek-Hooi Soh, and Beedie MBA alumnus Lee O’Donnell. To date, more than 1,400 aspiring B.C. entrepreneurs have entered the competition, with 36 winning major […]

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The new chief negotiator

Dec 22, 2012

How China is edging ahead in the race for natural resources in Africa. With more and more international businesses turning to Africa as a source of foreign direct investment in the natural resource industries, organizations are searching for new methods to gain an advantage over their competitors. In light of this, new research by Beedie Associate Professor Jing Li suggests that Chinese firms are benefitting from a new type of bargaining model when it comes […]

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We’re from the government and we’re here to help!

Dec 19, 2012

Can government come to the rescue of fast-growing enterprises in surging economic markets like China? In today’s high growth economies globally – China being a relative case in point – small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are confronted with a myriad of business opportunities. At the same time, they must deal with institutions and a legacy of government involvement in their domestic environments. To this end, managers there must adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and take on what […]

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Global marketing confronts the digital age

Dec 19, 2012

In March of 2011, in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, Atlanta-based insurance giant Aflac Inc. was forced to confront a marketing fiasco with global implications. The voice of their famous Aflac duck, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, had used his Twitter account to make tasteless jokes about the natural disaster that wiped out entire cities on Japan’s northeast coast. The online backlash against Gottfried’s social media outburst – and ultimately Aflac […]

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Exploring Canada’s identity as a Pacific Nation: The Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business Studies

Dec 13, 2012

The ties between Canada and Asia are becoming an increasingly important part of Canada’s economy. The Pacific Ocean has become a highway by sea and by air for Canadian commerce and is continuing to grow exponentially. It was only last summer that former member of the Canadian Senate Jack Austin encouraged Canada to embrace an identity as a Pacific country and look across the ocean to its future. It should come as no surprise, therefore, […]

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Will Brazil benefit from an increase in tourism?

Dec 13, 2012

Beedie research highlights the risks of tourism entrepreneurship. With its booming economy, investment in national infrastructure and hosting of future global events like the Summer Olympics and World Cup, Brazil is poised to enjoy healthy growth in tourism in the years ahead. Tourism boosters in that country and other emerging economies are likely to view associated entrepreneurship as a means to promoting inclusive economic growth, especially in underdeveloped regions. However, a recent study from the […]

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Beedie professor Dennis Chung measures market inefficiencies

Dec 13, 2012

Dennis Chung isn’t about to let a proliferation of computer hardware get in the way of a good study on global markets. The professor of accounting at SFU’s Beedie School of Business not only lets computer servers take up valuable space in his office – he has also allowed them to invade his home. Chung, it turns out, is collecting financial data from markets around the world and around the clock – data that is […]

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