Another year, another visit to China. My excursions to China have become far less regular than they were prior to Covid, moving away from near monthly trips. This makes each journey more intriguing and provides a time to reflect more on each trip. This trip included visits to Shandong University of Science & Technology and Nanchang Hangkong University, but first I spent some time in some of my favourite haunts in Beijing. On the afternoon of my arrival, I went to the Old and New Summer Palaces, as well as Houhai Lake. During the walk, I stopped by Jing-A to reminisce about Friday nights in the past, as well as the new Slow Boat in Liangmaqiao, which did not exist when I lived there.
Summer PalaceOld Summer PalaceJing-A
Following my time in Beijing, I travelled to Jinan to spend five days at Shandong University of Science & Technology. I’d been to Jinan numerous times before, but I tried to make time for activities I had done less often. This includes a full loop around Daming Lake and a walk to the summit of Thousand Buddha Mountain in Qianfoshan National Park. When I reached the top of the mountain, I took the luge down through the park. After a few meetings and sessions, it was offered to Nanchang via Nanjing.
Daming LakeThousand Buddha MountainQianfoshan National Park Luge
The one-night stop in Nanjing was carefully arranged to not only break up the route but also to allow me to meet up with my friend and colleague, Jun Cui. This allowed us to discuss revisions to the current paper we’re working on as well as potential future projects. After a quick lap around a few landmarks in Nanjing, it was back on the train to Nanchang.
Nanjing WaterwaysQinhuai Gate
Once in Nanchang there was lots of sights to explore alongside meetings. This included visiting the Tengwang Pavilion, one of the Three Great Towers of Southern China, Bayi Square, and August 1st Nanchang Uprising Memorial Museum. The Uprising Memorial was particularly interesting to visit the former Jiangxi Grand Hotel where the founding of the People’s Liberation Army is considered to have taken place and tour the museum next door to learn about the history. One evening we were able to take a stroll along the Gan River and watch the fountains at Autumn Water Square. Once finished in Nanchang it was off to Shanghai to fly back to London.
Tengwang PavilionAugust 1st Nanchang Uprising MemorialNanchang Uprising Memorial MuseumAutumn Water Square
After completing a British Council Connect2Innovate project with partners at Middle Eastern Technical University, I was invited as a panellist at a British Council event in Ankara to present, display, and share our work and outcomes as a successful and effective project. The project brought together industry and academia to generate a series of entrepreneurial case studies, which were augmented by entrepreneurs to transform them into ‘live’ cases. Several of the cases have since been published as open access cases at the Case Centre, and one is scheduled to be published in a Routledge book presenting cases on global entrepreneurship in practice. The event provided an opportunity to reconnect with Turkish partners and further explore Ankara after a previous visit as part of a TÜBİTAK Project. In addition to revisiting the old city, I also visited Anıtkabir, the Atatürk Mausoleum. The Anıtkabir provided stunning views on warm and clear spring morning and an informative museum, making it an ideal way to spend the final morning before flying back to the UK.
Over the course of the 2023/24 academic year, I worked with 2 students to develop and create a mini-series of videos to support doctoral researchers to reflect on how their research informs sustainability and the UN Sustainable Develop Goals (SDGs), to enable recommendations for sustainable practice. The project was funded as a Green Impact Project by the National Union of Students and led to the creation of three videos. The first video explores the benefits of linking business research to the SDGs, the second video discusses how business research can be linked to the SDGs, and the final video discusses the process of linking business research to the SDGs. Whilst, the project was focused on supporting doctoral researchers at the Worcester Business School, it might offer wider benefit to other researchers, so the videos are available on YouTube and can be accessed here. The final project audit and evaluation viewed the videos positively and the completed project was awarded with a Platinum award, one of the top national award categories.
I got the opportunity to travel to Ankara for the first time, having previously only visited areas further west. The trip was part of a project funded by TÜBİTAK the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye. The project brought together educators and social entrepreneurs to produce case studies about their experiences and journeys in order to provide context-specific teaching resources. The goal was to expand the use of student-centered teaching strategies in the entrepreneurial classroom. Following the workshops and sessions I had the opportunity to explore the city.
My colleague and I spent a couple of months developing some short videos which introduce some of the most common business research designs for the University of Worcester Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program. Research design can be tricky subject to teach and discuss; indeed, scholars cannot even agree on what it entails and some term it research strategy. A (positive) challenge that we had on the DBA was covering enough research designs to support the cohort. We started off by only discussing four research designs in detail as part the Research Design and Methods module, however, as the program grew, we found that there was a desire to adopt a wider range of research designs as part of doctoral research. This gradual expansion led to challenges adequately fitting in all the research designs people were interested in. To enable us to undertake learning activities and discuss the practical application of each research design in the classroom, we adopted a flipped classroom approach. Providing an introduction to research designs video, and then a short video giving a background and summary of nine different research designs, which offered the foundation for further discussion and application in class. The nine research designs discussed have all been utilised by doctoral researchers on Worcester’s DBA program and include case studies, narrative research, interpretative phenomenological analysis, action research, Delphi research, ethnography, Q methodology, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), and survey research. The video playlist is publicly available to support others who are interested and can be accessed here.
After nearly three years our project team successfully completed the Cross-Cultural Skills Europe (CRUSE) project. Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, some great outputs were produced which can be viewed on the project website and video and narrated case studies are hosted on the projects YouTube channel. The case studies and supporting materials covered some fascinating topics and included some interesting and iconic organisations, which has led to positive feedback and a positive final project evaluation.
Five years of delivering the Research Methods and Design module to DBA cohorts has led to the gradual development and accumulation of too much good material to include it all in the teaching time allocated. Plus, after five years the module would benefit from a refresh to ensure that it is still innovative and fits the needs of the diverse cohort. I decided to flip the classroom for a couple of core subjects, which are picked up in less detail in earlier modules and where greater application of the topic would be helpful. To support this, I recorded a mini-series of three videos on research philosophy. The first video recaps some of the key distinctions implicit within research philosophy. The second video builds on this and discusses the opposing views and assumptions held within positivism and interpretivism, and how these commonly align with data collection methods and analysis. The final video discusses four more research philosophies; realism, pragmatism, constructivism, and phenomenology, the views and implicit assumptions within each one, and the research methods and analysis they are commonly aligned with. The second topic I decided to initially cover was research design and the application of mono, multi and mixed methods research. In addition to embedding the videos in the course’s virtual learning environment, I have created and posted them on a new YouTube Channel to make them publicly available. The development of the channel is still a work in progress and the goal is to produce more videos as I continue to innovate the pedagogic delivery of the module. The current playlists can be accessed through the links below.
I am a great believer in the value of reflection, as you will see from my previous research. After six years living and working in China, Russia and Ukraine, whilst also holding down a full time job in the UK, I feel that I have learnt so much and I would like to share my reflections on what I have learnt. What I have learnt is wide ranging, relating to working in the countries I have lived and worked in, but also includes reflection about the daily experience. Some of the eclectic things I have learnt are discussed below, in no particular order:
Every Country has a Different Broom
Having lived and worked in five countries (China, Russia, Ukraine, USA, and UK) in six years, one of the things that astounds me is there is no single broom or brush for cleaning the floor. There are so many different sizes, designs, and angles. For example, the brooms in China are small and angled, whilst in Russia they are bigger and straight. But in Ukraine they are angled and tall. In the UK, I am not that familiar with brooms as most floors are carpeted, but I was a janitor for a year in Tesco and the bristles were straight. In the USA brooms have straight bristles and handles, more like the UK. But it has amazed me that every apartment we have moved into has had a different broom.
What Constitutes ‘Good’ Work
I have been surprised by the range of understanding and interpretation of what constitutes ‘good’ work, in the places I have lived and worked. I was brought up in the UK system, which like the US is task focused. Other countries are more time focused, whereby the time you spend on a task is more important than the quality of the output itself. In such cases work is scheduled around time not outputs and the time must be filled. This is different to my flexible working pattern, where I work unique hours and most people do not mind as long as I complete what needs to be done.
Economic Principles do not Always Apply in the Same Way
I found the idea that the basic economic principles that we are taught do not apply universally. I was, of course, aware of the different economic systems which exist in China, Russia, and Ukraine, but not that economic concepts that we take for granted in the UK and US do not always hold true. The most obvious way in which I saw this was in the lack of economies of scale when shopping in supermarkets. For example, if you buy a multipack of beer in Walmart or a local domestic supermarket in China you would commonly be charged for the price of an individual beer times the number of beers you have. A lack of economies of scale for the end consumer could also often be found in Ukrainian shops to a lesser degree. Of course, when broken down, it can be argued why should a multipack be cheaper than buying individual units, but I have been conditioned to believe that it should. The concept of buying many things by weight rather than by piece in Ukraine always fascinated me, as it made it harder to know what an ice cream or cake would cost. It seems logical and a more direct reflection of value, but not really consumer (or worker) friendly, as there are many more steps required.
No Multipack Discount
Single Bottles
Entrepreneurship and Informal Entrepreneurship
Whilst living overseas I have noticed a difference when it comes to how entrepreneurship and informal entrepreneurship is valued. This is probably not a surprise, but in the more developed countries I have lived and worked in I have noticed a desire to formalise entrepreneurship. Formalised entrepreneurship helps to bring in more tax revenue and benefits the wider economy. China really leads the way here, and the promotion and development of entrepreneurship really is impressive.
Public Buildings and Spaces are Impressive in Former Soviet Countries
The development of public buildings for public use in former Soviet Countries is impressive. Whilst the function within these building might not be world leading, in Moscow and Kyiv there are some wonderful public spaces. I think many countries around the world could learn from the museums, theatres, monuments, and metro systems that these cities have. The dedication to the public good is impressive.
Moscow Underground
Expocenter of Ukraine
Moscow State University’s Seven Sister
The Desire to be Different/Unique
Contrary to what the academic literature would suggest, I have found that in some societies the idea of being unique and being a ‘VIP’ is very powerful. When boarding a flight with elite status/business class ticket I like to be the last one on, to take advantage of the airport lounge and their facilities, but the power of being a VIP is very strong in some cultures. Indeed, you will often see a VIP phone number presented to the general public in some countries, which by definition means its not a VIP number if everyone has access to it. This demonstrates the power and perceived psychological benefit of being an individual in some countries.
Reserving Tables for Hours and Having no Custom
My final reflection is on the process of reserving tables in bars and restaurants and the willingness to reserve a table the whole night from 5pm through to 1am, even when the reservation is only for 9pm through to 1pm. Whilst this in part probably comes from living in the centre of three expensive cities, where many exclusive and luxury hangouts exist, it underlined to me the importance and value of having a booking somewhere and it being at an ‘it’ place. It also always seemed strange that venues would turn away custom when they had a booking three hours later. I would often have to convince servers to let me stand in a corner or at the bar to have a quick snack and drink at 5pm because they had tables booked later that night. In this context I am sure it came largely from the balance between the local wages and the food and drink on offer, and therefore reservations being so valuable. I will always remember sitting in odd corners of completely empty bars and restaurants which remained empty until much later in the evening when I would be home in bed.
Empty Bars
Empty Restaurants
The Value of Wealth and Money
The value of wealth and money and the willingness to display it, is different in the countries I have lived in. In some countries legitimacy is given to those with wealth, whilst in others wealth is held but not explicitly displayed. We have been gifted the wonderful opportunity to live in the city centres of Beijing, Moscow, Washington DC, and Kyiv. In all of these cities Washington DC had the least sports cars and roaring engines. In fairness, maybe American wealth does not come to DC, but rather New York, San Francisco, LA or even the Finger Lakes.
Logistics are impressive and redesigned for the Context in China and Ukraine
I was always amazed by the efficiency of Chinese and Ukrainian distribution companies. The Chinese logistics system is amazing, but the Ukrainian system is also good. These systems always highlighted the inefficiency in the UK and USA systems, possibly related to latecomer advantages.
Collaboration
I have found that the concept of collaboration is different in every country and maybe, not so surprisingly, is influenced by institutional direction. I have worked and collaborated with top universities in China, Russia, and Ukraine, and each has had a different outlook when it comes to collaboration. I have previously mentioned how beneficial I have found collaboration with Chinese colleagues, but I have learnt collaboration is impacted so much by national policies and directives.
Collaborations
More Collaborations
People Relate to the Same Brands Differently in Different Countries
The importance of branding and how people relate to it and perceive brands was demonstrated to me by living to numerous countries. It is a common adage that organisations want to standardize their brands and balance their product adaptation and standardization, but when living in several very different countries it is easy to see that this is potentially more challenging than I first realised. It is easy to see brands and what they stand for as one entity, but marketers have limited control of how individuals view and perceive their brands, so brands are often viewed differently in different countries. Plus, often when brands are viewed one way in a particular country, it is often easier to run with it, than to try and realign and contradict peoples’ current perceptions.
Big American cars in Russia and Ukraine
I was always amazed by the number of big US cars in Moscow and Kyiv. There were many more big US SUVs in Moscow and Kyiv than you would find in Western Europe. I don’t know whether this is related to the demand for US vehicles or the driving conditions being more like the snowy US winter roads, but the driving and traffic felt much more like being in a US city, rather than a European one.
Not really relevant to my point, but I wanted to showcase this 4×4 Lada
Amid the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic, I found time to complete the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) Research Supervision Recognition application. The programme sets a benchmark for good practice in research supervision and provides recognition of good research supervisory practice, recognised by a national body.
The programme and the associated framework is focused on ten criteria which are: The recruitment and selection of research students; good supervisory relationships with candidates: good supervisory relationships with co-supervisors; supporting candidates’ research projects; encouraging candidates to write and giving appropriate feedback; keeping the research on track and monitoring progress; supporting candidates’ personal, professional and career development; supporting candidates through completion and final examination; supporting candidates to disseminate their research; and finally, reflecting upon and enhancing supervisory practice. I developed an application around these ten criteria in which I identified and evidenced my supervisory good practice. It offered an opportunity to explain, justify, and underpin my practice with contemporary literature, and also speak to previous doctoral students that I have supported in order to seek their views of practice and support. Completing the process highlighted to me how diverse my experience has been, supporting numerous different projects in a range of research areas and how diverse the backgrounds of those that I have supported have been. I have supported students from China, Vietnam, Switzerland and Germany to completion and I am currently supervising students from China, Nigeria, Ghana, Oman, Germany and Italy.
I received a positive outcome to my application, so I am now a UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor. The process and feedback were somewhat uplifting. It was nice to read the positive feedback, which concluded:
“It is no surprise that you have twice been shortlisted for the Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Award at your university. Without hesitation, this application satisfies all criteria. It was a pleasure to review.”
It was nice to read this, after so much striving to get papers published in journals, leading to reviewers saying ok, reasonable or acceptable for publication. It is nice to receive a positive and uplifting review, in such a challenging time.
After eighteen months in Kyiv, which has been busy working on numerous projects and outputs, I managed to finally undertake some teaching. Despite this being, the first time teaching in Kyiv I have previously gone to several universities for meetings, but it is always nice to actually engage and interact with a student cohort. Despite living and interacting within a culture, engaging in an education system always helps you to understand the culture more. I delivered an entrepreneurship class to journalism students at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The class focused on highlighting the difference between management and entrepreneurship and I sought to demonstrate this using the classic jigsaw and patchwork quilt activity. This was rather challenging given the class had approximately 120 students, and the students were more familiar with traditional didactic teaching methods, but I always like a challenge and the key learning points seemed to transfer to the cohort. Unfortunately, the closure of the public schools and universities the following week due to the spread of Corona Virus, curtailed any additional teaching this semester, but it is always nice to engage with a new cohort even if only for a short while.
Robin Bell 