SME Forum; Exploring Doing Business Internationally

24th May 2017

This event is for SMEs and entrepreneurs who have started working internationally.

Do you want to talk about the challenges of doing business internationally? Angst, navigating new cultures and friendship, it's a complex and individual route that we want to understand more. From confidence to connections, capabilities and even corruption this forum is an opportunity to discuss the realities of internationalising a small to medium sized enterprise (SME). Whether you're just embarking on international trade or have an established global network, a group of researchers in international business from the University of Sheffield's Management School want to hear from you over lunch and an open discussion forum on 15 June from 1-4pm. We're interested in the informal, the stuff that doesn't make your annual report from conversations, to experiences and emotions. This will help us to design a new research project that will ultimately benefit SMEs. In return for your time and contribution, we'll send you a post-event summary and be in touch later this year with the opportunity to collaborate on a research project. The researchers: Melanie Hassett specialises in internationalisation strategies, and mergers and acquisitions. She is also interested in organisational change, emotions and cultural differences. Marian Jones's academic career began in Zimbabwe where she developed her interest in internationalisation. Over a long career her research has focused on development in high-tech sectors, particularly in new ventures and start-ups. Martina McGuinness began her career as a commercial insurance broker and liability investigator and now is focused on researching business risk and SMEs. She has worked with a number of SMEs on previous projects. Junzhe Ji is a lecturer in international business and has recently joined Sheffield after time in Scottish and Chinese universities. He is interested in international decision-making, the deviant behaviours of Chinese SME owners, and culture. Karl Warner from Edinburgh Napier University will also attend and contribute he is currently researching how SMEs create social capital through networking, locally and nationally. Event programme: Inox Dine (5th floor of Sheffield Students' Union) 1pm Delicious lunch for attendees and organisers, opportunity to start informal discussions 2pm Launch of the forum, discussion facilitated by project leads 3:30pm Questions and summary 4pm Close Please register by 4 June 2017.  CLICK HERE to register