2023 Network Awards – Emerging, Scholarly Research
Judges’ comments
The panel noted that the research is a significant innovation of existing international business frameworks through international collaboration. Innovation was evident in the automation of data collection to conduct large-scale analysis of digital ventures. There was substantial evidence for the scholarly excellence of the research, including recognition in scholarly publications, awards, and securing significant research funding.
The initiative
The research explains how small ventures, or even individuals, can leverage digital technologies to establish global businesses that were previously possible for large multi-national companies (MNCs) only.
It revisits and revamps international business (IB) theories and frameworks to incorporate the burgeoning context of modern digital innovations and digital entrepreneurship.
While IB research has traditionally focused on large multinational corporations (MNCs) that gradually expand to new countries via massive foreign direct investments (FD), Noman Shaheer proposes that small digital ventures that can join digital platforms to instantly access global markets do not fit in these traditional theoretical frameworks.
Instead, he has developed new theories to understand the unique internationalisation process and strategies of digital ventures.
In particular, the research shows how digital ventures tap global markets since inception by leveraging digital platforms to access suppliers, partners, and customers instead of building complicated global supply chains, and centrally managing their global operations via advanced technologies like blockchains instead of creating international subsidiaries.
International trajectories of digital ventures are better theorised through developing a unique framework of novel entry modes, which explains how digital ventures explore and exploit various resources to enter new countries.
The results show how digital ventures explore new financial resources using crowdfunding and blockchain platforms, explore new capabilities by establishing innovation outposts in foreign countries that require much less resources than regular FDI, and exploit their technological expertise by joining globally accessible platforms to virtually access customers worldwide.
Measurable outcomes
In the four years post PhD, Noman has published three papers in FT-50 journals, two in other ABDC A*, and 3 in ABDC A journals. 83% of Noman’s publications are in the top 10% journals based on source normalized impact per paper. This is three times the Australian average and five times the global average. He is also the lead guest editor at the IB journal, JIBS.
The research is also among the top cited globally, with an average of 22 citations per publication. Noman’s field-weighted citation impact is 3.72, 131% higher than Australian average and 268.3% higher than global average. 57% of his publications are among top 10% globally in citations, almost 3.5 times above the Australian average and more than 5.5 times the global average.
An article in JIBS (2019) is among the top 2% and the other in JBV (2020) is among the top 1% of globally cited articles.
He is the first Australian to win several highly competitive global awards. These include the:
- Buckley & Casson Best Dissertation Award
- AOM International Management Division Best Dissertation Award
- The Lazaridis Award for the best paper at JBV, an FT-50 journal
- AIB/Temple Best Paper Award
- Alan Rugman Most Promising Scholar Award
Noman is Chair of IM Division Research Resource Committee.
He has recently established a special interest group on Digital Globalization at AIB, securing seed funding of USD 10,000 to promote research on digital globalisation.
