31 Jul 2024

News 2024

International Research Award for Graduate House PhD Student

Invitation to participate in research

Ines Wen is one of only five scholars world-wide to be chosen for an international research award from the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR) based within the University of Cambridge Press. IACMR is an academic organization that serves scholars, students and businesses promoting organization and management research. The association has over 14,000 registered contacts from almost 100 countries and its mission has an emphasis on ethics, rigor, relevance, and impact in the Chinese context. The objectives of active idea exchanges, closer cooperation and collaboration, and advancement of excellent scholarship, define its appeal to international scholars.

[Pictured above (credit – Linda Zhang): Ines presents one of the Chinese and culture tutorials at Graduate House.]

The Kwok Leung Memorial Dissertation Fund was created to commemorate the life and work of Professor Kwok Leung and to continue his mission of supporting young scholars. This fund is intended to assist PhD students who need financial support to collect data for their dissertations. It is open to all doctoral students conducting research in Chinese Management.

The five 2024 winners come from Zhejiang University, City University of Hong Kong, University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and Ines from The University of Sydney.

Ines is enrolled in the USYD Business School and her thesis is How Disruption Catalyses the Innovation Process in Chinese State-Owned Enterprises in Global Contexts. She credited the Graduate House Dean’s academic writing instruction gained during Dr Antone Martinho-Truswell’s Academic Writing Seminar at the end of Semester 1 for gaining recognition for her dissertation. After the seminar she amended her thesis proposal and this resulted in her selection for the award. Ines states:

Most literature regards disruption as a negative complexity in organizations, but I consider it in another way, and contend that disruption can be a source of innovation or a catalyst to drive innovation. My chosen case is the second largest hotel chain worldwide, which has experienced a number of disruptions in the past century leading to subsequent innovations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company established its Global Innovation Centre and initiated several new activities. My research focuses on the innovation process from ideation and development to implementation and commercialization.

In an online format I will invite friends to share their journey from researchers to business entrepreneurs. All Paulines are welcome to join. (Those interested in participating should contact Richard Morgan, Director of Community engagement at the College).

‘The Great Wave of Kanagawa’ (1831) is used by Ines to illustrate how disruption triggers innovation using the metaphors contained in the image for management and organisational structures.