Asia Business Research Centre

The Asia Business Research Centre (ABRC) was officially founded within Kingston Business School in September 2002. The Centre acts as the centre of excellence for Internationalisation Strategy and wider International Business Research in Asia within the Business School and is linked mainly to the Department of Strategy, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. The members in the Centre have particularly strong expertise in East/South-East Asia and China, and currently receive research funding from:

• British Council
• The Faculty of Business and Law at Kingston University
• UK Government\'s DTI (KTP) Scheme

Funding for UK-India doctoral research is available from UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI).

There is a strong focus on the emergence of China and the continuing role of South East Asia in global economic development. Research projects currently being undertaken include:

• The influence of Chinese philosophy on management and cultural studies
• Collaboration and innovation in China’s Science Parks (this research project is carried out in collaboration with the Pudong Government in China)
• Comparison of cultural influences in management of family firms in Asia and Europe
• Effective evaluation of FDI projects
• Retail internationalisation strategies in Asia, especially in China

Since its establishment, the ABRC has been successful in obtaining British Council monies for undertaking research into China’s science parks and its relationships with universities in effecting knowledge transfer. In 2003, the ABRC also entered into an agreement with the Pudong Office of Science and Technology in China with the aim of collaborating on staff exchanges and research. Its first Chinese exchange visit took place in Autumn 2003 and the visitor from Pudong Office of Science and Technology stayed and worked with the research unit for six months.

Aims and Objectives of ABRC

ABRC has two overarching aims:

• Internally, to act as the centre of excellence for the continuation of and further development of research related to Asia within Kingston Business School, and to help the School to achieve external visibility with expertise in International Business/Strategy
• To develop advance professional knowledge and standards in the field of International Business/Strategy with particular reference to South/South-East Asia and China; and hence provide training/consultation with high quality and relevance to parties interested/involved in doing business in these geographical domains.

The immediate activity-based objectives for ABRC are:

• For each member to undertake high quality research and develop cutting edge knowledge in various areas related to internationalisation in/to Asia
• To establish visible research links with at least two centres in East/South East Asia, for example, one in China and one in South East Asia outside China (the PRC)
• To obtain further external funding to support its work
• All members to have at least one refereed article accepted annually.