Home > Faculty > Research Excellence

Research Excellence


 

Innovation is the lifeblood of any enterprise in competitive, global markets. Becoming innovative – which means developing new products and services or new ways of doing business -- is one of the top priorities of today’s CEO.

The D'Amore-McKim School of Business has a long history of innovation – from designing unique and innovative degree programs for students to undertaking leading-edge research with strong implications for practitioners to teaching executives how to create more innovative firms. Innovation serves as a thread integrating our research, teaching, and partnership activities.

Research Focus

The D'Amore-McKim School of Business takes a broad and interdisciplinary approach to innovation research. Our faculty explores different types of innovations including market, technological, organizational, process, and business model innovations. As well, they examine innovations with various levels of newness and uncertainty ranging from incremental and next generation to disruptive. Finally, faculty investigates innovation from a variety of functional perspectives including Marketing, International Business, Strategy, Accounting, Information Systems, and Organizational Behavior.

Teaching Innovation

Our students in the Full Time, Evening, High Tech, and Executive MBA programs all take at least one innovation-related core course as part of their degree requirements. This fundamental course provides students with a deep understanding of the challenges and processes for harnessing technological innovation for new-business development and enterprise growth.

At the undergraduate level, we are in the process of launching a new undergraduate focus area in Corporate Innovation that will provide interested students with the knowledge and tools necessary for creating, developing and launching new products, services, and businesses within large corporations. This is in addition to our successful undergraduate concentration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation which helps students develop the skills needed to work effectively within a small business or to start or acquire and manage a business of their own.

Corporate Partnerships

Many of our corporate partners including Akamai, Bose, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Fidelity, IBM, Mars, Nokia, Procter & Gamble: Gillette, and W.R. Grace hire our undergraduate and graduate students for innovation-related positions. In addition, our faculty have developed and implemented a number of Executive Education programs focusing on innovation for EMC, IBM, Mars, BAE Systems, and The MathWorks.

 

Global business is a distinctive competence of the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and is a center of excellence. Our internationally recognized faculty conduct research in the broad domain of global business on issues of managerial and academic importance. We focus our research on emerging markets, global innovation management, company globalization strategies and global governance. Our international faculty include individuals who are ranked at the top of their fields; individuals who have lived and worked abroad; who have international industry experience; who serve on the editorial boards of leading academic journals; and who consult to major international corporations. In addition our faculty are leaders in international business education and of major academic associations. The School’s case writing program, the NU Case Series, produces case studies focused on international business issues and/or technology intensive companies.

A global orientation infuses our educational programs as well as our research. The Bachelor of Science in International Business (BSIB) program is a unique and innovative program and is ranked 13th in the United States. This specialized degree program offers students an opportunity to study and work overseas in the language of the host country, building upon Northeastern University's long-established strengths as one of the originators of cooperative education. BSIB graduates minor in foreign languages, international affairs, or Asian studies. The global On-line MBA attracts participants from around the world and offers dedicated sections for select IBM employees in India. In addition, the School offers a Masters in International Management program in conjunction with our European partner schools and a Masters of Science in International Business. Our undergraduates regularly participate in international case competitions and recently won a prestigious case competition at the Stockholm School of Economics.

 

Effective governance is at the heart of every well run, ethical business and nonprofit organization. Ensuring appropriate corporate governance, which considers the systems through which firms operate to protect the rights of various stakeholders, is a key priority for boards of directors, CEOs, and financial and government regulators/policy makers. Northeastern’s D'Amore-McKim School of Business not only values corporate governance as an important feature of the corporate world, but highly regards those faculty members who pursue research and teaching endeavors relating to the topic. Further illustrating the governance knowledge among our faculty is the number currently or previously involved in serving on the board of directors for both public companies and commissions.

Research Focus

The School takes a broad, multidisciplinary approach regarding corporate governance research, with publications in leading journals and books. In their scholarly pursuits, our faculty draw upon the fields of accounting, economics, finance, international business, organizational behavior, strategic management, and law. Some faculty pursue research that focuses on disclosure and accounting rules and on the regulatory requirements of company and board audit committees. Others explore the capital market rules governing equity investments for the protection of outside shareholders. The interrelationship of management, the board of directors, owners and other stakeholders is also a subject of research.

Teaching Emphasis

The D'Amore-McKim School of Business faculty collectively educate our students in corporate governance; incorporating subjects such as board roles, ethics, financial reporting, and investing. All undergraduate and graduate students are exposed to effective governance practice, beginning with required classes in financial accounting and culminating in the capstone strategy course. These courses particularly discuss the role of the board of directors as it relates to representing owners and other stakeholders, while meeting national and international regulatory requirements. Additionally, our students in the MS in Accounting (MSA) and the MSA/MBA all complete a course in corporate governance. All students may take elective offerings such as: Issues in Corporate Governance, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Portfolio Management, which further explore important governance issues.

  • Northeastern named a top university for innovation management

    Northeastern University and three of its business scholars have been recognized for their contributions to the field of innovation management. The new study, published in the Journal of Product Innovation Management, named Northeastern one of the world’s top 10 universities in this relatively young field of research that examines the development of new ideas, products or procedures in any area of business.


    Read the full story here