The winners of the Gunnar Hedlund Award 2015-2016 have been announced

In 1997 the Boards of the Institute of International Business (IIB) at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), and the European International Business Academy (EIBA) decided to launch a new international award for best PhD thesis in the field of International Business, the Gunnar Hedlund Award. The prize sum amounts to €10,000.

The prize is awarded to the work that in the opinion of the jury has the greatest potential to impact the field of International Business in the future. Both theoretical and empirical contributions are appropriate. Emphasis is put on creativity and originality.

The Chairman of the jury, Professor Udo Zander remarks:
“The idea behind the award is that it should act as a vehicle to stimulate PhD candidates around the world in the field of International Business, and also to commemorate SSE Professor Gunnar Hedlund’s important work in the field”.

The following four finalists (out of 26 contenders) presented their dissertations at the EIBA annual meeting in Vienna, Austria, last week:

• Mikael Eriksson, (Uppsala University, Sweden), ‘The Complex Internationalization Process Unfolded’
• Jacqueline Mees-Buss, (University of Sydney, Australia) ‘Multinationals in Transition: Unilever´s response to the demand for Corporate Social Responsibility in a changing world‘
• Carlos Rodriguez, (McGill University, Montreal, Canada) ‘Global Subunit: an organizational perspective’
• Michael A Sartor, (Western University, London, Canada) ‘Essays on the Relationship between Foreign Market Corruption and Multinational Enterprise Strategy’

The two winners that share this year’s award are Jacqueline Mees-Buss, (University of Sydney) and Carlos Rodriguez, (McGill University)

Jacqueline Mees-Buss is awarded the Gunnar Hedlund Award 2015-2016 for her outstanding, highly original piece of work. The dissertation features a critical, self-reflexive writing style in her captive story of changes in Unilever over time, and is a well-crafted interesting re-conceptualization of the MNC as the Neo Global Corporation.

Carlos Rodriguez is awarded the Gunnar Hedlund Award 2015-2016 for his outstanding dissertation, which is original, well crafted, and shows good empirical work and practical results. His work addresses an increasingly important phenomenon in the international business world, and uses a variety of methods and theoretical perspectives to improve our understanding of it.

For more information, please contact:

Agneta Carlin
Department of Marketing and Strategy
Phone:+46-8-736 9632
E-mail: agneta.carlin@hhs.se