Academic Writing

Over the past 16 years, Ian has used historical research as an aid to better understand business practice, while at the same time advancing theory. Using an entrepreneurship framework, he has published in areas such as corporate strategy, business lifecycles, commodity chain theory, altruism, management practice, social capital, migration, and retailing. Ian's present research continues this theme with an explicit focus on innovation, distilling lessons for present day firms based on an investigation of the practices of international innovators over the past 300 years.

Below are some examples of his academic writing: