Centre for Evolution of Global Business and Institutions (CEGBI)

The Centre for Evolution of Global Business and Institutions (CEGBI) aims to carry out groundbreaking research which will foster a better understanding of how business and institutions succeed in a global economy.

About CEGBI

Established in January 2009, CEGBI is a research centre in the School for Business and Society at the University of York. The centre aims to carry out groundbreaking research which will foster a better understanding of how business and institutions succeed in a global economy. By developing a better understanding of the relationship between past and the present, the aim is to draw lessons that help business and policy makers in more informed decision making and address grand challenges. It draws on an eclectic approach, both in terms of research topics and methodologies used. A distinctive characteristic of the members of the centre is their emphasis on international business, business and economic history, global marketing, ethics and social enterprise.

Highlights

CEGBI Seminar

‘Social Entrepreneurs As Ecosystem Catalysts: The Dynamics Of Forming And Withdrawing From A Self-Sustaining Ecosystem’

24th April 2024, 12:00-13:30, Church Lane Building Seminar Room 025 (CL/A/025)

Creating long-lasting impact is one of the defining goals of social entrepreneurship. Yet, social entrepreneurs often face a dilemma between sustaining their organization and offering a permanent fix to a social problem. We question the assumption that organizational permanence and growth are intrinsically desirable for social entrepreneurs and propose an alternative, an inductively grounded model of ecosystem leadership, which we term ecosystem catalysis. Through a single case study of social entrepreneurs addressing diarrhea-related infant deaths in Zambia, we conceptualize ecosystem catalysis as a process through which an organization forms an ecosystem around a new value proposition while gradually making itself redundant and ultimately withdrawing without compromising the ecosystem’s functioning. Our workcontributes to ecosystem literature by contrasting the key aims and mechanisms of an ecosystem catalyst to those of an orchestrator, and identifying the conditions under which catalyzing may be a better choice than orchestrating an ecosystem. We contribute to social entrepreneurship literature by decoupling social impact from organizational growth and permanence and presenting a more dynamic model of social impact resulting from distributed contributions in ecosystems.

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Professor Tyrone Pitsis, School for Business and Society

Tyrone Pitsis is a Professor of Strategy and recently joined York from Durham University. His research focus is on behavioural strategy in complex projects, and he is currently studying possibility thinking in strategy formulation and execution. He was educated at the University of New South Wales (BSocSc (Psych), and the University of Technology, Sydney (PhD). He has published in a range of journals in management and in project management (Organization Science, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Organization Studies, Human Relations, Journal of Management Studies, Business History, California Management Review, and International Journal of Project Management amongst others). Tyrone is a fellow of the World Commerce and Contracting Association and has been a recipient of several awards including the Emerald Science Citation of Excellence and an award for his leadership of the Practice Theme Committee of the Academy of Management. In a previous life, Tyrone Pitsis was an executive chef.

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CEGBI Seminar

‘Use and adaptation of corporate lean programs to respond to extreme disruption and crisis’

15th May 2024, 12:30-14:00, Church Lane Building Boardroom (CL/A/103)

This research examines whether and how Corporate Lean Programs (CLPs) can be adapted to respond to extreme disruption and crisis. We do this through study of the role and utility of an established CLP in a sector severely impacted by a crisis, healthcare. During the Covid-19 pandemic, using a combination of non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews, we studied five hospitals with established CLPs to understand if and if so, how each used the routines associated with the CLP in their efforts to manage the crisis. We find all five organizations were using and adapting their CLP in similar ways. We propose three inter-related themes that explain how and why an established CLP enabled the five organizations to respond to the crisis. See full event details below.

Presented by Professor Nicola Burgess, School for Business and Society

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CEGBI Summer Conference 2024

‘Tackling Grand Challenges: Informing progress and shaping change in business and society’

9th September 2024, Church Lane Building

Call for Abstracts

The Centre for Evolution of Global Business and Institutions (CEGBI) as part of the School for Business and Society (SBS), University of York, invites you to participate in the 2024 Summer Conference, taking place Monday 9th September 2024.

The conference provides an interdisciplinary forum for research and teaching across the school and beyond, to promote dialogue, discuss work in progress with an interdisciplinary audience, and to support research and teaching collaboration on topics associated with tackling ‘Grand Challenges’ in business and society.

Keynote Speaker: Anna Coote, Principal Fellow, New Economics Foundation

While papers and panels focused directly on the theme are most welcome, any other research topics that are ongoing by colleagues in the school are also welcome. All members of staff in the School for Business and Society (SBS) are invited to participate, as well as all PhD students, and associate members, both internal and external to the university. Contributions are also welcome from researchers from other departments at the University of York with broad interests related to the interdisciplinary theme of the conference.

For full details on the event, topics and themes, please click below:

Full Event Details

Abstract submissions up to 200 words can be uploaded on the following website platform by 17:00 hours, Monday, 03/06/2024.

Deposit your abstract here