Dr Ayse Saka-Helmhout

Biography

Prior to joining the Surrey Business School in 2007, Ayse worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Business and Management, as well as a Research Fellow in the Department of International Economics and Business, University of Groningen, the Netherlands. She holds a PhD from Warwick Business School. She has been a visiting scholar at BI Norwegian Business School and John Molson School of Business, Concordia University at which she is also a member of the Montreal Local Global Research Group.

Ayse’s research focuses on the nature of the relationship between MNEs and their institutional environments to advance debates on institutional change. Her work highlights how MNEs respond to institutional complexity through translation and situated practice-based learning processes. She has published on these issues in journals such as Organization Studies, British Journal of Management, Journal of World Business, Management Learning and  Management International Review. She serves as a Senior Editor for Organization Studies and is on the editorial board of British Journal of Management. 

Ayse welcomes submissions to a special issue that she is co-editing with Royston Greenwood and Richard Deeg on 'The MNE as a Challenge to Institutional Theory: Key Concepts, Recent Developments and Empirical Evidence' for the Journal of Management Studies with a submission deadline of 1 May  2013. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-6486

Research Interests

Ayse is happy to consider PhD applications in the following areas:

• Knowledge transfer and organisational learning in international settings
• Subsidiary capability development under home and host institutional influences
• Strategic responses of MNEs to institutional complexity
• Institutional influences on the internationalisation processes of emerging market firms

Ayse's work highlights the micro processes of social agency where MNEs face institutional complexity or contradictions between home and host contexts (as illustrated by e.g. her 2011 Management International Review paper). These processes include translation of practices (e.g. 2004 Organization Studies; 2010 Critical Perspectives on International Business), situated learning (e.g. 2007 British Journal of Management; 2010 Journal of World Business), practice-based learning (e.g. 2009 and 2013 Management Learning), and social interaction that links individual- to organizational-level absorptive capacity (2012 British Journal of Management).

Research Collaborations

Ayse's interest in agency and institutional change in MNEs has fed into various international activities such as a Standing Work Group sub-theme (2012) at EGOS on the 'Recent developments in institutional theory: The challenge posed by MNEs', and a project (2010-2012) on the organisational responses to contradicting institutional logics in the European airline industry. The latter project was developed within ICAROS (International Consortium for Airline Research in Organization Studies) set up by Prof Arndt Sorge (University of Potsdam) that examines the changes in the institutional context of the aviation industry. 

Ayse is, at present, principally responsible for the activities in the UK of a project that is coordinated by Dr. Jon Erland Lervik and funded by the Norwegian Research Council and partner firms for £875,000 (2011-2014) to investigate market and institutional pressures on internationalisation and strategic initiatives in the Norwegian maritime industry. More information on this project can be found at

Publications

2014

Saka-Helmhout, A., Greenwood, R., and R. Deeg (2014). Guest editorial on "The MNE as a challenge to institutional theory: Key concepts, recent developments and empirical evidence”, Journal of Management Studies, forthcoming.

2013

Hotho, J., Saka-Helmhout, A. and F. Becker-Ritterspach (2013). “Bringing context and structure back into situated learning”, Management Learning, forthcoming. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350507612468420

2012

Heijltjes, M. G., Saka-Helmhout, A. and A. van Witteloostuijn (2012). Guest editorial on “How universal are the nature and process of strategy? A special issue in honour of Arndt Sorge”, Journal of Strategy and Management, 5(2), pp. 120-123. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1755-425X&volume=5&issue=2&PHPSESSID=hbdh8p35iv03h0tkh6miofuco5>
 

Hotho, J., Becker-Ritterspach, F. and A. Saka-Helmhout (2012). “Enriching absorptive capacity through social interaction”, British Journal of Management, forthcoming. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2011.00749.x

2011

Saka-Helmhout, A. and M. Geppert (2011). ‘Different forms of agency and institutional influences within multinational enterprises’, Management International Review, 51(5), pp. 567-592.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11575-011-0091-2

Zander, L., Mockaitis, A. I, Harzing, A.-W. and 21 collaborators including Saka-Helmhout, A. (2011). ‘Standardization and contextualization: A study of language and leadership across 17 countries’, Journal of World Business, 46(3), pp. 296-304. [An earlier version was nominated for the Carolyn Dexter and finalist for the AoM IM Division Best Paper Awards]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.009

Saka-Helmhout, A.  (2011). “Learning from the periphery: Beyond the transnational model”, Critical Perspectives on International Business, 7(1), pp. 48-65. [selected as the Highly Commended Award Winner at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2012]  http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17422041111103831

2010

Becker-Ritterspach, F., Saka-Helmhout, A. and J. J. Hotho (2010). “Practice transfer in MNEs as the socially-embedded translation of practices”, Critical Perspectives on International Business, 6(1), pp. 8-37. [selected as the Highly Commended Award Winner at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2011] http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17422041011017603

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2010). 'Organisational learning as situated routine-based activity in international settings', Journal of World Business, 45(1), pp. 41-48 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2009.04.009

2009

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2009). “Multinational corporation learning as an agency-based activity”, Management Learning, 40(3), pp. 259-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350507609104339

Harzing, A.-W. K. and 26 collaborators including A. Saka-Helmhout (2009). ‘Ranking versus rating: What is the best way to reduce response and language bias in cross-national research?’, International Business Review, 18(4), pp. 417-432.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2009.03.001

2007
Saka-Helmhout, A. (2007). “Unravelling learning within multinational corporations”, British Journal of Management, 18(3), pp. 294-310. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2007.00513.x

2006
Saka-Helmhout, A. and E. Karabulut (2006). “Institutional barriers to entrepreneurship in clusters: Evidence from the Turkish textile sector”, International Journal of Emerging Markets, 1(2), pp. 128-146 [presented the Highly Commended Paper award at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2007].http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17468800610658307

Wezel, F. C. and A. Saka-Helmhout (2006). “Antecedents and consequences of organizational change: ‘Institutionalizing’ the behavioral theory of the firm”, Organization Studies, 27(2), pp. 265-286.http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840605057670 

2005

Harzing, A.-W.K., and 31 collaborators including Saka, A. (2005). “Does the use of English-language questionnaires in cross-national research obscure national differences”, International Journal of Cross-cultural Management, 5(2), pp. 213-224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1470595805054494 

2004
Saka, A. (2004). “The cross-national diffusion of work systems: The translation of Japanese operations in the UK”, Organization Studies, 25(2), pp. 217-236.http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840604040036

2003
Saka, A. (2003). “Internal change agents’ view of the management of change problem”, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 16(5), pp. 480-496.http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09534810310494892

2002
Saka, A. (2002). “Institutional limits to the internalization of work systems: A comparative study of three Japanese MNCs in the UK”, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 8(3), pp. 251-275.http://ssrn.com/abstract=1476323

Saka, A. (2002). “Multiple paths to adoption: The role of actors in the appropriation of Japanese work systems”, Asian Business and Management, 1(3), pp.353-372. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.abm.9200023

Kubo, I. and A. Saka (2002). “An inquiry into the motivations of knowledge workers in the Japanese financial industry”, Journal of Knowledge Management, 6(3), pp. 262-271. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13673270210434368

2001
Kubo, I., Saka, A. and S. L. Pan (2001). “Behind the scenes of knowledge sharing in a Japanese bank”, Human Resource Development International, 4(4), pp. 465-485. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13678860010025418

Books

2003
Saka, A. (2003). Cross-national Appropriation of Work Systems: Japanese Firms in the UK. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=B7jAO-Ga1s8C&lpg=PA1&ots=Ft6l2h6G7q&dq=Ayse%20Saka&lr&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Book Chapters/Cases

2013

Saka-Helmhout, A. (forthcoming). 'Critical realism and international comparative case research', in P. Edwards, J. O'Mahoney and S. Vincent (eds), Explaining Management and Organisation Using Critical Realism: A Practical Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

2011

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2011). “Comparative Historical Analysis in international management research”, in R. Piekkari and C. Welch (eds.), Rethinking the Case Study in International Business and Management Research, pp. 383-407. Chelthenham: Edward Elgar.

2010

Saka-Helmhout, A. and F. Becker-Ritterspach (2010). “Case study: Akzo Nobel”, in L. A. Costanzo, G. G. Dess, G. T. Lumpkin and A. B. Eisner (eds.), Strategic Management: Text and Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill.

2005
Saka, A. (2005). “Nissera UK: Making sense of Japanese work systems” in M. Ozbilgin (ed.), International Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, pp. 27-32. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Book Reviews

2010

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2010). Review of “Knowledge Sharing among Scientists”, Journal of International Business Studies, 41(2),http://www.jibs.net

2007

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2007). Review of “Global, National, and Local Practices in Multinational Companies”, Organization Studies, 28(2), pp. 263-268.

2006

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2006). Review of “Organizational Knowledge in the Making: How Firms Create, Use and Institutionalize Knowledge”, Journal of International Management, 12(1), pp. 127-130.

Conference Papers

2012

Saka-Helmhout, A., Becker-Ritterspach, F., Lange, K. and M. Geppert (2012). “Organizational Responses to Contradicting Institutions in the European Airline Industry”, presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Boston, Massachusetts, USA, August 3-7.

2010

Saka-Helmhout, A., Becker-Ritterspach, F. and J. Hotho (2010). “Unleashing Agency in Institutionally Diverse Settings”, presented at the 26th EGOS Colloquium, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, July 1-3.

2009

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2009a). “Agency within Institutionally-Embedded MNCs”, presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Chicago, Illinois, USA, August 7-11.

Becker-Ritterspach, F., Saka-Helmhout, A. and J. Hotho (2009). “The Institutional Embeddedness of Learning in MNEs”, presented at the 25th EGOS Colloquium, ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Spain, July 2-4.

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2009b). “Comparative Historical Analysis in International Management Research”, presented at the Academy of International Business-UKI, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, April 2-4.

2008
Saka-Helmhout, A. (2008a). “Systematising Case Study Research in Cross-national Contexts”, to be presented at the 24th EGOS Colloquium, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 10-12.

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2008b). “The Interplay between MNE Organization and the Host Institutional Context and Practice-Based Subsidiary Learning”, Organizational Learning, Knowledge, and Capabilities Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, April 28-30.

2007
Saka-Helmhout, A. and R. P. Sahib (2007). “Organizational Risk Taking in Times of Institutional Stability and Change”, presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, August 3-8.

Geppert, M. and A. Saka-Helmhout (2007). “Organizational Learning in the MNC: The Role of Agency, Organization Design and Institutional Contexts”, presented at the 23rd EGOS Colloquium, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna, Austria, July 5-7.

2006
Saka-Helmhout, A. (2006a). “Unravelling Learning within Multinational Corporations”, presented at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE), IAAEG, University of Trier, Germany, June 30-July 2.

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2006b). “Multinational Corporation Learning as a Routine-Based Activity”, presented at the Academy of International Business (AIB) Conference, Beijing, China, June 23-26.

Saka-Helmhout, A. (2006c). “Multinational Corporation Learning as a Routine-Based Activity: Linking Knowledge Transfer to the Institutionalization of Acquired Knowledge”, presented at the International Conference on Organizational Learning, Knowledge, and Capabilities (OLKC), University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, March 20-22.

2005
Saka-Helmhout, A. (2005). “Institutional and Organizational Influences on Learning within Multinational Corporations”, presented at the 3rd Annual JIBS/AIB/CIBER/ERIM/ Invitational Conference on Emerging Research Frontiers in International Business (nominated for the JIBS Frontiers Award, cash prize of EUR 2500 and a commemorative plaque), Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, September 28-October 1. [Shortlisted for publication in a Palgrave book entitled ‘Bridging IB theories, constructs, and methods across cultures and social sciences’ edited by Henk Volberda and Torben Pedersen].

Saka-Helmhout, A. and F. C. Wezel (2005). “The Moderating Role of Status on the Economic and Social Drivers of Institutional Adoption”, presented at the 65th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, August 5-10.

Saka-Helmhout, A. and K. Sonpar (2005). “The Role of Hermeneutics in International Business”, presented at 21st EGOS Colloquium, Freie Universität and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Berlin, Germany, June 30-July 2.

2004
Saka, A. and E. Karabulut (2004). “Hybridisation of Industrial Districts: Evidence from the Turkish Textile Sector”, presented at the 20th EGOS Colloquium, Ljubljana University, Ljubljana, Slovenia, July 1-3.

2003
Saka, A. (2003). “Institutional and Global Effects on MNC Learning Behaviour: A Look at the European Chemical Industry”, presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Seattle, Washington, USA, August 1-6, as well as at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of International Business, Monterey, California, USA, July 5-8.

Wezel, F. C. and A. Saka (2003). “A Time to Aspire and a Time to be Inspired: The Interplay Between Institutional Change and Organisational Learning”, presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Seattle, Washington, USA, August 1-6.

2002
Saka, A. and A. van Witteloostuijn (2002). “A Multi-level and Multi-disciplinary Analysis of Contextual MNC Learning: A Theoretical Framework”, presented at the 18th EGOS Colloquium, The Centre for Organisational Studies (EADA), ESADE Business School, IESE Business School-University of Navarra, IE-Instituto de Empresa, The University Carlos III (Madrid), Universitat Pompeu Fabra Faculty of Economics-Department of Economics and Business (Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain, July 4-6.

Saka, A. (2002). “The Institutional Limits to Diffusion of Knowledge: A Comparative Study of Three Japanese MNCs in the UK”, presented at The 3rd European Conference on Organisational Knowledge, Learning and Capabilities (OKLC), The Athens Laboratory of Business Administration, Athens, Greece, April 5-6. [Shortlisted for review for the special issue of British Journal of Management on Organisations as Knowledge Systems]

Teaching

Integrated PhD Programme

2013: New Directions in Management Research

Undergraduate Programme in International Business Management (IBM)

2013: Comparative Countries Studies

Undergraduate Programme in Business Management and Postgraduate Programme in IBM 

2012: International Trade

Undergraduate Programme in Business Management

2008-2012: Business Strategy

Postgraduate Programmes in HRM, IBM, Management, Managing Information Systems, and Technology Management (core module)

2007-2012: Strategy 

PhD Research Methods Seminar Programme

2008-2010: Historical/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

Graduate Diploma in Business Studies Programme

2007-2010: Introduction to Research Methods

Departmental Duties

2011- Present: Member of the University Ethics Committee, University of Surrey

2011-2012: Development of the Integrated PhD Programme, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey

2008-2011: Deputy Director, Research Centre for Comparative Studies on Organisational Learning in International Settings (COLIS), University of Surrey

Affiliations

Member of the Academy of International Business (AIB) (since 2002)
Member of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-economics (SASE) (since 2002)
Member of the Academy of Management (AoM) (since 2000)
Member of the European Group for Organisational Studies (EGOS) (since 1998)

Professional Recognition

2007 Outstanding Reviewer Award for work on International Journal of Emerging Markets, Emerald Literati Network.

2006 The "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty" Reviewer Award, the Organization and Management Theory Division for the Annual Academy of Management (AoM) Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, August 11-16.

2005 The Best Reviewer Award, the International Management Division for the Annual Academy of Management (AoM) Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, August 5-10.

2004 The Best Reviewer Award, the International Management Division for the Annual Academy of Management (AoM) Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, August 6-11.

2003 The Best Reviewer Award, the International Management Division for the Annual Academy of Management (AoM) Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA, August 1-6.

2002 The Outstanding Reviewer Award, the International Management Division for the Annual Academy of Management (AoM) Meeting, Denver, Colorado, USA, August 9-14.

2001 Young Scholar’s Award received at the 14th Annual Conference of the Association of Japanese Business Studies in Seinäjoki, Finland, June 12 [USD 500]

Professional Activities

2012 Co-convened a SWG sub-theme on “The MNEs as a Challenge to Institutional Theory: Key Concepts, Recent Developments and Empirical Evidence”, with Prof. Royston Greenwood, University of Alberta, and Dr. Susanne Blazejewski, European University Viadrina, at the 28th EGOS Colloquium, Helsinki, Finland, July 5-7.

2012 Served as an invited speaker on the plenary on History, Institutions and Critical Perspectives in IB/M as well as a convenor on the thematic session on Critical Approaches to Understanding Institutions in IB/M at the 39th AIB-UKI Conference, University of Liverpool, April 29-31.

2010 Co-convened a symposium on "Actors and Agency: MNE Innovation and Change in Diverse Institutional Settings" with Gwyneth Edwards (Concordia University) at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada, August.

2009 Co-convened a sub-theme on “Institutionally-embedded Practice-based Learning in Multinationals” with Prof. Arndt Sorge (Social Science Research Centre Berlin, and University of Groningen) at the 24th EGOS Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain, July.

2007 Co-convened a sub-theme on “Unravelling Organisational Learning in Multinational Corporations” with Prof. Mike Geppert (University of Surrey) at the 22nd EGOS Colloquium, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Vienna, Austria, June 5-7.

2006 Chaired a session on “Subsidiary-level Competence Creation” at the Academy of International Business (AIB) Conference, Beijing, China, June 23-26.

2005 Co-convened a sub-theme on “Unlocking Organisational Learning in Multinational Corporations: Exploring the Pivotal Role of Cross Cultural Interactions” with Prof. Ariane Berthoin Antal (WZB, Germany) at the 21st EGOS Colloquium, Freie Universität and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Berlin, Germany, June 30-July 2. I was also involved in facilitating the pre-conference PhD workshop at the colloquium.

2004 Organised and co-ordinated a professional development workshop (PDW) on “Advancing Institutional Theory in International Contexts” (sponsored by IM and OMT Divisions) at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), New Orleans, USA, August 6-11. In addition, I was involved in facilitating the pre-conference PhD workshop at the 20th EGOS Colloquium, Ljubljana University, Ljubljana, Slovenia, July 1-3.

2003 Involved in facilitating the pre-conference PhD workshop at the 19th EGOS Colloquium, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 3-5.

Journal Engagement

Senior Editorial Board Membership

Organization Studies (Sep 2009- ), previously editorial board member (2003-2009)

Editorial Board Membership

British Journal of Management (Jan 2011- )

Reviewing/Editing:

Journal of Management Studies
Organization
Human Relations
Asian Business and Management
International Journal of Emerging Markets
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Annual Meeting for the Academy of International Business
Annual Meeting for the Academy of Management