Professor John Child MA, PhD, ScD, FBA

• Fellow of the British Academy [FBA] 2006
• ScD in Economics, University of Cambridge 1984
• PhD in Economics, University of Cambridge 1967
• MA in Economics, University of Cambridge 1965
• BA (Hons) in Economics, University of Cambridge 1962

John Child is Emeritus Professor of Commerce at the University of Birmingham, UK. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, the Academy of International Business and the British Academy of Management. In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the prestigious British Academy [FBA]. He has Lifetime Achievement Awards from the British Academy of Management, the Academy of International Business and the International Association for Chinese Management Research [IACMR]. He was also made an Honorary Member of EGOS [the European Group for Organization Studies]. His degrees are all from the University of Cambridge, and he holds honorary doctorates awarded by Aalborg University, Aston University, Corvinus University, and the Helsinki School of Economics (now Aalto University).

Before entering academia, Professor Child worked for Rolls-Royce. He then became a Research Fellow in the Aston University Programme of Organization Studies before moving to the London Business School, and then returning to Aston in 1973 as Professor of Organizational Behaviour. He was the founder and first Chairman of Aston University’s Faculty of Management and Policy Sciences Doctoral Programme which was supported by the Social Science Research Council. From 1986 to 1989 he was Dean of the Aston Business School.

He was seconded to be Dean and Director of the European Community’s management program in China in 1989-1990, building it into the China-Europe Management Institute, the forerunner of the China-Europe International Business School [CEIBS] in Shanghai. In 1991 he was appointed Diageo Professor of Management in the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St. John’s College, Cambridge.  He was also the Distinguished Visiting Professor in Management at Hong Kong University 1998-2000.

He returned to the West Midlands in 2000 taking up the Chair of Commerce at Birmingham University. He has also been a Visiting Professor at universities in Brazil, China, and the UAE, most recently at Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark.

John Child has published 25 books and over 150 articles primarily in the fields of international business and business organization. His co-authored book Corporate Co-evolution (Wiley 2008) won the 2009 Terry Book Award of the Academy of Management. In 2013 he co-authored The Dynamics of Corporate Co-evolution, published by Edward Elgar which is a unique study of how China’s largest container terminal developed in relation to its institutional environment. In 2015 the second edition of his widely used text on Organization was published by Wiley. In 2019 he published a new co-authored edition of Cooperative Strategy (Oxford University Press) which is the leading textbook in its field. Also appearing in 2019 was a pioneering study of Hierarchy (Routledge) which won the 2020 European Academy of Management Best Book Award.

Professor Child has been editor-in-chief of Organization Studies and Senior Editor of Management and Organization Review He sits on the Editorial Boards of several international journals. He has served as External Examiner for thirteen universities in the UK and abroad. During his career, he has supervised 48 successful PhD candidates researching on organization, international business and China-related subjects.

Professor Child’s current research focuses on two projects. The first project is investigating the cooperative strategies employed in the formation of China’s ecosystems that are devoted to the development of hydrogen electric vehicles. Three regional hydrogen fuell cell electic vehicle [HFCEV] ecosystems are being studied. These ecosystems comprise regional value chains supported by key institutions such as central and local governments, and university research centres.They offer entrepreneurial co-creation opportunities through the formation of various collaborative linkages. The research is examining this formation process and the role of key actors in it.

The second project is investigating the potential of third sector organizations to serve as a community voice and how this is affected by different routes to the scaling-up of their service provision. It focuses on the situation in Scotland where in recent years policy-makers have emphasized the need to strengthen the third sector’s voice on behalf of local communities and interests.  The rationale for the project lies in the dilemma that scaling may be a two-edged sword for this democratic role.  On one side, scale can add weight to the voice of TSOs in policy-making. On the other, growth in a TSO’s size may marginalize their stakeholders (beneficiaries and members) by encouraging centralization in the hands of administrators and officials. 

Professor Child’s previous research specialization was on the internationalization of SMEs. He led a team covering six countries which studied various issues, including the speed of SME internationalization, resource provision and international performance, the business models adopted by SMEs for internationalization, and the influence of contextual factors on the process.

The following are among Professor Child’s current and past professional responsibilities: 

Member, Editorial Board, European Management Review (2022-)
Member, Advisory Board, European Journal of International Management (2017-) 
Member, International Advisory Board, Renmin University of  China (2012-16)
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Trust Research (2011-)
Member, Editorial Review Board, Journal of International Business Studies (2007-09)
Member, Joint Economic and Trade Committee for Brazil and the UK (2006-10)
Chief Examiner, Institute of Export (2006-08)
Chair, Supervisory Board, Erasmus Research Institute in Management, Rotterdam School of Management (2003-09)
Member, Advisory Board, the Hang Lung Center for Organizational Research, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2000-09)
Advisor, Euro-Asia Centre, INSEAD (2000-09)
Member, Hong Kong UGC Research Assessment Panel (2000-09)
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Organization Science (1990-2000)
Member of Council, British Academy of Management (1993-96)
Founder Member, Executive Committee, British Academy of Management (1987)
Member, Editorial Committee, New Technology, Work and Employment (1986-2015)
Member, Business & Management Studies Sub‑Committee, University Grants Committee (1984-89)
Vice‑Chairman, Management & Industrial Relations Committee, Social Science Research Council. Chairman of SSRC Open Door Scheme (1980-82)