Dr Paulina Ramirez

Dr Paulina Ramirez

The Department of Strategy and International Business
Associate Professor of of Strategy and Innovation

Contact details

Telephone
+ 44 (0) 121 414 4948
Fax
+ 44 (0) 121 414 2982
Email
p.ramirez@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Birmingham Business School
University House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Paulina is Associate Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, UK

Paulina joined the University in August 2005. Before coming to Birmingham University she worked as Research Fellow at the Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (CISC) at the National University of Ireland - Galway and Research Associate at UMIST and the University of Sheffield.

Qualifications

BSc Economics (University College London)
PhD (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology)

Teaching

Paulina is module leader and teaches in a number of postgraduate and undergraduate modules on innovation, strategic management and international business.

Postgraduate supervision

I am interested in supervising PhDs that examine any of the following areas:

  • The dynamics of national and regional business and innovation systems
  • The emergence of and knowledge transfer within multinational corporations (MNCs) and global innovation networks (GINs)
  • The impact of GINs of national and regional innovation and business systems
  • Global knowledge flows

I prefer to supervise qualitative research methods.

Research

Paulina’s research interests are in the areas of comparative national and regional innovation and business systems and the global political economy. This includes studying the relationship between the rise of global research and innovation networks and value chains, international knowledge flows, and innovation and business systems. How national and local institutional systems shape the creation and diffusion of new technologies is another area of interest. More recently Paulina’s research has focused on participative and bottom-up innovation and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Harris, J, Ramirez, P, Arnold, F & Redgrave, P 2024, 'Can communities be mobilised to build capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative process evaluation', BMJ open, vol. 14, no. 4, e078671. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078671

Muniz Jr., J, Zhang, Y, Wintersberger, D & Ramirez, P 2024, 'Social systems for future manufacturing framework: An overarching view of people, organization and society', Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineering Part B Journal of Engineering Manufacture. https://doi.org/10.1177/09544054241248865

Ramirez, P 2021, 'Technological revolutions, socio-technical transitions and the role of agency: Värmland’s transition to a regional bio-economy', Regional Studies, vol. 55, no. 10-11, pp. 1642-1651. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2021.1957810

Viana, L, Jabour, D, Ramirez, P & da Cruz, G 2018, 'Patents go to the market? University-industry technology transfer from a Brazilian perspective', Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 24-35. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242018000300024

Edwards, P & Ramirez, P 2016, 'When should workers embrace or resist new technology?', New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12067

Ramirez, P, Love, JH & Vahter, P 2013, 'Industry-academic links: a new phase in Ireland’s FDI-led industrialisation strategy', European Urban and Regional Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776413493632

Rainbird, H & Ramirez, P 2012, 'Bringing social institutions into global value chain analysis : the case of salmon farming in Chile', Work, Employment & Society, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 789-805. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017012451674

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Ramirez, P 2020, Sustainable manufacturing: Creating a regional forest-based bio-economy. in Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations. 1st Edition edn, 6, Taylor & Francis, pp. 97-111. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429057984

Chapter

Ramirez, P 2015, The need for an engaged, expert and inclusive British capitalism. in The British Growth Crisis. Palgrave.

Ramirez, P 2014, National systems of innovation and learning, upgrading and innovation in services GVCs: Lessons from India, Ireland and Eastern Europe. in Latin America’s emergence in global services: A new driver of structural change in the region?. United Nations (ECLAC) Santiago, Chile.

Commissioned report

Nathan, M, Adderley, S, Bernini, M, Mulhall, R & Ramirez, P 2017, Industrial Clusters in England. BEIS Research Paper Series, no. 4, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/646547/NIESR_Clusters_Research_BEIS_Format_with_summary_FINAL.pdf>

Discussion paper

Dosso, M & Ramirez, P 2020 'Organization and geography of global R&D and innovation activities: insights from qualitative research on leading corporate R&D investors' EU Science Hub, JCR Seville, pp. 1. https://doi.org/https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/sites/jrcsh/files/jrc119966.pdf

Other report

Walsall Housing Group 2023, What Good Looks Like for Communities.

Ramirez, P 2013, What Good Looks Like for Communities.

Working paper

Ramirez, P 2017 'New modes and geographies of global research networks: Study of outsourcing and offshoring in the pharmaceutical industry'.

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

In 2023 Paulina received ESRC IAA funding to work with Walsall Housing Group on a project entitled 'Building Inclusive Innovation Eco-Systems'

Paulina has worked on a number of EU and UK government funded projects including:

2017-2020       European Commission, Horizon 2020- Marie Skłodowska- Curie Actions project, ‘MAKERS: Smart Manufacturing for EU Growth and Prosperity’

2016                UK Government, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Industrial Clusters in England.

2009-2014       European Commission, FP7 Programme, The Impact of Service Sector Innovation and Internationalisation on Growth and Productivity' (SERVICEGAP)

1999-2001       European Commission, Targeted Socio-Economic Research (TSER) programme of the European Commission (DGXII) under the Fourth Framework Programme, ‘Corporate Governance and Product Innovation’

 At present Paulina is working on a project ‘Social Systems for Future Manufacturing’ (SSFM) in collaboration with colleagues from Birmingham Business School and São Paulo State University (Brazil) looking at the introduction of new manufacturing technologies in different manufacturing and innovation systems.

Recent policy engagement include:

2019, Dosso, M., and Ramirez, P., ‘Towards a better understanding of firms’ R&D and innovation value chains: insights from qualitative and quantitative evidence’.  Presented at the JCR workshop on ‘Corporate GVC & GIN in the 4th industrial era: new models of production and work organisation’. Brussels, 2019, May 17th, 2019. 

2018, de Propris, L., Nathan, M., Ramirez, P., Sweden: A Smart Economy, Presentation Vinnova June 25th 

2018, Ramirez, P., 2018, “Global Innovation Networks: State of the art and issues at stake for GVCs”. Paper presented at internal EU JRC (Seville), June 21st 2018. 

2017, Dosso, M. and Ramirez, P., 2017, ‘Organisation and location of firm-level (international) research & innovation activities: a way forward’.  Presented at the EU JCR: IRIMA - Final Project Workshop  Brussels, 2017, December 4th 

2018, Ramirez, P., Learning and upgrading in the Tuscany Life-Science Region, Upgrading strategies and trajectories for clusters, districts and regions, 9th-10th May, 2018, Florence, Tuscany, Italy 

2017,  Seconded to Vinnova (Swedish National  Agency on Innovation) as part of MAKERS 

2017, Seconded to Fondazione per la Ricerca e l’Innovazione as part of MAKERS 

2017, Collaboration with EU Joint Research Centre (Seville). Collaboration funded by UoB and JCR collaborative fund.

 2015, Consultancy for BIS in collaboration with the National Institute for Economic and Social Research.