Associate Professor Alexandra Anderson DBA SFHEA
Associate Professor
Summary
I am a practitioner, educator and researcher in enterprise and entrepreneurship. My commercial experience spans thirty years having worked in business support and established my own business. My academic roles are focused mainly on working with SMEs across the region and beyond to drive sustainable growth. I am a strong advocate of authentic learning, having created and included student consultancy within the curriculum for over 15 years.
About
I am an Associate Professor in Enterprise and have a Doctorate in Business Administration in the field of international corporate entrepreneurship and the role of networks. I am also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
My commercial experience spans thirty years of working in both public and private sector organisations. I jointly founded a mobile gaming company and a research consultancy. Previous roles also included a secondment to the Government Office for Yorkshire and Humber, leading the impact and evaluation study of the Regional International Trade Strategy. I joined Sheffield Business School in 2010 and have held numerous leadership roles mainly focused on external engagement.
I currently lead on Business School SME business growth initiatives, contributing to the University's civic ambition to drive socio-economic change across the region. I am the Programme Director of the government-funded Help to Grow: Management course, before this, I led the Small Business Leadership Programme. I work alongside peers as part of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) to increase Business School engagement with SMEs and embed the SME voice in the student curriculum.
I have championed student and business interaction by creating and including student consultancy within the curriculum for over 15 years. I have connected students through international business consultancy projects with over 300 SMEs and larger organisations, including McLaren Automotive, Clipper Logistics, BBC Worldwide, BBC World Service, Marshalls Aerospace Defence Group, GE Capital, and Lloyds Bank.
Teaching expertise
- Enterprise, International Entrepreneurship, Global Supply Chain Management
- International Business Consultancy
Research
- International Entrepreneurship and SME Business Growth
Industry Links
- Chartered Association of Business Schools, Small Business Charter
- Department of Business and Trade
- Help to Grow: Management Senior Leadership Programme
- Small Business Leadership Programme
- International Trade Forum
- Graduate and Postgraduate Consultancy Projects
Teaching
Sheffield Business School
Subject area or group
- International Business
- Department of Management
Courses taught
- Help to Grow: Management
- MSc International Business Management
- BA (Hons) International Business
Modules taught
- International Consultancy Projects
- International Entrepreneurship
- Global Supply Chain Management
Research
- Social and Economic Research Institute
- International corporate entrepreneurship
- International entrepreneurship
- SME and university collaboration
- Resilient economies and sustainable supply chains
- Responsible leadership and socially just organisations
- Help to Grow: Management
- KTP
Link 1: https://www.shu.ac.uk/business/training-and-development/leadership-development/help-to-grow-management/case-studies
Link 2: https://smallbusinesscharter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/A-guide-to-how-business-schools-can-develop-academic-staff-to-engage-with-SMEs-FINAL.pdf
Publications
Book chapters
Anderson, A., & Doole, I. (2016). How do Spike Games segment the global mobile phone gambling market? In International marketing strategy : Analysis, development and implementation. other
Anderson, A. (2016). Gripple: Connecting with International Markets. In International marketing strategy : Analysis, development and implementation.
Anderson, A. (2008). Segmenting the Global Mobile Phone Gaming Market. In Doole, I., & Lowe, R. (Eds.) International Marketing Strategy Analysis, Development and Implementation. (pp. 544). Boston: Cengage Learning EMEA
Case studies
Anderson, A. (2008). Segmenting the global mobile phone gaming market.Boston: Cengage.
Reports
Rees, S., Anderson, A., Lockyer, J., Tzameret, R., Shorley, J., Sutherland, M., & Whitehouse, P. (2021). A guide to how business schools can develop academic staff to engage with SMEs. Chartered Association of Business Schools. https://smallbusinesscharter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/A-guide-to-how-business-schools-can-develop-academic-staff-to-engage-with-SMEs-FINAL.pdf
Rees, S., Anderson, A., Lockyer, J., Tzameret, R., Shorley, J., Sutherland, M., & Whitehouse, P. (2021). A guide to how business schools can develop academic staff to engage with SMEs. Chartered Association of Business Schools. https://smallbusinesscharter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/A-guide-to-how-business-schools-can-develop-academic-staff-to-engage-with-SMEs-FINAL.pdf
Anderson, A. (2016). Report on International Trade and the Mid Sized Business in the Sheffield City Region.
Anderson, A. (2001). RITS: Regional Indicators and Projects Update (Research Report).
Anderson, A. (2000). Development of a Regional Approach to International Support - Development of a Regional International Trade Strategy (Evaluation Report).
Anderson, A. (2000). RITS: Assessment of Process and Partnership Mechanisms (Research Report).
Theses / Dissertations
Anderson, A. (2018). International entrepreneurial capabilities:The role of networks in the small multinational enterprise. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Johnston, A. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00154
Presentations
Anderson, A. (2021). Help to Grow Management - Supporting Sheffield SMEs. Presented at: Business Sheffield Business Support
Other activities
CABS Working Group on SME Engagement
Postgraduate supervision
- Masters Supervision
- International entrepreneurship
- International business and strategy
- Doctoral Supervision
- Enterprise Education