People

Professor Nicolas Forsans

Professor and MBA Director
EBS - Management and Marketing
Professor Nicolas Forsans
  • Email

  • Telephone

    +44 (0) 1206 873517

  • Location

    EBS.3.56, Colchester Campus

  • Academic support hours

    Mondays and Wednesdays 08.30-10.00am

Profile

Biography

Nicolas joined the University of Essex in 2018 as Professor of Management and MBA Director. An economist and expert in corporate strategy and business models, his research interests revolve around Latin American economies and societies, and business models, in particular at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). He has published in academic journals, online and professional publications, as well as book chapters. Nicolas is also co-director of the Centre for Latin American & Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at the University. Current projects involve a project on the commercialisation of innovation for an AI startup and a series of articles assessing the legacy of Covid-19 across Latin America and Colombia. An entrepreneurial senior academic Nicolas also leads and manages highly committed teams, strategic projects and ventures at ambitious, university-based business schools. He has designed, developed and repositioned various Master, MBA and dual degree programmes at leading university-based business schools, embedding innovation in programme design, delivery and assessment, securing world class academic and professional accreditations at programme and institutional levels, and collaborated with business and the third sector to create experiential learning opportunities to secure enviable positions for those programmes in global leading league tables (Financial Times, The Economist, etc,.) Nicolas has 20+ years experience teaching international business, responsible management and business strategy at Undergraduate, Postgraduate and MBA levels. Prior to joining Essex he held academic appointments at the University of Exeter (2013-1018) where he repositioned and led the growth of the One Planet MBA (later known as the Exeter MBA). Prior to that he worked as an FME Research Fellow, Lecturer then Associate Professor at the Centre for International Business, University of Leeds (CIBUL) where he worked for 15 years. Nicolas is a member of various Latin American societies and think tanks, in particular Canning House, the leading think tank on Latin America, the Business Association of Latin American Studies (BALAS), and the Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS).

Qualifications

  • Diplome d'Etudes Approfondies (DEA) Pantheon-Sorbonne University, (1996)

Appointments

University of Essex

  • Professor in Management, Essex Business School, University of Essex (3/9/2018 - present)

  • MBA Director, The Essex MBA, Essex Business School, University of Essex (3/9/2018 - present)

  • Co-director, Centre for Latin American & Caribbean Studies (CLACS), School of Philosophy & Art History, University of Essex (4/7/2022 - present)

  • Deputy Dean (Colchester), EBS, University of Essex (1/12/2020 - present)

Other academic

  • Associate Professor in International Strategic Management and MBA Director, Business School, University of Exeter (2/9/2013 - 2/9/2018)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Latin American economies and societies

Assessing the multifaceted impact of the pandemic on the region and the sustainability of the recovery process in light of major international challenges

Key words: covid-19
Open to supervise

The State of Colombia's economy post-Covid

Assessing the health of the Colombian economy after two years of the pandemic, assessing economic and social development in the country

Key words: Colombia
Open to supervise

Latin America - entrepreneurship

Key words: Latin America
Open to supervise

Current research

Latin America - business and business models

Economic, business and management issues in Latin America: entrepreneurship, employment, poverty-reduction strategies

Commercialisation of business model innovation

Research project on the way business model innovation disrupts established firms and industries, in particular digital and circular business models

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • MBA Project (BE850)

  • Strategy (BE857)

  • The Director's Workshops (BE860)

  • Sustainable Operations (BE881)

  • Data and Analytics (BE883)

  • Business Planning (BE884)

Publications

Journal articles (11)

Forsans, N., (2022). Latin America in a post-Covid world: Assessing the damage from the pandemic. The Prisma

Buckley, PJ., Munjal, S., Enderwick, P. and Forsans, N., (2017). The role of country alliances in reducing the transaction costs of internationalisation: evidence from Indian multinational enterprises. Cambridge Journal of Economics. 41 (3), 807-828

Buckley, PJ., Munjal, S., Enderwick, P. and Forsans, N., (2016). The role of experiential and non-experiential knowledge in cross-border acquisitions: The case of Indian multinational enterprises. Journal of World Business. 51 (5), 675-685

Buckley, PJ., Munjal, S., Enderwick, P. and Forsans, N., (2016). Cross-border acquisitions by Indian multinationals: Asset exploitation or asset augmentation?. International Business Review. 25 (4), 986-996

Buckley, PJ., Munjal, S., Enderwick, P. and Forsans, N., (2016). Do foreign resources assist or impede internationalisation? Evidence from internationalisation of Indian multinational enterprises. International Business Review. 25 (1), 130-140

Buckley, PJ., Forsans, N. and Munjal, S., (2012). Host–home country linkages and host–home country specific advantages as determinants of foreign acquisitions by Indian firms. International Business Review. 21 (5), 878-890

Kafouros, MI. and Forsans, N., (2012). The role of open innovation in emerging economies: Do companies profit from the scientific knowledge of others?. Journal of World Business. 47 (3), 362-370

Buckley, PJ., Cross, AR., Forsans, N. and Horn, SA., (2010). The rise of the Asian multinational firm. Asian Business & Management. 9 (3), 293-297

Forsans, N. and Balasubramanyam, VN., (2010). Acquisitions versus licensing agreements as vehicles for technology transfer. European J. of International Management. 4 (1/2), 48-48

Buckley, PJ., Clegg, J., Forsans, N. and Reilly, KT., (2007). A Simple and Flexible Dynamic Approach to Foreign Direct Investment Growth: The Canada-United States Relationship in the Context of Free Trade. The World Economy. 30 (2), 267-291

Buckley, PJ., Clegg, J., Forsans, N. and Reilly, KT., (2003). Evolution of FDI in the United States in the context of trade liberalization and regionalization. Journal of Business Research. 56 (10), 853-857

Book chapters (6)

Buckley, PJ., (2018). Do foreign resources assist or impede internationalisation? Evidence from internationalisation of Indian multinational enterprises. In: The Global Factory: Networked Multinational Enterprises in the Modern Global Economy. Edward Elgar Publishing. 206- 216. 9781786431325

Buckley, PJ., (2018). Cross-border acquisitions by Indian multinationals: Asset exploitation or asset augmentation?. In: The Global Factory: Networked Multinational Enterprises in the Modern Global Economy. Edward Elgar Publishing. 217- 228. 9781786431325

Buckley, PJ., (2014). The Multinational Enterprise and the Emergence of the Global Factory. In: The Multinational Enterprise and the Emergence of the Global Factory. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 173- 199. 9781349486687

Munjal, S., Buckley, PJ., Enderwick, P. and Forsans, N., (2014). Chapter 11: The growth trajectory of Indian multinational enterprises. In: The great diversity. Wageningen Academic Publishers. 191- 206. 9789086862337

Buckley, PJ., (2010). Foreign Direct Investment, China and the World Economy. In: Foreign Direct Investment, China and the World Economy. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 386- 418. 9781349354221

Buckley, PJ., (2004). The Challenge of International Business. In: The Challenge of International Business. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 189- 197. 9781349511662

Conferences (2)

Balasubramanyam, VN. and Forsans, N., (2010). Internationalisation drivers of Indian firms

Horn, SA., Forsans, N. and Cross, AR., (2010). The strategies of Japanese firms in emerging markets: The case of the automobile industry in India

Scholarly Editions (2)

Balasubramanyam, V. and Forsans, N., (2013). Why do Indian firms go abroad?

Buckley, PJ., Clegg, J., Forsans, N. and Reilly, KT., (2004). A Simple and Flexible Dynamic Approach to Foreign Direct Investment Growth: Did Canada Benefit From the Free Trade Agreements with the United States?

Other (2)

Forsans, N., (2022).Latin America in a post-Covid world: The economic damage, a depressing picture

Forsans, N., (2022).Latin America in a post-Covid world: Work during the pandemic. The Prisma,The Prisma

Grants and funding

2019

The development of a new CPD tracker using AI and embedded machine learning to track and enhance performance of all staff.

Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board)

Filament KTP application 2

Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board)

Contact

n.forsans@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 873517

Location:

EBS.3.56, Colchester Campus

Academic support hours:

Mondays and Wednesdays 08.30-10.00am

More about me
Resources on Latin American economies and societies: https://linktr.ee/nforsans

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