Full Professor at Excelia Business School in La Rochelle, France
Research Fellow at Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
Question: What are your key areas of research?
Amitabh: My principal research interests reside at the convergence of International Entrepreneurship and Organization Studies, specifically emphasizing emerging and transitional economies. I am very fascinated by how entrepreneurs manage uncertainty, institutional void, and ethical ambiguity in these contexts. My study investigates what I term the “taboo topics” – the frequently neglected negative aspects of entrepreneurship, including corruption, antisocial behavior, conflict, informality, and violence. I examine how they influence and occasionally facilitate entrepreneurial behavior, identity, and survival within intricate institutional environments.
Question: What are you currently working on?
Amitabh: Currently, my research investigates the impact of geopolitics and global power transitions on entrepreneurial endeavors and scaling up ventures. I am especially curious about how entrepreneurs in politically volatile or sanctioned areas innovate their tactics, networks, and ethical parameters to maintain growth. My aim is to link international business with political economics, which will help understand how global disruptions alter opportunity frameworks, legitimacy, and resilience among entrepreneurs functioning in constrained or volatile contexts.
Question: What are a few of your personal hobbies?
Amitabh: I love reading a lot, and my favorite types of reading are history, philosophy, and world literature. I also like to travel, learn about other cultures, and find interesting local stories that often give me ideas for research. When I have some free time, my favorite activities are listening to music and watching documentaries. I find all these to help me be creative and give me new ideas about how societies, organizations, and people are evolving.
Question: What advice would you give to someone new to IE research?
Amitabh: I think International Entrepreneurship is one of the most interesting and intellectually stimulating areas to study. It is where globalization, new ideas, and people’s capacity to change converge. Emerging scholars should stay curious and adventurous, and should not be afraid of exploring uncommon inquiries or going into sectors/contexts that have not been studied much. The future of IE scholarship will rest on how IE researchers push the field’s limits and connect it to new theories and different cultural realities. We can significantly change how we think about entrepreneurship’s effects on the world, whether we look at it through the lens of ethics, society, or geopolitics.
Question: Where will we see you next?
Amitabh: In the coming year, I will be participating in several international conferences. You will see me at the IERC Conference in Cairo, Egypt (2026) and the Turkish Academy of Management Conference in Izmir, Turkey (2026). Perhaps in other conferences, depending on schedules and acceptance. I look forward to engaging with colleagues, exchanging ideas, and continuing the dialogue on how entrepreneurship and organizations evolve in times of global turbulence and transformation.