معرفی
Simon Down serves as Professor of Entrepreneurship and Organization within the Department of Business Administration at the Faculty of Economics. His research is affiliated with the Governance Regulation Internationalization and Performance (GRIP) research group. Previously, he has held academic positions at Birmingham University, Anglia Ruskin University (where he served as Associate Dean for Research), Newcastle University, Plymouth University, and Wollongong University in Australia.
Professor Down's research spans multiple dimensions of entrepreneurship and organizational studies, with particular expertise in entrepreneurial identity, small business policy and regulation, social enterprise incubation, and ethnographic methodology. His work includes significant studies on social entrepreneurship in Haiti, indigenous entrepreneurship, and the unique context of entrepreneurship education in North Korea. The research fingerprint analysis shows his strongest areas include Entrepreneurial Identity (100%), Small Firms (97%), Small Business (96%), and Entrepreneurship (85%).
His recent publication trajectory reveals a sophisticated evolution of research interests, moving from foundational work in small business policy toward more nuanced explorations of identity formation in entrepreneurial contexts, liminality in organizational transitions, and cross-cultural entrepreneurship studies. The publications demonstrate increasing methodological sophistication with strong emphasis on ethnographic approaches and theoretical development in organizational studies.
Professor Down actively supervises doctoral students, including Umberto Lanzano at Anglia Ruskin University, and leads significant research initiatives such as the SECTOR project examining UK small business responses to COVID-19 regulation. He maintains substantial international collaborations, evidenced by his Adjunct Professorship at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology since 2016 and his Honorary Professorship at Birmingham Business School (2023-2026). His research activities extend to contemporary issues including Industry 5.0 workforce development and Olympic tourism impacts.
