Mehdi Farashahi

Mehdi Farashahi holds a BSc in aerospace engineering from North Carolina State University, and a MBA and a PhD in strategy from Concordia University. He is one of the founders and the Chair of Montreal Local/Global Research Group. His research interests combine institutional theory, organizations' forms and strategies, and global/local issues. He is particularly interested in management practices of firms in the global business environment and more specifically in developing and emerging economies. The applicability of western management theories in exploring management practices in other parts of the world has always been in his research agenda. Making aggregate analysis as a type of meta-analytical approach in synthesizing research through systematic review of literature is another field of his research since 2001. These systematic reviews are reflected in his publications and conference presentations. Most recent areas of his research are institutional entrepreneurship, organizational identity and internationalization of SMEs. He has conducted empirical research using samples from aviation, textile, and hotel industries.

Dr. Farashahi has published in journals such as Organization Studies, Management International Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Journal of International Management, International Journal of Management Education, International Studies of Management and Organization, International Journal of Management Reviews and The International Journal of Commerce and Management. He has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in the fields of strategy and international business at the Department of Management of John Molson School of Business since 1998. He is the recipient of the 2009-2010 Dean Award for teaching excellence at graduate level. He holds various technical licenses for different types of airplanes and has sixteen years of working experience as a field engineer, quality control inspector, technical manager, and training manager in the airline industry.

Education

• PhD (Concordia University)

Areas of expertise

• International business
• Strategic Management
• Internationalization of SMEs
• Institutional change and economic development
• Management and organizations in emerging and developing countries
• Local/global institutions and strategy of firms
• Management of multinational corporations
• Synthesizing research
• Aviation industry

Research activities

Interactive conferences with managers and professionals of canadian firms

One of the organizers of the first Academic/Practitioner Conference inMontreal (August 14, 2009): MultinationalCorporations in Developing Economies and Emerging Economies: Local-globaldynamics and organizational adaptation.

Speakers: David Audretsch and Klaus Meyer and Executives such as JimCherry, Jeff Robert, and Shawn Fleck.

Chairing the second Academic/Practitioner Conference in Montreal(spring, 2010): Canadian InternationalCompanies Doing Business in Developing and Emerging Countries.

Speakers: R. Ramamurti (Northeastern U.), E. Westney (York U.), P.Somers CEO of Walter International, N. Steward VP of Rio Tinto Alcan, M.Zambianchi VP of Pirelli Tire, T. Meti CEO of GDNP Consulting.

Chairing the third Academic/Practitioner Conference in Montreal(spring, 2011): Canadian Small and MediumSize Enterprises Going Global: Challenges and Opportunities.

Speakers: D. Lessard (MIT),E. Westney (York U.), R. Voyer VP of SOPREMA, W.D. Mothersill President ofNational Angel Capital Organization, D. L'Heureux Regional VP of ExportDevelopment Canada.

Publications

Refereed journal articles

• Farashahi, M. and Tajeddin, M. (2018). Effectivenessof Teaching Methods in Business Education: A Comparison Study on the Learningoutcomes of Lectures, Case Studies and Simulations. InternationalJournal of Management Education (in Press)
• Chikhouni, A. Edwards, G. and Farashahi, M. (2016). Psychic distance and ownership in acquisitions: Directionmatters. Journal of International Management, 23: 32-42.
• Molz, R. and Farashahi, M. Invited Guest Editors, (2011). International Studies of Management andOrganization, themed issues From Dilemma toTheory to Research Agenda: Doing Business in Developing and TransitionalCountries. Vol 41, No 1& 2.
• Molz, R. and Farashahi, M. (2011) Prefaceto Doing Business in Emerging, Developing and Transitional Economies. International Studies of Management andOrganization, 41(1 and 2).
• Farashahi, M. and Hafsi, T., (2009) Strategyof firms in an unstable institutional environment. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26(4): 643-666.
• Carney,M. and Farashahi, M. (2006), Transnational institutions in developing countries: thecase of Iranian civil aviation. Organization Studies, 27(1):53-77.
• Hafsi,T. and Farashahi, M. (2005), Applicabilityof management theories to developing countries: A synthesis, Management International Review, 45(4):483-511.
• Farashahi,M., T. Hafsi, and R. Molz (2005), Institutionalizednorms of conducting research and social realities: A research synthesis ofempirical works from 1983-2002, InternationalJournal of Management Reviews, 7(1): 1-24.
• Farashahi, M. andMolz, R. (2004), A Framework for MultilevelOrganizational Analysis in Developing Countries. The InternationalJournal of Commerce and Management, 14(1): 59-78.

Book chapters

• Farashahi, M. and R. Molz. 2014. Thegrounding of strategy in economic and social logics: Reconciling local andglobal dynamics. in Encyclopédie de la Stratégie – Economica,361-372, Magnard-Vuibert: Paris.
• Farashahi, M. and F. Muhammad. 2014. Strategyof SMEs in emerging economies: A dynamic approach based on local/globalconcerns, in Building businesses in emerging and developingcountries: challenges and opportunities, 175-189, Routledge Publishers: NewYork.
• Muhammad, F. and M. Farashahi. 2014. StrategicEvolution: The Art of Effective Change in Prolifically Adaptive Organizations.in Encyclopédie de la Stratégie – Economica. 607-617, Magnard-Vuibert:Paris.
• Marcotte C., Soussi S. A., Molz R., Farashahi M., Hafsi T., 2010. Strategy Implementation in Emerging Countries: ThreeTheoretical Approaches, in the MultinationalEnterprise in Developing Countries, 19-30, Routledge Publishers.
• Ul-Haq S. and M. Farashahi, 2010. PoliticalStrategies of MNEs in Emerging Economies: A Theoretical Model, in the Multinational Enterprise in Developing Countries, 69-87, Routledge Publishers.
• Jaeger Alfred, IlanAvrichir, Arif Butt, Mehdi Farashahi and Taieb Hafsi, 2008. Managerial Values in Developing Countries: GlobalConvergence or Local Divergence?, in Globalization:Realities, Challenges and Responses, SagePublication (pp. 259-271): New Delhi.