September 28, 2019
Abraham Stefanidis, Ph.D., believes that his interest in international business came naturally.
“I always had a passion for exploring different cultures,” said Dr. Stefanidis, an Associate Professor of Management whose main research focus is the role of ethics and trust in cross-cultural negotiation. “In today’s highly globalized business environment, it is crucial to comprehend international executives’ and expatriate managers’ negotiation styles that underlie the formation of formal contractual agreements.”
It is an area of study he believes fits with the University’s Vincentian mission. He contributes to the advancement of that mission as a Senior Research Fellow at St. John’s Vincentian Center for Church and Society, conducting research on business ethics and international business.
“Adopting a cross-cultural perspective, I investigate antecedents of ethically questionable negotiation tactics emphasizing the role of culture,” he said. “Simultaneously, employing multilevel research methodologies, I study the role of both society-level and individual-level factors that explain negotiators’ tendency to sign formal contracts.
“This is based on primary and secondary data from institutionally and economically diverse societies, such as the US, Germany, Greece, Israel, China, Peru, Ivory Coast, and Kazakhstan.”
A native of Athens, Greece, Dr. Stefanidis received his Ph.D. from Athens University of Economics and Business before accepting a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Research Fellowship from the European Commission. These one- to two-year fellowships are awarded to researchers who pursue Europe-based research interests.
Dr. Stefanidis spent his fellowship at Sabanci University in Istanbul, studying entrepreneurial networks in the globalized Greek shipping industry. He deems that experience his most important role before accepting a faculty position at St. John’s University.
“I have been privileged to be at St. John’s,” he said. “The University has strong international ties and nurtures cultural and intellectual diversity; my research and teaching initiatives are imbued in St. John’s metropolitan and global mission.”
Dr. Stefanidis’s enthusiasm for Tobin students interested in international business drives his active involvement in the Center for Global Business Stewardship. He has taught Global Destination Courses in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay.
Dr. Stefanidis is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal International Studies of Management and Organization. In collaboration with the former and founding editors of the journal, he is currently preparing a 50th anniversary special issue that commemorates the evolution of international business scholarship.