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Michael Sartor

Associate Professor & Distinguished Research & Teaching Fellow of International Business
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Overview

Michael Sartor is an Associate Professor and Distinguished Research & Teaching Fellow of International Business at Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

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Academic Area

  • International Business

Interest Topics

  • Emerging Markets
  • Foreign Subsidiary Management
  • Global Business Strategy
  • International Business
  • Multinational Enterprises

Highlights

Grøgaard, B., Sartor, M.A. & Rademaker, L. (2022). What merits greater scholarly attention in international business research? Journal of International Business Studies.

Scholarly efforts to propose future directions for international business (IB) research have generated a timely and extensive inventory of potentially interesting areas of research. We supplement this line of inquiry by suggesting that an additional layer of scrutiny could be beneficial when advocating in favor of giving more attention to particular research realms. Specifically, we advance several guiding principles that will help IB scholars assess which research areas merit greater scholarly attention, based on their potential importance and impact. We distinguish between (1) research in new or underdeveloped research domains, where salience, urgency, and actionability are critical elements, and (2) new research in relatively well-established domains, where scholars may contribute to changing the theoretical conversations taking place in IB.

View the research  

Editorial Review Board (Journal of International Business Studies)

Appointed to the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of International Business Studies (a Financial Times-50 research publication). Learn more  

Faculty Details

Profile

Full Bio

Prior to joining Smith School of Business, Dr. Sartor was an Adjunct Research Professor at the Ivey Business School at Western University. He received PhD and MBA degrees from Ivey and a JD degree from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

His research and teaching are focused on international business and global strategy with an emphasis on the effects of corruption upon the strategies and performance of multinational enterprises. He has published research in Financial Times-50 peer-reviewed academic journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies and the Journal of Business Ethics. His research has received awards from the Academy of International Business (the Buckley and Casson AIB Doctoral Dissertation Award winner; and, the AIB-Sheth Best Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Award winner) and the Academy of Management (the GWU-CIBER Best Paper on Emerging Markets). His doctoral dissertation research was the winner of the Udayan Rege Best Doctoral Dissertation Award which is conferred biannually upon the best Canadian doctoral dissertation in the administrative sciences. Additionally, he was a finalist for the Gunnar Hedlund-Stockholm School of Economics Doctoral Dissertation Award (European International Business Academy). His research has also been nominated for awards by the Strategic Management Society.

Dr. Sartor serves on the Editorial Review Boards of the Journal of International Business Studies, the Journal of Management Studies and the Journal of World Business. He has received Best Reviewer Awards during the Annual Meetings of both the Academy of International Business and the Academy of Management. 

Professor Sartor teaches Global Business Strategy in the Queen’s National Executive MBA Program and the Executive MBA Americas Program (a partnership between Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business and Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business). He is a recipient of the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Americas Program’s Professor of the Year Award. He is the author of multiple business case studies for teaching and he has co-edited a case study compendium for use within China’s burgeoning business education market.

Dr. Sartor has ten years of experience working variously in executive and corporate legal counsel capacities for publicly-traded and privately-held enterprises in the telecom and consumer packaged goods industries, prior to entering academia. Having been employed in the foreign subsidiary operations of a NASDAQ-listed MNE, he is intimately familiar with the opportunities and challenges facing MNEs in foreign markets.

Academic Degrees

PhD, International Business
Ivey Business School, Western University (2014)

M.B.A.
Ivey Business School, Western University (2004) 

J.D. 
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (1995)

B.A. (Honours)
Queen’s University (1992) 

Academic Experience

Smith School of Business, Queen's University
Associate Professor, International Business and Global Strategy (2021 - Present)
Distinguished Faculty Fellow of International Business (2018 - Present)
Assistant Professor, International Business and Global Strategy (2015 - 2021)

Ivey Business School, Western University
Adjunct Research Professor, International Business and Global Strategy (2014-2015)

Publications

Peer-reviewed Academic Journal Publications

Sartor, Michael A. & Beamish, P.W. (2020). Integration-oriented strategies, host market corruption and the likelihood of foreign subsidiary exit from emerging markets. Journal of International Business Studies, 51(3): 414-431. View full text at: https://bit.ly/3xwArLL

Sartor, Michael A. & Beamish, P. (2019). Private sector corruption, public sector corruption and the organizational structure of foreign subsidiaries. Journal of Business Ethics (forthcoming). View full text at:  https://rdcu.be/buOkS

Sartor, Michael A. & Beamish, P. (2018). Host market government corruption and the equity-based foreign entry strategies of multinational enterprises. Journal of International Business Studies, 49(3): 346-370. View full text at: http://rdcu.be/yJLt

Sartor, Michael A. & Beamish, P. (2014). Offshoring innovation to emerging markets: Organizational control and informal institutional distance. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(9): 1072-1095. View full text at: http://rdcu.be/ywyL

Published Case Studies and Teaching Notes

JH Men’s Apparel: Building a Brand in China [with M. Fengli & C. Xi]. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing Case #9B13M069 (English version), #9B13MC069 (Simplified Chinese version) and Teaching Note # 8B13M069.

  • Reprinted in: The Textile and Apparel Industry Casebook (and Instructor’s Manual) by X. Zhao and P.W. Beamish, China Textile and Apparel Press, Beijing (2018).

CIBC Mellon: Managing a Cross-Border Joint Venture [with P.W. Beamish]. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing Case #9B10M091 (English version), #9B10MC91 (Simplified Chinese version) and Teaching Note # 8B10M91.          

  • Reprinted in: Strategic Management, 10th Edition by M.A. Hitt, R.D. Ireland and R.E. Hoskisson, Cengage Learning, Farmington Hills (2012).
  • Reprinted in: Cases in Strategic Management, 10th Edition by P.W. Beamish, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Toronto (2011).
  • Referenced in: Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Restructuring Activities: An Integrated Approach to Process, Tools, Cases and Solutions, 9th Edition by D.M. DePamphilis, Elsevier-Academic Press, San Diego, CA (2017).

The Wheels Group: Evolution of a Third-Party Logistics Service Provider [with P.F. Johnson]. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing. Case # 9B04D004 and Teaching Note # 8B04D04.

  • Referenced in: Service System Management: Creating Strategic Differentiation and Operational Excellence by C. Chang, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey (2010).

Telcom [with J.A. Erskine]. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing. Case # 9B04C008 (English version), #9B04CC08 (Simplified Chinese version), and Teaching Note # 8B04C08.

  • Reprinted in: Cases in Gender and Diversity in Organizations by A.M. Konrad, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, California (2006).
  • Reprinted in: Cases in Gender and Diversity in Organizations (Chinese edition) by A.M. Konrad, Shanghai People's Publishing House / Truth and Wisdom Press, Shanghai, China (2006).

Published Books

Fengli, M. & Sartor, Michael A. (eds.) (2012). Legal-Business Management Cases. Beijing, China: Economy & Management Publishing House, (in Simplified Chinese, 278 pp.). ISBN 978-7-5096-1905-6.

Book Chapters

Jiang, G.F. & Sartor, Michael A. (2021). Corporate anti-corruption policy, investment motives and foreign location choice. In: A. Verbeke, R. van Tulder, E.L. Rose & Y. Wei (eds.) The Multiple Dimensions of Institutional Complexity in International Business Research (Progress in International Business Research, Volume 15). London: Emerald Publishing Limited. ISBN: 978-1-80043-245-1; ISSN: 1745-8862.

Sartor, Michael A. (2013). Organizing and executing a longitudinally based research program. In: Eriikka Paavilainen-Mäntymäki & Melanie Hassett (eds.), Handbook of Longitudinal Research Methods in Organisation and Business Studies, pp. 318-350. London: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. ISBN: 978-0-85793-678-3.

Edited Publications (Invited)

Sartor, Michael A. (2015). Host market corruption and multinational enterprise strategy. Academy of International Business (AIB) Insights (Special Issue: The 2015 Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award), 15(3): 6-8.

Teaching

Smith School of Business, Queen’s University (2015–present)

Global Business Strategy in the Queen’s Executive MBA National Program.

Global Business Strategy in the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Americas Program (a partnership between Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business and Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business).

Foundations of International Business Theory directed reading seminar in the research-based MSc Program.

Currently supervising the first graduate student to pursue MSc studies in International Business within Smith’s research-based MSc Program.

Ivey Business School, Western University (2011–2014)

International Joint Ventures and Alliances in the MSc in International Business Program.

Ivey Field Project in the MSc in International Business Program.

Business Law in the HBA Program (undergraduate).

 

Presentations

Peer-Reviewed Conference Presentations (select listing)

Sartor, Michael A. (2020). SME internationalization in emerging markets: Formal institutions and foreign market entry strategy. Academy of Management Annual Meeting (International Management Division – Divisional Paper Session). Virtual conference - sessions held entirely online during August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sartor, Michael A. (2020). The impact of formal institutions on the foreign entry strategies of internationalizing SMEs in emerging markets. Accepted for presentation at the Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (Internationalization Process and International Entrepreneurship Track – Interactive Session). Miami, USA.

Jiang, Frank G.L. & Sartor, Michael A. (2019). The impact of multinational enterprise corporate anti-corruption policy on location strategy: The contingent role of investment motive. European International Business Academy Annual Conference (Geographic and Socio-Political Dimensions of Globalization track – Competitive Paper Session). Leeds, United Kingdom.

Jiang, Frank G.L. & Sartor, Michael A. (2019). Does corporate self-regulation matter?: An analysis of corporate anti-corruption policy and foreign investment strategy. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (Global Strategy, Organization and Management Track – Interactive Session). Copenhagen, Denmark.

  • Recipient: Best Reviewer Award.

Sartor, Michael A. (2018). Latent transaction costs: Evidence from an internationalizing SME. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (Internationalization Process and International Entrepreneurship Track – Interactive Session). Minneapolis, USA.

Sartor, Michael A. (2017). Host market corruption, subsidiary strategies and market exit. Academy of Management Annual Meeting (International Management Division - Divisional Paper Session). Atlanta, USA.

  • Paper selected for inclusion in the Best Paper Conference Proceedings.
  • Finalist: Douglas Nigh Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research.
  • Nominee: William H. Newman Award for Best Conference Paper Based on a Dissertation.
  • Recipient: Best Reviewer Award in the International Management Division.  

Sartor, Michael A. (2016). Essays on the relationship between host market corruption and MNE strategy. European International Business Academy Annual Conference (Special Session: Gunnar Hedlund Doctoral Dissertation Award Finalist Presentations). Vienna, Austria.

  • Finalist: Stockholm School of Economics-Gunnar Hedlund Doctoral Dissertation Award.

Sartor, Michael A. (2016). Host market corruption and foreign subsidiary investments in emerging markets. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (MNEs, Governments and Non-Market Strategies Track – Competitive Session). New Orleans, USA.

  • Finalist: Best Paper Award in Emerging Economies Research.

Sartor, Michael A. (2016). Foreign corruption and subsidiary investments in emerging markets. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference (International Business Division). Edmonton, Canada.

  • Winner: Best Paper in International Business Award.

Sartor, Michael A. (2015). Essays on the relationship between host market corruption and multinational enterprise strategy. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (Special Session: Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award Finalist Presentations). Bengaluru, India.

  • Winner: Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award.

Sartor, Michael A. (2014). Corruption, multinational enterprise strategy and survival. Academy of Management Annual Meeting (International Management Division - Divisional Paper Session). Philadelphia, USA.

Sartor, Michael A. (2013). Government corruption and multinational enterprise strategy. Strategic Management Society Annual International Conference (Global Strategy Track). Atlanta, USA.   

  • Nominee: Best Conference Paper.
  • Nominee: Best Paper for Practice Implications.

Sartor, Michael A. (2013). The impact of informal institutions on MNE strategy. Academy of Management Annual Meeting (International Management Division - Divisional Paper Session). Orlando, USA.

  • Winner: GWU-CIBER Best Paper on Emerging Markets.
  • Finalist: Douglas Nigh Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research. 

Sartor, Michael A. (2013). Multilevel normative institutions: Host market bribery and multinational enterprise strategy. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (Institutions, Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Track - Competitive Session). Istanbul, Turkey.  

Sartor, Michael A. (2013). Host markets, informal institutions and strategy formulation. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference (International Business Division). Calgary, Canada.

  • Winner: Best Student Paper in International Business Award.

Sartor, Michael A. (2012). The structure and performance of reverse-innovating subsidiaries in emerging markets. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (Emerging Markets Division - Competitive Session). Washington, D.C.

Sartor, Michael A. (2011). Corruption and firm strategy. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (Institutions, Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Track - Competitive Session). Nagoya, Japan.

Sartor, Michael A. (2011). The entry strategies of reverse-innovating MNEs in emerging markets: The effects of regulative and normative institutional distances. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference (International Business Division). Montreal, Canada.  

  • Winner: Best Student Paper in International Business Award.

Sartor, Michael A. (2010). Intellectual property-intensive MNEs’ entry into China. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference (International Business Division). Regina, Canada.

Invited Presentations and Workshops (selected listing)

Academy of Management (International Management Division): Getting a Research Career Going webinar series (2021).

  • Invited panelist

Royal Bank of Canada and Kingston Economic Development Commission’s International Growth Symposium: International Distribution, Joint Ventures and Acquisitions. Kingston, Canada (2019).

  • Invited panelist: International Joint Ventures panel.

Academy of International Business (AIB) Junior Faculty Consortium. New Orleans, USA (2016).

Academy of Management (AOM) Junior Faculty Consortium (International Management Division). Anaheim, USA (2016).

University of South Carolina Moore School of Business and School of Law Corruption Symposium (Institutional Capacity, Corruption and Development). Columbia, South Carolina, USA (2014). 

  • Invited speaker: Anti-corruption efforts in the private sector panel.

Strategic Management Society (SMS) Global Strategy Division Paper Development Workshop.  Atlanta, USA (2013).

  • Invited participant: Government corruption and multinational enterprise strategy in emerging markets.

Academy of Management (AOM) Doctoral Consortium (International Management Division). Orlando, USA (2013).

Academy of International Business (AIB) Doctoral Consortium. Istanbul, Turkey (2013).

  • Winner: AIB-Sheth Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Award.

Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (CBERN) Winter Research Meeting. York University, Toronto, Canada (2013).

  • Invited presenter: Multinational enterprise strategy and government corruption.

Harvard University Project for Asian and International Relations, (Cross-Cultural Connections: Weaving New Silk Roads Conference). Harvard University, Boston, USA (2012).      

Conference Proceedings (Refereed)

Sartor, Michael A. (2016). Foreign corruption and subsidiary investments in emerging markets. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, International Business Division Proceedings.

Sartor, Michael A. (2013). Host markets, informal institutions and strategy formulation. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, International Business Division Proceedings, 34(10): 47-52.

Sartor, Michael A. (2011). The entry strategies of reverse-innovating MNEs in emerging markets: The effects of regulative and normative institutional distances.  Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, International Business Division Proceedings, 32(8): 6-25.

Sartor, Michael A. (2010). Intellectual property-intensive MNEs’ entry into China. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, International Business Division Proceedings, 31(8): 95-113.

Best Paper Conference Proceedings (Refereed)

Sartor, Michael A. (2017). Host market corruption, subsidiary strategies and market exit. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Best Paper Proceedings.

Awards

Research-Based Awards and Honors

Recipient of Best Reviewer Award from the Journal of International Business Studies (2021).

Recipient of the Smith School of Business (Queen’s University) New Researcher Achievement Award (2020).

Recipient of Best Reviewer Award (Academy of International Business Annual Meeting, 2019).

Recipient of Best Reviewer Award (Academy of Management Annual Meeting – International Management Division, 2017).

Paper selected for inclusion in the Best Paper Conference Proceedings (Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2017).

Finalist for the Douglas Nigh Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research (Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2017).

Nominee for the William H. Newman Award for Best Conference Paper Based on a Dissertation (Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2017).

Finalist for the Stockholm School of Economics-Gunnar Hedlund Doctoral Dissertation Award (European International Business Academy Annual Conference, 2016).

Finalist for the Best Paper Award in Emerging Economies Research (Academy of International Business Annual Meeting, 2016).

Winner of the Udayan Rege Best Doctoral Dissertation Award (Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, 2016).

Winner of the Best Paper in International Business Award (Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, 2016).

Winner of the Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award (Academy of International Business Annual Meeting, 2015).

Winner of the GWU-CIBER Best Paper on Emerging Markets (Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2013).

Finalist for the Douglas Nigh Award for Cross-Disciplinary Research (Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2013).

Nominee for the Best Conference Paper (Strategic Management Society Annual International Conference - Global Strategy Track, 2013).

Nominee for the Best Paper for Practice Implications (Strategic Management Society Annual International Conference - Global Strategy Track, 2013).

Winner of the AIB-Sheth Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Award (Academy of International Business Annual Meeting, 2013).

Winner of Best Student Paper in International Business Award (Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, 2013).

Winner of Best Student Paper in International Business Award (Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, 2011).

Honorable Mention in the 2011 Anti-Corruption Research Network (ACRN) Research Paper competition (sponsored by Transparency International, the Quality of Government Institute and the Institute for Security Studies).

Teaching Awards and Honors

Recipient of the Professor of the Year Award (2019) from Queen’s University for teaching delivered in the co-branded Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Americas Program (selected by the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Americas Program students).

Recipient of the Star Award for Teaching Excellence (2019) from Cornell University for teaching delivered in the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Americas Program (selected by the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Americas Program students).

Named by Poets and Quants for Executives as one of The Favorite Professors of Executive MBAs. View full text at: https://bit.ly/3bwjMz2

Grants & Funding

Insight Development Grant: Medicine that works and tastes good also: The anti-corruption programs of MNCs (2018-2022)
SSHRC | $46,936

Institutional Grant (Explore Grant Program): Medicine that works and tastes good also: The anti-corruption programs of MNCs (2018-2022)
SSHRC | $6,990

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (with Distinction). Combating corporate corruption in emerging markets: The role of corporate integrity. (2013-2014)
Government of Ontario | $16,500.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship-SSHRC Doctoral Award: Combating corporate corruption in emerging markets: The role of corporate integrity. (2012-2013)
SSHRC | $20,000

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (declined in order to accept the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship-SSHRC Doctoral Award) (2012-2013)
Government of Ontario | $15,000

Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Securing innovation leadership through reverse innovation. (2011-2012)
Government of Ontario | $15,000

Service

Service to the Smith School of Business (Queen’s University)

  • Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Americas Joint Academic Committee member (2017-2021).
  • Renewal, Tenure and Promotion (RTP) Committee member (2016-2017).

Service to the Academic Community

Editorial Review Board Member

  • Journal of International Business Studies (since 2020)
  • Journal of Management Studies (since 2021)
  • Journal of World Business (since 2020)

Academy of International Business (AIB) Annual Meeting

  • Session chair
  • Global Strategy, Organization and Management track: 2019.
  • Internationalization and Entrepreneurship track: 2018.
  • Multinational Enterprises, Governments and Nonmarket Strategies track: 2016.      
  • Institutional and Political Environment track: 2015.
  • Institutions, Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility track: 2012-2013. 
  • Ad hoc manuscript reviewer: 2011-2020.
  • Co-chair of the AIB Award Winners Alumni Reception: 2016.

Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Meeting

  • Session chair (International Management division): 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. 
  • Ad hoc manuscript reviewer: 2011-2021. 

European International Business Academy (EIBA) Annual Conference

  • Session chair
  • Emerging Markets and Regional Perspectives track: 2019.
  • Ad hoc manuscript reviewer: 2019.

Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual International Conference

  • Ad hoc manuscript reviewer: 2014.

Academy of Management Africa (AOM-AFR) Conference

  • Ad hoc manuscript reviewer: 2013.

Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) Annual Conference

  • Session Chair (International Business division): 2012-2013, 2016.
  • Ad hoc manuscript reviewer: 2011-2013.

American Marketing Association (AMA) Annual Conference

  • Ad hoc manuscript reviewer (Emerging Markets Division): 2012.

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

  • The Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario)
  • Academy of International Business
  • Academy of Management (International Management Division)
  • Strategic Management Society (Global Strategy Interest Group)

Ad Hoc Journal Manuscript Reviewer

  • Administrative Science Quarterly
  • Journal of International Management
  • Journal of Business Venturing
  • Management International Review
  • Journal of Business Ethics
  • Multinational Business Review