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University Communications

Globalization and Entrepreneurship to be Topic of International Business Symposium at University of Richmond

March 6, 2003

The global competitive environment is changing dramatically, according to Leo-Paul Dana, one of three international business scholars who will speak March 27 on "Globalization and Entrepreneurship" at the University of Richmond.

Instead of large companies dominating international markets, with smaller businesses remaining local or regional, Dana says, small firms today "have to be globally competitive-whether they enter the global arena or not."

One way for "small-and medium-sized enterprises to increase their global competitiveness is to form cooperative relationships with larger multinational enterprises," Dana says. "Such arrangements allow small firms to reach global markets," while allowing "large firms to reduce costs through greater specialization."

Dana is senior advisor to the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises and an associate professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. His book "Entrepreneurship in Pacific Asia: Past, Present & Future" has been on the bestseller list for 25 months. His talk is titled "Back to the Future: The Bazaar and the New Economy."

Joining Dana will be Luis Pereiro, visiting international scholar at the University of North Carolina and former dean of Escuela de Negocios, Universidad Torcuato De Tella in Buenas Aires, Argentina. Pererio will talk on "Entrepreneurship and Change in Emerging Economies."

Richard W. Wright, professor of management systems at Richmond's Robins School of Business, will talk on "New Paradigms of Global Competition." Wright holds the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Business in the Robins School.

The symposium, which is sponsored by the Richmond Quest and the Robins School's international business programs, begins at 4 p.m. in Jepson Hall, Room 118. The event and a reception at 5:30 p.m. are free and open to the public. This year's quest topic centers on questions about change: "When does discovery inspire change?" "Why change?" and "What is the nature of discovery and change?"