Dr Aylin Ates

Senior Lecturer

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

Personal statement

Dr. Aylin Ates is an Associate Professor in Strategy at the University of Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow, UK. She is closely involved with business practice and policy through research projects, professional education programs, and various speaker and advisory roles. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Strathclyde, which investigated strategy processes in UK manufacturing SMEs, and a BSc (Hons) in Industrial Engineering from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Management in Turkiye.

Aylin’s core contribution to knowledge is in the field of the small and medium enterprise (SME) strategy and resilience. By bridging the theories of strategy and performance management to enhance our knowledge of how to build adaptive and resilient high-tech, manufacturing SMEs, she has developed an international reputation. Her expertise in SME viability and resilience is recognised globally and informed policy at the international level. For example, the UN organisation - United Nations Industrial Development Agency (UNIDO) authorities invited Aylin to write a feature article for the UNIDO Industrial Analytics Platform, called ‘Small and medium enterprises' resilience and viability in turbulent times’ while reaching out to a global audience.    

She authored 55+ high-quality publications in prominent management journals such as the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, the Journal of Business Research, the International Journal of Production Research, Production Planning and Control, the European Management Journal, the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, and the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. She is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management (established in 1952, and published by Emerald).

Aylin has led several major research projects while attracting a total of £645,000 in research funding (coming to the University) as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator. She secured major grants from industry, the European Commission, EPSRC, the British Council (Newton Fund), Innovate UK - KTP, Scottish Funding Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and the UK Space Agency.

Aylin holds several leadership roles at the University – elected member of the Senate and the Discipline Committee, member of the Faculty Academic Committee, Director of Postgraduate Teaching at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, and University Dignity & Respect Adviser. She is appointed as an Expert Advisor and Peer Reviewer for the UK and international government organisations such as the National Science Centre Poland, the UKRI, and the British Academy of Management, where she selects proposals to be granted government funding. Also, she serves as an external examiner at Coventry University, the Faculty of Business and Law, the School of Strategy and Leadership.

Expertise

Has expertise in:

    • Strategic management (with particular reference to manufacturing small and medium enterprises-SMEs)
    • Digital transformation and managing obsolescence
    • Organisational resilience and performance management in SMEs
    • Ecosystems and High-Value Manufacturing

    I supervise UG, MSc, MBA and PhD/DBA projects in the area of strategic management, performance management, innovation, technology and change management.

Prizes and awards

Best Paper Award at the British Academy of Management Conference 2019
Recipient
5/9/2019
Nominee for Researcher Development Programme Supervisor of 2017/18 (PGR)
Recipient
2018
Teaching Excellence Award - Most Supportive
Recipient
2017
EPSRC Doctoral Studentship Award
Recipient
2005

More prizes and awards

Publications

Making sense of high value manufacturing : relating policy and theory
Paton Steve, Ates Aylin, Sminia Harry, Smith Marisa
Production Planning and Control Vol 34, pp. 359-370 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2021.1922777
Business resilience : finding a way forward
Ates Aylin
(2023)
Business resilience : finding a way forward
Ates Aylin
(2022)
Making obsolescence obsolete : execution of digital transformation in a high-tech manufacturing SME
Ates Aylin, Acur Nuran
Journal of Business Research Vol 152, pp. 336-348 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.07.052
Small and Medium Enterprises' Resilience and Viability in Turbulent Times
Ates Aylin
(2022)
Bridging differing perspectives on ecosystems research to understand co-opetition
Ates Aylin, Paton Steve, Sminia Harry, Smith Marisa
36th Annual Conference of the British Academy of Management (2022)

More publications

Teaching

I design and deliver modules on Strategic Management, Technology and Organisational Change and Consulting within post-graduate MSc and MBA programs.

Current Classes:

  • Business Strategy (PGT)
  • Advanced Qualitative Methods (Faculty MRes/Doctoral Programme)
  • Strategic Analysis and Evaluation (MBA)
  • Technology & Organisational Change (PGT)
  • Consulting in Practice (PGT)

Research interests

My research interests cover the areas of strategic management, digital transformation, performance management, and manufacturing ecosystems mainly in small and medium enterprise context. I use qualitative data analysis techniques and happy to consider PhD applications in these fields.

Professional activities

EURAM 2023: 23rd Annual Conference of the European Academy of Management
Chair
15/6/2023
EURAM 2023: 23rd Annual Conference of the European Academy of Management
Organiser
14/6/2023
International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management (Journal)
Associate Editor
10/10/2022
PhD External Examiner at Uni. of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business, South Africa
Examiner
7/10/2022
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Skills for Resilience: Are We Ready for a Skills Revolution?
Invited speaker
15/9/2022
Research Councils UK (Now UKRI) (External organisation)
Advisor
9/2022

More professional activities

Projects

Research Excellence Award (REA) - PhD studentship in Co-opetition in Ecosystems
Ates, Aylin (Principal Investigator) Paton, Steve (Co-investigator)
£63,394 over three years.
03-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2025
Boosting Strategic Capability: Process and Product Management in Small Satellite Innovation
Ates, Aylin (Principal Investigator) Paton, Steve (Co-investigator)
Demand for high-quality, timely data from space has never been greater and the increasing commercial interest means businesses must adapt to respond to the global opportunity.

Following an active period of acquisition, integration and expansion Clyde Space is now planning the next phase of growth, with a focus on building and launching its own constellation of satellites to establish a leading position in the supply of Space-Data-as-a-Service.

Strathclyde University will support development of a scalable organisational operating model to facilitate efficient and effective revenue growth and capability development in the short-, medium- and long-term through the implementation of innovative solutions.
01-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2022
KTP - Leonardo
Paton, Steve (Principal Investigator) Ates, Aylin (Co-investigator) Sminia, Harry (Co-investigator)
04-Jan-2019 - 03-Jan-2021
Entrepreneurship Masterclass: Creating and Maintaining Competitive Advantage
Shaw, Eleanor (Principal Investigator) Ates, Aylin (Academic)
Creating and sustaining a competitive advantage has become increasingly difficult in an ever-changing and dynamic environment. Businesses need to be adept at strategic thinking and strategic analysis and find ways to enhance impact, value and performance. This Masterclass taught approximately 25 business owners and entrepreneurs the tools and techniques to stay ahead of the game.
20-Jan-2019 - 21-Jan-2019
Development of Green and Sustainable Ship Recycling Industry for Indonesia (Newton Fund)
Kurt, Rafet (Principal Investigator) Ates, Aylin (Co-investigator) FARIYA, Siti (Researcher) Gunbeyaz, Sefer Anil (Researcher)
01-Jan-2019 - 28-Jan-2021
Student Excellence Award (SEA) - PhD studentship in Open Strategy
Ates, Aylin (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2018 - 01-Jan-2021

More projects

Address

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship
Stenhouse Wing

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