Georgios Batsakis

Alba Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece

“From the perspective of an Alba MBA alumnus, I nominate Professor Batsakis because his entrepreneurship course was one of the most influential courses in my academic and professional careers. The course has given me unique perspectives on the business world, showing me how it works, what laws govern it, and, most importantly, giving me the opportunity to influence and improve it. Professor Batsakis designed the entrepreneurship course with the idea that students will need to come up with a product or service idea and pitch it to real venture capitalists. To that end, each student team’s goal is to create and present their entrepreneurial/business ideas to a board comprised of real-life venture capitalists and school faculty members, so that the business plans can be judged and scored from both business and academic perspectives. ” – Dimitris Bertos

Georgios Batsakis, 38, is Associate Professor of International Business at the Alba Graduate Business School at The American College of Greece.

He previously held academic positions at Brunel University London and the University of Kent. His research focuses on internationalization processes and foreign market entry strategies of multinational enterprises.

He has published in top-tier academic journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Journal of Product Innovation Management, and British Journal of Management, among others. He has acted as Track-Chair of leading academic conferences, and he is an active ad-hoc reviewer for a number of highly-rated academic journals in the area of international business and general management.

He has established strong ties with the industry, where he regularly advises pre-seed stage startups on issues revolving around business model formulation, proof of concept, and demand validation. He is frequently invited as a speaker in practitioners’ executive seminars and as a mentor and judge in leading national and international startup competitions.

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2017

Education: Ph.D. (Brunel University London); MSc (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

List of MBA courses you currently teach: Entrepreneurship

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR 

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when I started studying for my Master at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Having the opportunity to study next to accomplished scholars and engage with interesting research projects was the main reason why I started thinking of studying for a Ph.D. and becoming a business school professor.

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? My research revolves around internationalization strategies of multinational enterprises, that is how firms decide to enter foreign markets and how their decision affects their performance. One thing I currently study is the impact of digitalization / digital strategy on how traditional firms (i.e., the so-called born physical firms) adapt their internationalization strategy and how this affects their performance. A consistent finding coming out of my research project is that digitalization pays off and allows firms to become more competitive and mitigate the problems arising due to over-reliance on physical resources.

If I weren’t a business school professor I would probably be a hospitality and tourism professional. I was born and raised in Greece and engaging more professionally with the tourism sector has always been at the back of my mind. 

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? Looking into my teaching evaluations throughout all these years I think what makes me stand out as a professor is my relentless dedication to the students and the fact that I am always available to them for providing guidance and feedback. I wouldn’t describe myself as a gifted professor but as a passionate academic who is always eager to go the extra mile for his students. 

One word that describes my first time teaching: Enthusiasm

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Being a business school professor is as competitive, challenging, and demanding as working in the finance, banking or consulting sector. People who do not work in academia are most probably unaware of the long hours we (academics) devote on teaching, research and service. If you don’t believe me, please ask my wife!

Professor I most admire and why: Alex Mohr (WU Vienna), Roy Thurik (Erasmus University) and Ron Smith (Birkbeck) for the big impact all had on me. They all are hard-working, dedicated, and accomplished academics. I learned different things from each one of them so their influence was complementary in making me a better person as well as a competent scholar. Roy Thurik is a legend and one of the pioneers in the field of entrepreneurship. I was inspired by him when I had the opportunity to attend his lectures at Erasmus University. Ron Smith, an expert academic in applied econometrics helped me see the real value and fun side of econometrics. What an energetic and friendly person he is! Alex Mohr has been a true mentor, a generous colleague and friend and the best boss one can ask for!

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? Certainly, this has to be reciprocal learning. Working with experienced professionals and executives gives us (academics) the privilege of sharing our knowledge with what one can call agents of change. At the same time we have the opportunity to learn directly from the source about new industry trends and changing dynamics.

What is most challenging? Diversity of the students’ background. It is mainly the fact that at the MBA level I have to engage and work with different functional, educational and professional backgrounds which adds to the complexity of the learning process. That said, apart from being challenging, it is also highly rewarding as you get to know how different individuals think and act.

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Motivated

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Free-rider

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… just and constructive (well, at least this is what I think!)

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? I am a sports addict. I like watching and playing tennis. I am a movies junkie too and I particularly enjoy watching Hollywood classic films and modern European movies. Above all, I am a Liverpool FC fan!

How will you spend your summer? I will spend my summer with my family. Being the father of two means that this time of the year is fully devoted to them and my wife.

Favorite place(s) to vacation: The Aegean sea in Greece is a heaven on earth with endless options and several hidden gems. My favorite place though is the island of Skyros as I am emotionally attached to that place.

Favorite book(s): I would go with a favorite author and this is Paulo Coelho. His novels have had a big impact on me. There is always an important message to the reader about what is the meaning of life and how one can become a better person. The Devil and Miss Prym is one of my favorite books.

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? My favorite movie is Casablanca. I cannot think of any other movie keeping me so focused. I love everything about this movie. I particularly enjoy the TV series ‘Better call Saul’. While watching ‘Breaking bad’ I paid respect to the brilliance of Bryan Cranston in his role as Walter White. However, Bob Odenkirk has truly been a genius in his role as Saul Goodman. This is by far my favorite TV series and character ever.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I like to listen to different genres and schools of Jazz and soul music. I also like to listen to 70s and 80s disco and rock classics as well as 90s and 00s house music. A thing most people and students don’t know about me is that I used to be a DJ since the age of 16 (that was my first job actually!). Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers, and Michael Jackson, are among my favorite artists.

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of action-based learning, experiential and experimental learning. It would be a school where students will be able to apply knowledge directly to the market and companies/organizations would-be allies and key stakeholders in their learning process. Luckily, I can claim that many of these are important ingredients of the learning process in the Entrepreneurship course that I teach.

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at being more extroverted, caring and empathetic with the stakeholders.

I’m grateful for doing a job I really love and has a (hopefully positive) impact on many individuals and organizations. I am also grateful for being able to achieve the goals I set. Every year I set a new goal and this is what keeps me motivated and energetic.

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