Research Seminar Series: Dr Pengcheng Ma

Speaker: Dr Pengcheng Ma
Title: Navigating Geopolitical Risks in International Business: Two studies

Date: Friday 21 August 2026
Time: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Venue: Building 21, PAP Moran, G058, Seminar Room

Lin Cui is the host of this visit

Title: Navigating Geopolitical Risks in International Business: Two studies

Abstract: Against the backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions and growing global uncertainty, geopolitical risks (GPRs) have emerged as a defining challenge for multinational enterprises, reshaping the landscape of international business strategy. Building on this context, the two studies presented in this seminar examine the multifaceted impacts of geopolitical risks from complementary perspectives. The first investigates how firms deploy narrative and communicative strategies to mitigate stakeholder risk perceptions, unpacking the cognitive and emotional mechanisms through which strategic framing shapes investor reactions to geopolitical shocks. The second shifts to the digital economy, exploring how forced disconnections in global platform ecosystems reshape network effects across third-country markets, revealing diversity-based value erosion as an under-recognized channel of geopolitical risk spillover. Together, these studies advance GPR research with novel insights.

Bio: Pengcheng Ma (PhD, Australian National University) is Assistant Professor at Renmin Business School, Renmin University of China, and a recipient of the Yuzhang Wu Young Scholar award. His research centers on international business strategy, with specialized interests in emerging-market multinational enterprises, business group governance, and global supply chain resilience amid geopolitical fragmentation. He has published several papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Management Studies and Harvard Business Review. His work has been recognized with best paper awards at major international conferences, including the annual meetings of the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR) and the Academy of International Business (AIB).

Dr. Ma holds several key editorial positions across the field: he serves as Reviewing Editor for the Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Associate Editor for Chinese Management Studies, and Guest Editor for a special issue at International Business Review. He is also a standing member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Management Studies, Management and Organization Review, and International Business Review。