Reflections on Research, Methods and Publishing: My Eu-SPRI Summer School Experience.
Aynur Temel
A week at Villa del Grumello, in a room full of PhD students and senior faculty members whose backgrounds are as diverse as they come, yet who all fit under one umbrella: innovation and international business. As a second-year PhD student, I appreciated the depth of each method session. We were not scraping the surface; no matter our background, we were deeply engaged in a single methodological deep dive, whether qualitative research or mathematical modeling. This way, we could see where we might have methodological shortcomings in our own “way of doing.” That is exactly what this year’s EIBA-EU/SPRI Summer School delivered: not another round of more theory or surface-level methods workshops, but faculty members who showed us how to actually apply the theory, and where we could work to genuinely join the academic conversation and strengthen our own contributions to research.
Each day was designed not only to teach new concepts but also to encourage reflection on our own research projects. Three in-depth expert talks were held daily, introducing new research areas, methodological angles, and ideas we could bring back into our work. We discussed how John Walsh’s research sparked a twenty-year debate on biomedical patenting. John Cantwell reflected on why we are returning to the very principles of the OLI paradigm. Christian Rasmussen gave us a hands-on introduction to mathematical modeling, using tangible examples of IB research we could easily relate to. His demonstration of a Monte Carlo simulation showed that a completely artificially generated relationship between internationalization and performance still yields a “significant” result in a naive regression. This was a clear reminder of how easily we can fool ourselves if we don’t think carefully about endogeneity and functional form. What stood out in particular were the “How to Publish” sessions, delivered from an editor’s perspective: an honest conversation for junior scholars and established researchers alike, on publishing in both innovation research and general management. Everyone in the room brainstormed and discussed the hurdles and key points of successful publishing, not only within IB but more broadly. Overall, each expert talk either deepened or refined our existing knowledge or opened new paths for adapting our thinking and implementing novel research approaches in our own projects.
At the end of each day, the faculty offered a 1:1 session for focused discussion of individual research projects. I took full advantage of this rare opportunity by scheduling a 1:1 session each day with a different faculty member, receiving highly useful feedback on both my PhD projects and my overall academic path. What made the week so strong was that each faculty member was genuinely present and invested in our projects.
All of this took place in a beautiful setting with a breathtaking view of Lake Como. Each lunch and coffee break turned into a casual encounter with top scholars and fellow PhD students.
I am deeply grateful for this opportunity, and to the entire organizing team, for a summer school that ran smoothly from start to finish.