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Profile

Dr Irene Chu

Senior Lecturer in International Management

Background

Irene Chu is a Senior Lecturer in International Management at Newcastle University Business School and the Degree Programme Director for the BSc (Hons) International Business Management.

She earned her MBA and PhD from Durham University Business School, UK, and brings extensive industry experience from both the public and private sectors in Taiwan and the UK. Prior to joining Newcastle University Business School, she held academic positions at the University of Bradford School of Management and York St. John University Business School.

Her research focuses on ethics, sustainability and entrepreneurship across Eastern and Western contexts. She has published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including The Leadership Quarterly, British Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics and Journal of Business Research. Irene has received several prestigious awards, including the Best Paper Award and Best Symposium at the Academy of Management Conference in Boston (2019) and the Founders’ Award for Emerging Scholars at the Society for Business Ethics Conference in Atlanta, USA (2017), awarded for her PhD thesis.

She is an Associate Editor for Business Strategy and the Environment, a leading peer-reviewed journal in sustainable business, and serves on the editorial review board of the Journal of Business and Professional Ethics. In addition, she is an international subject matter expert in International Business Management for the Irish National Agency’s National Framework of Qualifications.

Research

My interdisciplinary research focuses on ethics, sustainability, and entrepreneurship across Eastern and Western contexts. I adopt a philosophical and organisational perspective, examining how practices and institutional contexts influence individuals and organisations, particularly in relation to well-being, human flourishing and sustainable development. My work draws on virtue ethics, moral psychology, institutional logics, and sustainability studies.

Ongoing projects include:

  • Sustainability and the UN SDGs in emerging markets – investigating how businesses implement strategies to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on emerging economies where institutional and cultural contexts shape sustainable business practices.
  • Ethics – exploring virtue ethics, particularly Confucian philosophy and Alasdair MacIntyre’s theoretical framework, with a focus on the development of the moral self and how ethical reasoning shapes individual and organisational behaviour.
  • Entrepreneurship – studying entrepreneurial behaviour, value creation, and the pluralism of entrepreneurship activity, including how diverse institutional and cultural contexts influence entrepreneurial practices.
  • Digital inclusion – examining the ethical, social, and organisational implications of digital technologies, particularly in how access to digital tools and platforms affects individual and community well-being.

This interdisciplinary approach allows me to bridge philosophy, organisational studies, and social impact, contributing to both academic research and practical applications in business and society.



I am also taking on PhD students' supervision. I have supervised two PhD students to complete their PhD theses so far.

Teaching

With over 15 years of teaching experience in higher education, Irene has designed and delivered courses at undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive MBA levels. Her teaching spans business ethics, sustainable business, corporate social responsibility, cross-cultural management and strategic management.

She currently leads/ delivers lectures on the following modules:

  • BUS3078 Advanced Global Strategy
  • BUS3017 CSR & Ethics
  • NBS8128 Transition in the Global Economy
  • NBS8650 Introduction to Sustainability Management



Publications