Background

Roles and Responsibilities

Robert is a Reader in Enterprise and Innovation and has worked extensively in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. He has founded and run a number of entrepreneurial businesses having a PhD, MSc, MBA and BSc.

He is Principal Investigator for a Comic Relief funded project ‘Scaling innovative rural distribution for farmer inputs’ in Kenya and is developing the Rural Business Network development concept with colleagues internationally.

Robert is particularly interested in how entrepreneurship is being used for development in both the 'Global North' and 'Global South' and is actively supporting the Entrepreneurship Educator Foundation for East Africa.

He is the Head of the Marketing, Operations and Systems discipline group at the Newcastle University Business School.

Google Scholar: Click here.

Research

Interests

Robert is interested specifically in rural entrepreneurship in both the developed and developing context, enterprise education and the evaluation of entrepreneurship and innovation programmes.

He is conducting research looking at the intersection of entrepreneurship and poverty, with a focus on smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists in Eastern Africa. He also monitors and evaluates the impact of entrepreneurship and innovation programmes, with a current involvement with research commercialisation programmes and the impact of serious games upon entrepreneurial outcomes.

Geographies of interest

- UK and Europe (particularly as regards farming entrepreneurship and rural business models; business associations)

- East Africa (entrepreneurship and poverty, business models and innovative supply chains; networks of support)

- West Africa (business models and development)

- Eastern Europe (emerging rural business models)

Ph.D students

I am pleased to talk to potential Ph.D students with interesting proposals that link into my research interests and / or geographies of interest.

Teaching

Business operates in an increasingly complex world and Robert's teaching / facilitation reflects this through combining academic theory with personal theory and reflection.

Undergraduate

MKT3014 New Product Development (Module leader)
This module examines entrepreneurship and innovation management from a strategic marketing perspective; enabling students explore principles in relation to entrepreneurship and innovation management, specifically new product/service development. This module will be delivered through introducing relevant literature, learning experiences, and industry-linked case studies; so that theory and practice go together.

Postgraduate

NBS8497 Entrepreneurship (MBA) (Module leader)This module provides an overview of the mind-set, methods, and activities that support the entrepreneurial process. An entrepreneurial venture, whether occurring in an independent, corporate or social context, is the result of a unique set of circumstances involving the entrepreneur / team, a business opportunity, and the identification and marshalling of key resources needed to capture the opportunity. All of this must be done in the context surrounding the business opportunity. The module takes an experimental approach where students develop a viable business model whilst critically reflecting upon the relevance of entrepreneurship within their chosen career.

NBS8111 International Entrepreneurship The overall aim of the module is to develop an understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of developing and growing a small business internationally and advance cross-national comparisons of entrepreneurial activity. Accordingly, students will develop insights, tools, concepts and skills necessary to understand the challenges and opportunities of international entrepreneurship.
 

Publications

• Haddoud M, Jones P, Newbery R. Chapter 6: SMEs’ export performance in Algeria: A Configuration Approach. In: Higgins, D; Jones, P; McGowan, P, ed. Creating Entrepreneurial Space. Emerald, 2018, pp.91-112. In Preparation.
• Igwe P, Madichie N, Newbery R. Determinants of livelihood choices and artisanal entrepreneurship in Nigeria. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research 2019, 25(4), 674-697.
• Newbery R, Lean J, Moizer J, Haddoud M. Entrepreneurial identity formation during the initial entrepreneurial experience: The influence of simulation feedback and existing identity. Journal of Business Research 2018, 85, 51-59.
• Alammari K, Newbery R, Haddoud M, Beaumont E. Entrepreneurial Intention(s), Volition and self-regulation: bridging the intention / action gap. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research 2018. Submitted.
• Newbery R, Roderick S, Wilkinson A. Entrepreneurial Orientation in Smallholder Farms in Kenya: its relationship with performance in conditions of poverty. Environment and Planning A 2018. Submitted.
• Apostolopoulos A, Al-Dajani H, Holt D, Jones P, Newbery R, ed. Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2018.
• Igwe P, Newbery R, Icha-Ituma A. Entrepreneurship Challenges and Gender Issues in the African Informal Rural Economy. In: V. Ratten, C. Marques and V. Braga, ed. Knowledge, learning and innovation, Research Insights into Cross-Sector Collaboration. Springer, 2018.
• Jones P, Maas G, Dobson S, Newbery R, Agyapong D, Matlay H. Entrepreneurship in Africa, Part 1: Entrepreneurial Dynamics in Africa. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 2018, 25(3), 346-348.
• Jones P, Maas G, Dobson S, Newbery R, Agyapong D, Matlay H. Entrepreneurship in Africa, Part 2: Entrepreneurial Education and Ecosystems. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 2018, 25(4), 550-553.
• Jones P, Maas G, Dobson S, Newbery R, Agyapong D, Matlay H. Entrepreneurship in Africa, Part 3: Conclusions on African Entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 2018. In Preparation.
• Kimmitt J, Munoz P, Newbery R. Entrepreneurship, Prospective Prosperity and Poverty Amelioration: The Enabling Role of Conversion Factors. Journal of Business Venturing 2018. Submitted.
• Haddoud M, Jones P, Newbery R. Export Intention in Developing Countries: A Configuration Approach to Managerial Success Factors. Journal of Small Business Management 2018, (ePub ahead of print).
• Elliott K, Cambre B, Newbery R. Intangible behaviours in University spin out activities: a configurational approach. In: 34th EGOS Conference. 2018, Tallinn, Estonia.
• Haddoud M, Jones P, Newbery R. Internal and external determinants of export performance: Insights from Algeria. Thunderbird International Business Review 2018, 61(1), 43-60.
• Haddoud M, Onjewu A, Jones A, Newbery R. Investigating the moderating role of Export Promotion Programmes using evidence from North-Africa. Critical perspectives on international business 2018, 14(2/3), 282-308.
• Igwe P, Amoncar N, White G, Newbery R, Madichie N. Keeping It in the Family: Exploring Igbo Ethnic Entrepreneurial Behaviour in Nigeria. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 2020, 26(1), 34-53.
• Haddoud M, Jones P, Newbery R. Motivating nonexporters to go abroad: Investigating the role of government using evidence from a developing country. Strategic Change 2018, 27(4), 417-429.
• Alammari K, Newbery R, Haddoud M, Beaumont E. Post-materialistic values and entrepreneurial intention: The Case of Saudi Arabia. Small Business and Enterprise Development 2018, 26(1), 158-179.
• Phillipson J, Turner R, Tiwasing P, Gorton M, Maioli S, Newbery R. Rural Economies and the UK Industrial Strategy. Newcastle: Newcastle University, 2018. Rural Economy and Land Use Policy and Practice Note 6.
• Phillipson J, Tiwasing P, Gorton M, Maioli S, Newbery R, Turner R. Shining a spotlight on small rural businesses: How does their performance compare with urban?. Journal of Rural Studies 2019, 68, 230-239.
• Haddoud M, Jones P, Benyon M, Newbery R. SMEs’ export propensity in North Africa: a fuzzy c-means cluster analysis. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 2018, 25(5), 769-790.
• Apostolopoulos N, Newbery R, Gkartzios M. Social enterprise and community resilience: Examining a Greek response to turbulent times. Journal of Rural Studies 2019, 70, 215-224.
• Phillipson J, Gorton M, Maioli S, Newbery R, Pattanapong T, Turner R. The Aspirations and Performance of Rural SMEs in England: A national and regional analysis. Regional Studies 2018. Submitted.
• Newbery R, Gorton M, Sauer J, Roderick S, Robbins K. The Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Productivity and Technical Efficiency. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 2018. In Preparation.
• Jones P, Newbery R, Underwood P. Enhanced Entrepreneurial Learning through Visual Experiential Learning. In: Jones, P;Maas, G; Pittaway, L, ed. Entrepreneurship Education: New Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Education. Emerald, 2017, pp.197-211.
• Haddoud M, Jones P, Newbery R. Export Promotion Programmes and SMEs’ Performance: Exploring the Network Promotion Role. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 2017, 24(1), 68-87.
• Phillipson J, Gorton M, Maioli S, Newbery R, Tiwasing P, Turner R. Rural business aspirations, obstacles and support: an analysis of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2015. 2017. Enterprise Research Centre Research Paper 58.
• Phillipson J, Gorton M, Maioli S, Newbery R, Tiwasing P, Turner R. Small rural firms in English regions: analysis and key findings from the UK Longitudinal Small Business Survey, 2015. Newcastle upon Tyne: Centre for Rural Economy and Newcastle University Business School, 2017.
• Newbery R, Henley A, Siwale J. Special Issue on Rural Entrepreneurship Theory in the Developing and Developed World. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 2017, 18(1), 3-4.
• Perkins G, Lean J, Newbery R. The Role of Organizational Vision in Guiding Idea Generation within SME Contexts. Creativity and Innovation Management 2017, 26(1), 75-90.
• Phillipson J, Turner R, Gorton M, Maioli S, Newbery R, Tiwasing P. What's holding rural businesses back?. Newcastle upon Tyne: Rural Enterprise UK, 2017. Rural Economy and Land Use Policy and Practice Note 2.
• Newbery R, Lean J, Moizer J. Evaluating the impact of serious games: the effect of gaming on entrepreneurial intent. Information Technology and People 2016, 29(4), 733-749.
• Seedhouse A, Johnson R, Newbery R. Potholes and pitfalls: The impact of rural transport on female entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Journal of Transport Geography 2016, 54, 140-147.
• Newbery R, Gorton M, Phillipson J, Atterton J. Sustaining business networks: Understanding the benefit bundles sought by members of local business associations. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 2016, 34(7), 1267-1283.
• Jones P, Forbes-Simpson K, Maas G, Newbery R. Beta: an experiment in funded graduate start-up. Industry and Higher Education 2015, 29(5), 405-418.
• Newbery R. Measuring Entrepreneurial Growth. In: Maas, G; Jones, P, ed. Systemic Entrepreneurship: Contemporary Issues and Case Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
• Newbery R, Bosworth G. The Character of Rural Business Relations. In: Kasabov, E, ed. Rural Cooperation in Europe: In Search of the 'Relational Rurals'. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp.29-48.
• Lean J, Moizer J, Newbery R. Enhancing the Impact of Online Simulations through Blended Learning: a Critical Incident Approach. Education + Training 2014, 56(2/3), 208-218.
• Newbery R, Sauer J, Gorton M, Phillipson J, Atterton J. Determinants of the performance of business associations in rural settlements in the United Kingdom: an analysis of members’ satisfaction and willingness-to-pay for association survival. Environment and Planning A 2013, 45(4), 967-985.