About
Muhammad Saad Baloch is a Lecturer in International Business and Finance at the Southampton Business School. Before joining the University of Southampton, He worked at the Rabat Business School, International University of Rabat as an Assistant Professor of Finance.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- International Business
- Non-Market Strategies
- Board Gender Diversity
- Corporate Governance
- CSR and Environmental Sustainability
Current research
Saad’s research areas are multidisciplinary. He has a keen interest in the drivers and motives of internationalization and the adoption of nonmarket strategies to survive and enhance the internationalization process. He combines insights from International Business and Finance to explore the plausible answers to some of the challenging questions in International Business and Finance. Specifically, His current research focuses on determining the impact of the existence of institutional voids in home and host markets on the internationalization of domestic and foreign firms in emerging markets. Based on this framework, Saad examines how emerging MNCs are involved in different nonmarket strategies, such as Corporate Social Responsibilities, Corporate Political Activities, and Board Gender Diversity, to enhance their internationalization and survival. He further explores how firm-specific and country-level institutional and regulatory factors play a pivotal role in enhancing the outward foreign direct investment of MNCs and their exit decision. His research interest also involves studying the implications of the involvement of MNCs in fintech revolution, digital currencies for the development of financial markets, AI adoption, and environmental sustainability in host and home markets.
Saad is interested and looking forward to having such PhD students who would like to pursue their research on a topic linked to one of his main research interests. Saad can offer his supervision for qualified PhD applicants interested in one of the following research topics:
- Role of institutional, social, environmental, and political environment and their impact on the internationalization of domestic and foreign firms.
- The adoption and evolution of non-market strategies in the IB field and their impact on the internationalization process of MNCs
- Impact of macro level financial, technological, and environmental policies on the internationalisation of local and foreign firms before and after the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19 pandemic
- The role and implication of the adoption of AI, fintech and digital currencies for the IB field
- Corporate governance and IB
Research projects
Active projects
Publications
Teaching
Saad’s teaching expertise and interest lie in Corporate Finance, International Finance, International Business, Islamic Finance, and Personal Finance.
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Saad Baloch holds a Ph.D. in Finance from COMSATS University Islamabad with the specialization in international business. His doctoral thesis mainly focused on the role of domestic financial reforms and the adoption of non-market strategies in host and home markets on the internationalization of Chinese and Indian firms. He also holds a Master’s degree from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, and a Bachelor’s degree from the International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan in Economics and Finance. He is eager to build the nexus between the academic research and its practical implications. He has also obtained the best researcher award for the academic year 2021-22 at the Rabat Business School, International University of Rabat.
His research work was published in various peer-reviewed, well-reputed, and top international journals, including the Journal of World Business, British Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, International Business Review, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and European Management Review, among others. Current work is under review in other top journals. He has presented his research work at top conferences such as AIB UKI, EIBA, AIB MENA, etc. He is open to potential research collaboration by focusing on multidisciplinary research.