Dr Elias Hadjilias, President of the European Region of the SPGC.
As of January 2025, the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) is an official associate member of the STEP Project Global Consortium (SPGC), one of the most important global initiatives for basic and applied research in the field of family business.
As part of the SPGC, the CUT is aligned alongside leading international research universities such as Babson College, University of Zurich, University of Alberta, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Zhejiang University, ESCP Business School and others.
The STEP Project Global Consortium (SPGC) is an international research initiative that studies family business practices and strategies, producing scientific knowledge with direct application for their leaders.
The SPGC aims to establish itself as the leading global player in the field of family business research, offering innovative theoretical approaches and practical recommendations to the academic and business communities. It was founded in 2005 by leading academic institutions such as Babson College (USA), ESADE (Spain), HEC (France), Jönköping International Business School (Sweden), Bocconi University (Italy), University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and University of Witten/Herdecke (Germany). From 2020, it will operate as an independent organisation, with the participation of 50 universities from five continents.
The three strategic pillars of the SPGC are:
- Research: Publications in leading journals, case studies, edited volumes and publications for the academic and business communities.
- Education: promotion of international and intercultural cooperation in education, development of teaching cases for family businesses.
- Interface with industry: Production of international reports (global reports) based on empirical data, in collaboration with KPMG Private Enterprise.
By joining the SPGC, the Cyprus University of Technology aspires to substantially enhance the progress of Cypriot family businesses, offering valuable research findings, practical suggestions and statistical data that until now have been largely absent from the Cypriot reality.
The strategic commitment of the Cyprus University of Technology for a leading presence in the SPGC is confirmed by the recent election of Dr. Ilias Hadjilias, Assistant Professor of CUT – a distinguished researcher in the field of family business – to the position of Chair of the European Region of the SPGC.
“The inclusion of CUT in the international network of SPGC is an essential development in our efforts to produce research work with international scope and social impact. Given that family businesses are a key pillar of the Cypriot economy, our aim is to promote and exploit local experience in the context of a global scientific dialogue. From my position as President of the European Region of the SPGC, I seek to strengthen the scientific presence of Cyprus and Europe in the field of family business research.” – Dr. Elias Hadjilias, Assistant Professor of CUT & President of the SPGC European Region.
For more information: https://spgcfb.org/
Source: Cyprus University of Technology | News & Announcements (https://tinyurl.com/86sv74k8)