Dr Dev K. (Roshan) Boojihawon BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, SFHEA

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, SFHEA
• PhD in International Strategy, University of Strathclyde, 2003
• MSc in International Marketing, University of Strathclyde, 1999
• BSc (Hons) in Management Studies, University of Mauritius, 1997

Roshan Boojihawon is an Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business at Birmingham Business School. His research examines how people and organisations work across institutional, entrepreneurial, organisational and sectoral boundaries to address complex challenges that no single organisation can solve alone. His current work focuses particularly on collaborative strategies for sustainability transitions, net-zero strategy, responsible leadership and the governance of global value chains.

His work has developed research-informed, practical frameworks designed to help organisations strengthen the relationships, processes, and capabilities needed for collaborative decarbonisation. The framework is being developed and tested through organisational partnerships in procurement, transport and logistics. This work investigates how organisations can move beyond transactional engagement towards more transparent, trusted, timely and persistent forms of collaboration in addressing complex challenges.

Roshan’s wider research addresses sustainability and international business in Africa and other emerging-economy contexts. His recent work considers African pathways to decarbonisation, the implications of international climate and trade policies, and energy transitions in small-island economies. He also researches sustainable leadership, behavioural change, organisational resilience, strategic agility and the changing nature of international work.

His research has been published in journals including the Journal of World Business, Business Strategy and the Environment, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of International Management, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, and International Business Review. He is also co-editor of the Routledge volume Chinese 
Organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa: New Dynamics, New Synergies.

Alongside his research, Roshan has extensive experience in online, postgraduate and executive education. At Birmingham, he has contributed to the leadership and development of the School’s online and distance-learning provision. Before joining the University in 2015, he worked at The Open University Business School, where his roles included leadership of large-scale undergraduate provision and the development of accessible and engaging distance-learning programmes.

His teaching and supervision connect strategy and international business with sustainability, responsibility and effective organisational practice. He works with academic, business and policy partners in the United Kingdom and internationally, with particular connections to Africa, Mauritius, the wider Indian Ocean region and China.

Selected recognition include:

• Birmingham Business School Research Award for Impact & Engagement, 2026
• Birmingham Business School Education and Impact Award, 2026
• Finalist, edie Net Zero Awards 2025, for work on supply-chain decarbonisation
• Staff Excellence Award: Birmingham Business School Responsible Business Award, 2025
• Birmingham Business School Impact and Engagement Award, 2024
• Guild of Students Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Birmingham, 2020
• College of Social Sciences Student Enhancement Award, as part of the MSc International Business programme team, 2025
• Bankinter Prize for the article “Reporting controversial issues in controversial industries”, 2024

“The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.”

— Bell Hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom

This insight captures Roshan’s belief that education should be more than the transmission of established knowledge. He sees the classroom as a space in which students can question assumptions, connect ideas with experience and imagine new possibilities for organisations and society.

His teaching is intellectually challenging, practice-facing and participative. Through contemporary organisational cases, dialogue and structured reflection, he encourages students to examine complex problems from different perspectives and to develop as confident, independent and responsible thinkers.

Roshan teaches purposeful strategy, leadership, international business, sustainability and responsible management across postgraduate, online and executive programmes. His aim is to help students not only understand how organisations operate, but also consider how they might lead and change them responsibly.

His recent teaching contributions include:

• Governance and Global Responsibility
• Practising and Managing International Business
• Disruptive Innovations and International Business
• International Business and Strategy

Roshan has contributed to the strategic and academic development of Birmingham Business School’s online and distance-learning provision, including the Online MSc International Business and Online MBA. His approach to digital education seeks to ensure that geographical distance does not become intellectual or interpersonal distance.

Before joining Birmingham, he held programme-leadership responsibilities at The Open University Business School and contributed to the design and delivery of large-scale, inclusive distance-learning programmes.

What his students say:

• "I loved how Professor Roshan conducted his classes in an engaging manner and encouraged us to challenge the topics at hand. He always recognised the potential in every student, including myself, and pushed us to achieve beyond what we thought possible. It was a privilege to work with him on my dissertation. I gained valuable insights that I will carry into various aspects of my life. Thank you, Professor Roshan!"
• "What sets Dr. Roshan apart is his ability to balance academic rigour with practical guidance. He was always approachable, responsive, and generous with his time, even when navigating tight deadlines. His feedback was constructive, insightful, and always delivered in a way that motivated me to improve."

Roshan welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers interested in the organisational and strategic dimensions of sustainability and international business.

He is particularly interested in supervising projects addressing:

• collaborative governance and collective action for sustainability;
• net-zero strategy and Scope 3 supply-chain decarbonisation;
• responsible, purposeful and paradoxical leadership;
• sustainability transitions in global value chains;
• African business, climate governance and decarbonisation pathways;
• energy transitions in small-island and emerging economies
• AI applications in sustainability transitions.

He has supervised doctoral research examining leadership and sustainability, strategic resilience, cross-border organisations, and institutional transformation in emerging-economy contexts. His current supervision includes research on artificial intelligence and sustainability performance and on inclusive governance in global agri-food value chains.

Roshan’s research examines how organisations lead and sustain collective action across organisational, sectoral and national boundaries. His current research programme comprises four interconnected areas.

Collaborative strategies for net-zero transitions

This research examines how organisations develop the relationships, governance arrangements and internal capabilities required to address Scope 3 emissions and other sustainability challenges extending beyond their direct organisational control.

A central contribution is the Net Zero Collaborative Action Framework, which helps organisations examine and strengthen collaboration through four interrelated dimensions: transparency, trust, timeliness and tenacity.

Responsible and sustainable leadership

Roshan studies how leaders and organisational teams respond to competing demands, uncertainty and tension when pursuing sustainability. This work considers leadership identities, relational processes, organisational resilience, paradox and the human dimensions of responsible organisational change.

Global-value-chain governance and sustainability transitions

This research explores how sustainability transitions are governed across complex international supply chains. It examines collaboration among firms, suppliers, public organisations and other stakeholders, with particular attention to how policy commitments are translated into organisational action.

Africa and small-island economies in global sustainability governance

Roshan examines how African and small-island economies navigate international climate, trade and energy-transition pressures. Current interests include African decarbonisation pathways, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, climate justice, and energy transition in Mauritius and other small-island contexts.

Earlier research

Roshan’s earlier research examined internationalisation, strategy development and organisational change in service firms, multinational subsidiaries and emerging economies. It included work on Chinese organisations in Africa, digital business models in developing economies, corporate political activity and strategic agility.

This earlier research continues to inform his interest in how organisations operate across institutional boundaries and respond strategically to complex international challenges.