Dr. Aylin Ates is a Reader (Associate Prof) in Strategy & Innovation at the University of Strathclyde Business School. She is closely involved with business practice and policy through research projects, professional education programs, and various speaker and advisory roles. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Strathclyde, which investigated strategy processes in UK manufacturing SMEs, and a BSc (Hons) in Industrial Engineering from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Management in Turkiye.

Aylin’s core contribution to knowledge is in the field of the small and medium enterprise (SME) strategy and resilience. Her expertise in SME growth and resilience is recognised globally and informed policy at the international level (e.g., ILO, UNIDO and at government levels).

She authored over 70 high quality publications in prominent management journals such as Technological Forecasting and Social Change, the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, the Journal of Business Research, the International Journal of Production Research, Production Planning and Control, the European Management Journal, Research-Technology Management, the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, and the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. She is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management and member of European Management Journal’s Editorial Board.

Aylin has led several major research projects while attracting over £900k research funding as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator. She secured major grants from industry, the European Commission, EPSRC, the British Council (Newton Fund), Innovate UK - KTP, Scottish Funding Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and the UK Space Agency.

Aylin holds important internal and external leadership roles. She is appointed as a member of the European Academy of Management Scientific Council. She is an elected member of the University Senate and the Discipline Committee, member of the Faculty Board of Examiners, and University Dignity & Respect Adviser. She is appointed as an Expert Advisor for UNIDO and Peer Reviewer for the UK and international government organisations such as the National Science Centre Poland, the UKRI, and the British Academy of Management, where she selects proposals to be granted government funding. Also, she serves as an external examiner at Coventry University, the Faculty of Business and Law, the School of Strategy and Leadership.

• Strategic management (with particular reference to manufacturing small and medium enterprises-SMEs)
• Organisational resilience 
• Innovation & Digital transformation 
• Co-opetition and servitisation strategies in manufacturing ecosystems 

I supervise UG, MSc, MBA and PhD/DBA projects in the area of strategic management, performance management, innovation, technology and change management.

I design and deliver modules on Strategic Management, Technology and Organisational Change and Consulting within post-graduate MSc and MBA levels as well as post-experience corporate education programmes.

My research interests cover the areas of strategic management, innovation, digital transformation, performance management, and manufacturing ecosystems mainly in small and medium enterprise (SME) context. I use qualitative data analysis techniques and happy to consider PhD applications in these fields.