About

I am a Lecturer in Business (in the Business, Economic and Social Policy theme) in the discipline of Business and Management within the Derby Business School, College of Business, Law and Social Sciences at the University of Derby.

I have professional knowledge about entrepreneurship and business growth throughout my career. I obtained two PhDs: one is a PhD in management at the University of Stirling in 2020 and the other is a PhD in electronic engineering at the Dongguk University, Seoul in 2012. Before I joined Derby in August 2022, I taught various subjects, such as Global business environment, Business and Management and Business consulting, at INTO University of Stirling and Stirling Management School for two years. I also was a policymaker of the South Korean government (for 15 years), an electronics research engineer (for 2 years), a College lecturer in electronics (for 5 years) and a patent analyst (for 1 year) in South Korea before I started my second PhD in 2016. 

Teaching responsibilities

• Independent Study: Research Methods (Level 7)
• Dissertation supervision of UG and PG students
• Enterprising Mindset (Level 4) (2023/24)
• Contemporary Management and Leadership Thinking and Application (Level 7) (2023/24)
• The Business Research Study (Level 6) (2022/23)

Professional interests

Based on a deep understanding of enterprise policies, entrepreneurship, innovation, high-tech businesses and business growth, I am interested in exploring various factors and strategies strongly influencing the growth of SMEs and entrepreneurs in high-tech businesses.

Research interests

My research is aiming at investigating various aspects of sustainable growth of high-tech SMEs, thus I am keen to develop enterprise policies and to exchange valuable knowledge with entrepreneurs and pre-entrepreneurs for their business success. I broadly review exemplars of business success in South Korean high-tech SMEs and would develop the common business growth roadmap from additional studies about high-tech SMEs in OECD countries.

My background includes practical enterprise knowledge and technological expertise, thus I have a deep understanding of engineering and experienced entrepreneurs’ perspectives toward their businesses. Given the importance of various members’ contributions to the organisation, the key factor of my research focus is in investigating entrepreneurs and their employees. Based on understanding various high-tech business owners’ practical strategies at the organisational level, I would examine diverse views to look at what makes strong contributions of owner-managers and employees to achieve the sustainable business growth of high-tech SMEs.

Membership of professional bodies

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Qualifications

• PhD in Management (2020), University of Stirling, UK
• MRes in Management (2020), University of Stirling, UK
• PhD in Electronic Engineering (2012), Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea
• MSc in Electronic Engineering (2003), Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea
• BSc in Electronic Engineering (2001), Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea

Recent conferences

• Park, C. (2023) 'The factors influencing on employees' perceptions of their contributions to the business growth: Focused on employees' characteristics and attitudes', Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference 2023, Birmingham 8-9 Nov

Experience in industry

I have worked as a lecturer, a subject teacher, a research engineer, a patent analyst and a policymaker in South Korea and the UK for more than fifteen years before I joined Derby.

I supported many SMEs and entrepreneurs when I worked as a policymaker and also collaborated with entrepreneurs to develop various products while I was working as a research engineer.

• Lecturer/ Dissertation supervisor/ Subject teacher at the University of Stirling, and the INTO University of Stirling
• Policymaker in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups of the South Korean government
• Research engineer in the research institute of Korea Electric Power Data Network
• Patent analyst in the Korea Institute of Patent Information

International experience

I have strong international networks in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. There are many friends in Higher Education Institutes in those countries. They are doing their research for supporting SMEs and startups.

Additional interests and activities

• Journal reviewer (Policy Studies)
• Journal reviewer (Cogent Business and Management)

Recent publications

I have professional knowledge backgrounds in management and electronic engineering. These are some publications in both areas.

• Park, C., McQuaid, R. and Mawson, S. (2023), "Key factors influencing the sustained growth of high-tech SMEs in South Korea: the perspectives of founder owner-managers", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-12-2022-1077
• Park, C. and McQuaid, R., 2023. Enterprise policies and R&D support for high-tech SMEs: a multi-perspective approach. Policy Studies, pp.1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2023.2268530
• Park, C., McQuaid, R., Lee, J., Kim, S. and Lee, I. (2019) The impact of Job Retention on Continuous Growth of Engineering and Informational Technology SMEs in South Korea, Sustainability, 11(18), pp.5005-5023
• Park, C.R., Lee, S.J. and Eom, K.H. (2011) The Design of RFID Conveyor Belt Gate Systems Using an Antenna Control Unit. Sensors, 11(9), pp.9033-9044
• Park, C.R. and Eom, K.H. (2011) RFID label tag design for metallic surface environments. Sensors, 11(1), pp.938-948