Centre

CBIT - Centre for Business and Industry Transformation

Unit(s) of assessment: Business and Management Studies

School: Nottingham Business School

CBIT - Centre for Business and Industry Transformation, is an integrated research approach bringing together industry transformation research, disruptive business practice, and education together into a continuous cycle.

We aim to:

Foster future leaders
Advance industry transformation research
Build disruptive businesses
Transform industry “norm”
Maximise positive impact in society and environment

This Centre will focus on helping businesses and entrepreneurs to transform their performance, productivity and innovative capability through a proven due-diligence methodology and techniques, which de-risks scaling up investment developed and delivered the core team. CBIT had three strands:

Research

CBIT has a special focus to work with industry partners to co-identify, co-design and co-deliver high-impact world-leading research. Informed by industry challenges, CBIT will also augment the existing research base through evidence-based venture building practice.

Venture Building

The Venture Builder is a distinct arm of CBIT, which has built a traction in empowering disruptive businesses to transform the industry “norm”. It analyses innovative businesses through “fitness assessment” for “blue ocean” market opportunities.

Education

CBIT’s education programme contains master’s degree programmes for business transformation, specifically designed for the family business successors and senior manager who are likely to become the next CEO. The programme is brought by the team who created the No. 1 ranked entrepreneurship programme in the UK (Eduniversal Best Master’s rankings in 2021).

We are currently open for Ph.D and DBA candidates to proposed own topics informed by practice.

The CBIT Venture Builder has accelerated disruptive business in many sectors, including:

FinTech – Personal Data based credit reference;
AI and ML – VR in machinery maintenance; Re-Identification of anonymous crowd
Travel and Leisure – hotel management, social travel, etc
Mobility Solutions - in-wheel motor; personalised travel; test house platform
Food – agile food manufacturing;
Farming and Agri – smart beef farm; urban farming; smart agri-tech
Construction – Net-Zero Concrete solution;

The CBIT team has built a track record in accelerating disruptive technologies and creating applied research that benefits the wider society.

Our key research activities are in the fields of:

Digital Economy, particularly driven by Personal Data (owned by individuals) and PrivTech.
B2B platforms, competence mapping (for a region or sector) driven business collaboration, business cloud, and business benchmarking.
Transformative methodologies for businesses and their stakeholders in the value constellation: especially through the lens of system theory; service ecosystem; computational ontology; knowledge Representation.
Impact of technologies on business models, economic models and society: particular technology advancement from Data Science; IoT; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Personal Data;
Business transformation and new business models for achieving better sustainability and towards Net Zero.

Typical application of our research in industries including:

Business Cloud for innovation capacity building, regonised by World Bank. This is through competence Mapping to identify regional economy strengths and weaknesses in order to stimulate innovations from reconfiguration of existing competences, or to invest into missing key competences. Application in UK Manufacturing Sector and Singapore high value manufacturing sector.
International Business Benchmarking Platform (IBBP). A novel approach to profile and benchmark business (or branch) performances through non-financial measurement (soft factors). Adopted by UK Manufacturing Sector, German Manufacturing and service sector, and UK-China Digital Economy Lab.
Digital twin for beef farming to improve sustainability across value chain and enable alternative finance models;
Smart animal husbandry models to reduce methane emission.
Smart agriculture to transform Agri-machinery manufacturing.
A Distributed Manufacturing Platform to collaboratively co-create additive layer products across a network of 3D-printing machines.
Privacy risk assessment and management tool for personal data shared across online service. Early adoption test in travel industry.

Thanks to our business partners and funders include EPSRC, ERDF, High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and Innovate UK, CBIT team has led and/or contributed to a range of industry-academic collaborative research projects. A selective project portfolio:

EPSRC funded - PRIvacy-aware personal data management and Value Enhancement for Leisure Travellers (PriVELT)
High Value Manufacturing Catapult funded - WMG Accelerator
ERDF funded - The International Institute for Product and Service Innovation.
H2020 - IMAGINE
H2020 - KET4CleanProduction
Innovate UK Funded – PLATFORM
Innovate UK Funded - IMPACT
EPSRC Funded - Future AI and Robotics Hub for Space (FAIR-SPACE)
EPSRC funded - Control and Trust as Moderating Mechanisms in addressing Vulnerability for the Design of Business and Economic Models (ConTriVE)
EPSRC Funded - Home Hub-of-all-Things (HAT) as Platform for Multi-sided Market powered by Internet-of-Things: Opportunities for New Economic & Business Model
EPSRC funded - Smart Me versus Smart Things: The Development of a Personal Resource Planning (PRP) System through Human Interactions with Data Enabled by the IoT
EPSRC funded - ACCEPT: Addressing Cybersecurity and Cybercrime via a co-Evolutionary aPproach to reducing human-relaTed risk
EPSRC funded - Digital Economy 'New Economic Models' Network+

Cao, D., Sun, Y., Goh, E., Wang, R., & Kuiavska, K. (2022). Adoption of Smart Voice Assistants Technology among Airbnb Guests: A Revised Self-Efficacy-Based Value Adoption Model (SVAM). International Journal of Hospitality Management,101,103124.
Cao, D., Wang, Y., Berkeley, N., & Tjahjono, B. (2022). Configurational conditions and sustained competitive advantage: A fsQCA approach. Long Range Planning, 55(4),102131.
Luo, X., Cao, D., Tjahjono, B., & Adegobile, A. (2022). Business model innovation themes of emerging market enterprises: Evidence in China. Journal of Business Research, 139,1619-1630.
Mokhtarzadeh, N. G., Mahdiraji, H. A., Jafarpanah, I., & Cao, D. (2022). Examining the Influence of Environmental Turbulence on Firm Innovation Performance in Emerging Markets Using an Environment-Strategy-Performance Framework. International Journal of Innovation Management, 26(4), 2250028.
Onjewu, A.-K. E., Haddoud, M., Tony-Okeke, U., Cao, D., & Nowiński, W. (2022). Dissecting the Effect of Family Business Exposure on Entrepreneurial Implementation Intention. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. 28(6), 1438-1462.
Wang, W., Cao, D., & Ameen, N. (2022). Understanding customer satisfaction of augmented reality in retail: a human value orientation and consumption value perspective. Information, Technology & People. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-04-2021-0293.
Xiong, A., Xia, S., Wang, Q., Lockyer, J., Cao, D., Westlund, H., & Li, H. (2022). Queen Bees: How is Female Managers’ Happiness Determined? Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-12.

Adegbile, A., Sarpong, D., & Cao, D. (2021). Understanding industry-university collaborations in emerging economies: A legitimacy perspective. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 1-13. DOI:10.1109/TEM.2021.3050859.
Cao, D., Gupta, S., Lim, M. K., Dhir, A., Li, Z., & Schiavone, F. (2021). Consumers’ role in addressing plastic pollution. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 169, 105473.
Cao, D., Meadows, M., Wong, D., & Xia, S. (2021). Understanding consumers’ social media engagement behaviour: An examination of the moderation effect of social media context. Journal of Business Research,122,835-846.
Li, H., Wu, Y., Cao, D., & Wang, Y. (2021). Organizational mindfulness towards digital transformation as a prerequisite of information processing capability to achieve market agility. Journal of Business Research, 122, 700-712.
Liliani, L., Tjahjono, B., & Cao, D. (2021). The Mechanisms of Co-innovation in the Development of Bioplastic Packaging: Evidence from Practice. IEEE Conference Proceedings, 172-176. 2021 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM).
Miao, Y., Lin, Z., Ma, X., Ding, G., & Han, J. (2021). Learning transformation-invariant local descriptors with low-coupling binary codes. IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, 30, 7554-7566.
Rezaei, M., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Cao, D., & Amoozad Mahdiraji, H. (2021). Key indicators of ethical challenges in digital healthcare: Delphi exploration and CFA validation. Technological Forecasting & Social Change. 167,120724.
Sun, Y., Wang, R., Cao, D., & Lee, R. (2021). Who are social media influencers for luxury fashion consumption of the Chinese Gen Z? Categorisation and empirical examination. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. 26(4), 603-621.
Wieringa, J., Kannan, P.K., Ma, X., Reutterer, T., Risselada, H., & Skiera, B. (2021). Data analytics in a privacy-concerned world. Journal of Business Research, 122, 915-925.
Zhang, L., Chen, F., Xia, S., Cao, D., Ye, Z., Shen, C., Maas, G., & Li, Y. (2021). Value co-creation and appropriation of platform-based alliances in cooperative advertising. Industrial Marketing Management, 96, 213-225.
Zhao, R., Bal, J., & Ma, X. (2021). Creating lean and agile supply chains with blockchain. In: 2021 The 3rd International Conference on Blockchain Technology (ICBCT 2021). Proceedings. New York: ACM, 135-146.

Daowd, A., Hasan, R., Eldabi, T., Rafi-ul-Shan, P.M., Cao, D. & Kasemsarn, N. (2020) Factors Affecting eWOM Credibility, Information Adoption, and Purchase Intention on Generation Y: A Case from Thailand. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 34(3), 838-859.
Liliani, L., Tjahjono, B., & Cao, D. (2020) Advancing bioplastic packaging products through co-innovation: a conceptual framework for supplier-customer collaboration. Journal of Cleaner Production, 252, 119861.
Tarhini, A., Alalwan, A., & Cao, D. (2020). Integrating emotional attachment, resource sharing, communication and collaboration into UTAUT2 to examine students’ behavioural intention to adopt social media networks in education. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning. 13(1), 1-23.
Xia, S., Xiong, Y., Zhang, M., Cornford, J., Liu, Y., Lim, M.K., Cao, D., & Chen, F. (2020). Reducing the Resource Acquisition Costs for Returnee Entrepreneurs: Role of Chinese National Science Parks, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 26 (7), 1627-1657.
Xiong, A., Xia, S., Ye, Z.P., Cao, D., Jing, Y., & Li, H. (2020). Can innovation really bring economic growth? The role of social filter in China. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics,53,50-61.
Yang, X., Cao, D., Andrikopoulos, P., Yang, Z., & Bass, T. (2020). Online Social Networks, Media Supervision and Investment Efficiency: An empirical examination of Chinese listed companies. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 154, 119969.
Yang, X., Cao, D., Chen, J., Xiao, Z., & Daowd, A. (2020). AI and IoT based collaborative business ecosystem: A case in Chinese fish farming industry. International Journal of Technology Management, 82(2),151-171.

Cao, D., Tao, H., Wang, Y., Tarhini, A., & Xia, S. (2019). Acceptance of Automation Manufacturing Technology in China: An Examination of Perceived Norm and Organizational Efficacy. Production Planning and Control, 31(8), 660-672.
Guo, Y., Lin, S., Ma, X., Bal, J., & Li, C.-T. (2019). Homogeneous feature transfer and heterogeneous location fine-tuning for cross-city property appraisal framework. In: R. Islam, Y. Sing Koh, Y. Zhao, G. Warwick, D. Stirling, C.-T. Li and Z. Islam, eds., Data mining: 16th Australasian Conference, AusDM 2018, Bahrurst, NSW, Australia, November 28–30, 2018, revised selected papers. Singapore: Springer, 161-174.
Koliousis, I., Cao, D., & Koliousis, P. (2019). European transport industry deregulation: an analytical investigation of the impact on incumbents’ managerial efficiency 1988-2015. Management Research Review, 42(9),1095-1115.
Yu, M., Cao, D., & Tan, J.Y. (2019). CSR-consumption paradox: Examination of UK apparel companies. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 23(1), 124-137.

1. Xiao Ma, Professor and CBIT Director, NBS

2. Jay Bal, Visiting Professor and Venture Builder Panel Member, NBS

3. Eiman Kanjo, IOT Lead and Professor of Pervasive Sensing at CSD

4. Dongmei Cao, Associate Professor and CBIT Education Lead, NBS

5. Georgi Iliev, CBIT Venture and Product Development Manager, NBS

6. Dalraj Nijjar, CBIT Growth Consultant, NBS

7. Sanjiv Patel, CBIT Sales and Growth Specialist, NBS

8. Lucas Benkemoun, Frontend Developer

9. Marios Tsekis, Backend Developer

10. Mohamad Imad Mahaini, Open Source Developer

11. Mohamed Abbas, CBIT Business Community and Engagement Officer, NBS

12. Fatima Gillani, CBIT Senior Research Fellow, NBS

13. Kostas Galanakis, Modelling Innovation System Lead, NBS

Xiao Ma

Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management and the Director of the Centre for Business and Industry Transformation
Dongmei Cao

Associate Professor and CBIT Education Lead
Professor Jay Bal

Visiting Professor and Venture Builder Panel Member
Eiman Kanjo

IOT Lead and Professor of Pervasive Sensing, CSD
Georgi Iliev

CBIT Venture and Product Development Manager
Dalraj Nijjar

CBIT Growth Consultant
Sanjiv Patel

CBIT Sales and Growth Specialist
Lucas Benkemoun

Frontend Developer
Mohamad Imad Mahaini

Open Source Developer
Mohamed Abbas
Fatima Gillani
Kostas Galanakis

Professor Kiran Fernandes

Professor Kiran Fernandes is the Associate Dean for Internationalisation at Durham University having served as the Head of Department and Professor of Operations Management from 2013 to 2017.

Professor Roger Maull

Roger Maull is Professor of Management Systems at the University of Exeter’s Business School and Academic Director of the Initiative for the Digital Economy at Exeter (INDEX), which is based on London’s South Bank.

Professor Shujun Li

Shujun Li is Professor of Cyber Security at Kent’s School of Computing and is the Director of the Institute of Cyber Security for Society (iCSS). In this role, Shujun leads cyber security research and education activities across the whole university.

Professor Julie Davies

Professor Julie Davies is Director of the MBA Health in the UCL Global Business School for Health (GBSH). She is an Associate Editor of Human Resource Development Review and co-chairs the research development committee for the University Forum for Human Resource Development.

Professor lis Tussyadiah

Iis Tussyadiah is Professor of Intelligent Systems in Service, Head of School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and Fellow of the Surrey Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence at University of Surrey.

CBIT - Centre for Business and Industry Transformation