Claire Kilpatrick is a PhD student at Queen's Business School and member of the International Business, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing (IBEM) group.

Claire is currently undertaking a visiting PhD position in the Research School of Management at Australia National University, Canberra.

Claire previously held a visiting PhD Kings College London as part of the Strategy, International Management & Entrepreneurship department at King's Business School (2024). 

Claire's research is centred in International Business and explores how two megatrends - Industry 4.0 and sustainable development – combine to influence the global strategies of multinational enterprises. By transforming business practices and relationships along global value chains, 4.0 technologies such as artifical intelligence (AI), Internet-of-Things (IoT), blockchain and digital twins offer an exciting opportunity to augment the global sustainability efforts of multinational enterprises. However, unintended consequences, such as job loss from automation, exacerbation of the digital divide and significant increases in energy requirements, could hinder sustainable development. Considering these developments, Claire's research aims to explore the role of 4.0 technologies in enhancing global sustainability and understanding how managers leverage 4.0 technologies to enhance the global sustainability efforts of their multinational enterprises.

• International business, global strategy, MNEs
• Industry 4.0 technologies, innovation, digitsation, digital transformation
• Global sustainability, grand challenges, ethics

Academic education:

• BSc (first class hons) Business Management, Queens Management School, Queens University Belfast
• MSc (distinction) Leadership for Sustainable Development, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast

Awards:

• Sir William Crawford Award for best student (Level 2 and 3) in Business Management
• Fully-funded 3-year PhD studentship by Queens Management School
• Alan Rugman Scholarship at the Henley International Business Masterclass on Economic Theory of International Business and Strategy of International Business

Claire has experience teaching at various levels. Teaching activities have included Teaching Assistant for MGT3019 Strategic Management and workshop facilitator for MSc Leadership for Sustainable Development.

Guest lecturing experience includes:

• BSc Strategic Management: non-market strategies and sustainability
• BSc International Business: global sustainability in the fourth industrial revolution
• MSc Global Strategy: global sustainability strategies 
• MSc Leadership for Sustainable Development: AI and sustainability