Desislava Dikova

Desislava Dikova is Professor in International Business CEE focus at WU Wien/ Vienna University of Economics & Business. She previously held positions at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands and King's College London, the UK. Dikova was academic director of WU’s Competence Center for Emerging Markets and CEE from 2020 to 2023. She earned her doctorate degree from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, an Executive Master in International and European relations from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and a Master of Science in International Economics from the Academy of Economics D.A.Tzenov, Bulgaria. She is affiliated with Kozminski University in Warsaw, Poland. 

Desislava Dikova is the Editor-in-chief of the Journal of East West Business (published by Taylor Francis), Senior editor at the Journal of International Management (publ. by Elsevier) and AIB Insights (Academy of International Business official publication), she is also editorial board member and a reviewer for numerous academic journals. For her outstanding academic service and research, she has been awarded twice the Academy of Management Best Reviewer Award (2007, 2009), JIBS best reviewer award (2013 and 2018), the 2009 WAIB Emerald Award for Highly Commended Paper, and the Academy of Management IM Best Paper Finalist in 2006 and 2008.

Research

Desislava Dikova’s research focuses on international business and strategy, examining the international behavior and competitiveness of multinational companies and small and medium-sized enterprises. She studies foreign market entry mode choices, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and the performance of foreign subsidiaries, with particular attention to how organizational resources, experience, and institutional and cultural environments shape these outcomes.

Her research also examines firms’ innovation investments, digitalization, and international growth. Recent work investigates how environmental strategies and corporate social responsibility contribute to competitiveness through business model innovation, and how managers’ characteristics influence these processes. A related strand explores corporate governance and gender diversity, examining how institutional conditions shape the relationship between female board representation, corporate social responsibility, and firm performance. Much of her research focuses on Central and Eastern Europe and other emerging economies.

Her research has been published in leading international business and management journals, including the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of International Management, Journal of International Marketing, and International Business Review, among others.

Publications

Teaching

Desislava is an accomplished teacher who has won multiple times the CEMS Strategy Course of the Year Award. At WU Vienna, she teaches global strategy and international business courses for the CEMS program. In addition, she teaches Executive MBA courses at the WU Executive Academy.