Dr Konstantinos Poulis


Dr Konstantinos Poulis
NameDr Konstantinos Poulis
Job titleSenior Lecturer
Research institute
Primary appointmentMarketing, Enterprise & Tourism
Email addressk.poulis@mdx.ac.uk
poulisk@hotmail.com
ORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3355-9543
Contact categoryAcademic staff

Biography

Biography

Dr Poulis is a Senior Lecturer in the Business School, the former Director of our MBA in Shipping & Logistics and the General Manager of Epsilon Hellas, a leading multinational firm that offers professional services to the maritime sector. 

He has held full- or part-time posts at Manchester Business School, Queen Mary, University of London, the University of Essex, the National University of Ireland, and ESCP Europe teaching and supervising across Doctoral, MBA, MSc and UG levels. He has also acted as Track Chair in the European Academy of Management and the British Academy of Management, as an Editorial Board Member and as Director of Postgraduate Programs at the University of Essex. 

Outside academia, he has served as Director in the Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Recruitment & Training Committee at the International Maritime Employers' Council (IMEC), the world's employers' organization dedicated to maritime industrial relations.

He has studied in the Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece), UMIST (UK), the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and holds a PhD in International Business from Manchester Business School (UK).

List of publications

Konstantinos Poulis (2026), 'Sociology and the complexity of what is missing', British Journal of Sociology, 77(2): 332-344 [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis, Christian Linder & Minas N. Kastanakis (2026), 'The sociology of hype: Worthwashing at the heart of capitalism', The Sociological Review, in press [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis & David Collings (2026), 'The roads not taken: Issue selling and post-decisional sensemaking in multinational corporations', Management International Review, in press [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis (2025), 'Unknowability and enabled wayfinding', Management Learning, in press [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis (2025), 'The consequentiality of absences in social settings: A sensemaking perspective', Sociology, 59(1): 107-125 [ABS4]

Konstantinos Poulis & Ioannis Christodoulou (2024), 'Justificative conformity in ontologically ring-fenced fields: Problematizing the scholarly nomenclature in qualitative studies', Marketing Theory, 24(4): 685-707 [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis (2024), 'Standardization and adaptation as a co-constituted process: The pursuit of relational fit in international markets', Journal of International Marketing, 32(2): 12-32 [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis, Efthimios Poulis & Paul Jackson (2021), 'Agentic misfit: An empirical demonstration of non-matching human agency amid complexity', Organization Studies, 42(10): 1603-1627 [ABS4]

Konstantinos Poulis (2021), 'Complexity as an empirical tendency: Promoting non-measurement as a means to enhanced understanding', European Management Journal, 39(4): 487-496 [ABS2]

Konstantinos Poulis (2020), ‘Punctuated epistemology in international marketing strategy: A Whiteheadian remedy’, Marketing Theory, 20(3): 363-384 [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis & Minas Kastanakis (2020), 'On theorizing and methodological fetishism', European Management Journal, 38(5): 676-683 [ABS2]

Konstantinos Poulis & Efthimios Poulis (2018), ‘International business as disciplinary tautology: an ontological perspective’, Academy of Management Perspectives, 32(4): 517-531 [ABS4]

Konstantinos Poulis & Efthimios Poulis (2016), ‘Problematizing fit and survival: Transforming the law of requisite variety through complexity misalignment’, Academy of Management Review, 41(3): 503-527 [ABS4*]

Konstantinos Poulis & Efthimios Poulis (2013), ‘The influence of intra-national cultural heterogeneity on product standardisation and adaptation: a qualitative study’, International Marketing Review, 30(4): 357-383 [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis, Efthimios Poulis & Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki (2013), ‘The role of context in case study selection: an international business perspective’, International Business Review, 22(1): 304-314 [ABS3]

Konstantinos Poulis, Efthimios Poulis & Mo Yamin (2013), 'Multicultural markets and acculturation: implications for service firms', Journal of Services Marketing, 27(7): 515-525 [ABS2]

Konstantinos Poulis, Mo Yamin & Efthimios Poulis (2012), ‘Domestic firms competing with multinational enterprises: the relevance of resource-accessing alliance formations’, International Business Review, 21(4): 588-601 [ABS3]

Summary of Roles

  • Senior Lecturer & former Director of the MBA in Shipping & Logistics, Middlesex University
  • General Manager, Epsilon Hellas
  • Former Director at the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Recruitment & Training Committee, International Maritime Employers' Council (IMEC)
  • Chairman, 2019 IMEC Conference
  • Editorial Board, Journal of Shipping & Trade
  • Former Chair, British Academy of Management (Strategy Track)
  • Former Chair, European Academy of Management (DC Track)
  • Reviewer, validator, evaluator for journals (e.g. Journal of Management Studies), academies (e.g. Academy of International Business), publishing houses (e.g. Oxford University Press), universities (e.g. University of Piraeus).

Teaching

  • Module leader for:

MGT4810 Business Strategy (MBA Program)

MKT4811 Advanced International Marketing (MBA Program)

Supervision

Education and qualifications

Grants

Prizes and Awards

Research outputs

Unknowability and enabled wayfinding

Poulis, K. 2025. Unknowability and enabled wayfinding. Management Learning. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076251398524

The consequentiality of absences in social settings: a sensemaking perspective

Poulis, K. 2024. The consequentiality of absences in social settings: a sensemaking perspective. Sociology. 59 (1), pp. 107-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385241263810

Justificative conformity in ontologically ring-fenced fields: problematizing the scholarly nomenclature in qualitative studies

Poulis, K. and Christodoulou, I. 2024. Justificative conformity in ontologically ring-fenced fields: problematizing the scholarly nomenclature in qualitative studies. Marketing Theory. 24 (4), pp. 685-707. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931241230046

Standardization and adaptation as a coconstituted process: the pursuit of relational fit in international markets

Poulis, K. 2024. Standardization and adaptation as a coconstituted process: the pursuit of relational fit in international markets. Journal of International Marketing. 32 (2), pp. 12-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069031X231212414

Agentic misfit: an empirical demonstration of non-matching human agency amid complexity

Poulis, K., Poulis, E. and Jackson, P. 2021. Agentic misfit: an empirical demonstration of non-matching human agency amid complexity. Organization Studies. 42 (10), pp. 1603-1627. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840620944552

Complexity as an empirical tendency: promoting non-measurement as a means to enhanced understanding

Poulis, K. 2021. Complexity as an empirical tendency: promoting non-measurement as a means to enhanced understanding. European Management Journal. 39 (4), pp. 487-496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.10.005

On theorizing and methodological fetishism

Poulis, K. and Kastanakis, M. 2020. On theorizing and methodological fetishism. European Management Journal. 38 (5), pp. 676-683. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EMJ.2020.06.006

Punctuated epistemology in international marketing strategy: a Whiteheadian remedy

Poulis, K. 2020. Punctuated epistemology in international marketing strategy: a Whiteheadian remedy. Marketing Theory. 20 (3), pp. 363-384. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593119897938

Value migration: digitalization of shipping as a mechanism of industry dethronement

Poulis, K., Galanakis, G., Triantafillou, G. and Poulis, E. 2020. Value migration: digitalization of shipping as a mechanism of industry dethronement. Journal of Shipping and Trade. 5 (1), pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41072-020-00064-0

International business as disciplinary tautology: An ontological perspective

Poulis, K. and Poulis, E. 2018. International business as disciplinary tautology: An ontological perspective. Academy of Management Perspectives. 32 (4), pp. 517-531. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0050

Problematizing fit and survival: transforming the law of requisite variety through complexity misalignment

Poulis, K. and Poulis, E. 2016. Problematizing fit and survival: transforming the law of requisite variety through complexity misalignment. Academy of Management Review. 41 (3), pp. 503-527. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2014.0073

The role of context in case study selection: An international business perspective

Poulis, K., Poulis, E. and Plakoyiannaki, E. 2013. The role of context in case study selection: An international business perspective. International Business Review. 22 (1), pp. 304-314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2012.04.003

The influence of intra-national cultural heterogeneity on product standardisation and adaptation: a qualitative study

Poulis, K. and Poulis, E. 2013. The influence of intra-national cultural heterogeneity on product standardisation and adaptation: a qualitative study. International Marketing Review. 30 (4), pp. 357-383. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-03-2012-0047

Multicultural markets and acculturation: implications for service firms

Poulis, K., Poulis, E. and Yamin, M. 2013. Multicultural markets and acculturation: implications for service firms. Journal of Services Marketing. 27 (7), pp. 515-525. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2012-0041

Polyethnic market orientation and performance: a fast-moving consumer goods perspective

Poulis, K. and Poulis, E. 2012. Polyethnic market orientation and performance: a fast-moving consumer goods perspective. Journal of Marketing Management. 28 (5-6), pp. 609-628. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2011.558380

Domestic firms competing with multinational enterprises: The relevance of resource-accessing alliance formations

Poulis, K., Yamin, M. and Poulis, E. 2012. Domestic firms competing with multinational enterprises: The relevance of resource-accessing alliance formations. International Business Review. 21 (4), pp. 588-601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2011.07.003

The roads not taken: issue selling and post-decisional sensemaking in multinational corporations

Poulis, K. and Collings, D. 2026. The roads not taken: issue selling and post-decisional sensemaking in multinational corporations. Management International Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-026-00620-z

The sociology of hype: worthwashing at the heart of capitalism

Poulis, K., Linder, C. and Kastanakis, N.M. 2026. The sociology of hype: worthwashing at the heart of capitalism. The Sociological Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380261261462261

Sociology and the complexity of what is missing

Poulis, K. 2026. Sociology and the complexity of what is missing. The British Journal of Sociology. 77 (2), pp. 332-344. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.70077
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