Mary Rose is Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation at Lancaster university Management School. She specialises in evolutionary approaches to innovation, the relationships between innovation, entrepreneurship and communities of practice, institutional influences on knowledge exchange past and present and social media and business communication. She has published widely on the evolution of business values, networking behaviour by family firms and the problem of leadership succession, this has included numerous articles in refereed journals whilst she has authored and co-authored 3 books and edited 10. Firms, networks and business values : The British and American Cotton Industries since 1750, was published in 2000 by Cambridge University Press. In collaboration with Dr. Andrea Colli (Bocconi University, Milan, Italy) and Dr Paloma Fernadez Perez (University of Barcelona) she has explored international differences in the behaviour and capabilities of family firms in  Britain, Italy and Spain. This work led to an edited book (with Paloma Fernandez Perez) Innovation and Entrepreneurial Networks in Europe (Routledge, 2009).

 Her most recent collaborative work is with businessman Mike Parsons began with Invisible on Everest: Innovation and the Gear Makers which was published in 2003. This is the unusual collaboration of the active businessman and academic business historian and is based on an intensive iterative  dialogue since 2000. The book provided the platform for a range of innovative activity, including courses in innovation for undergraduates, postgraduates and businesses and the annual innovation conference, Innovation for Extremes. Since 2010 Mike Parsons has been Innovator in Residence in IEED.

Mary Rose was research director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation from 2003-13 and Head of Department 2012-13. She was also Director of the Pasold Research Fund,from 1997-2006. She has twice been President of the Association of Business Historians and was President of the European Business History Association, 2003-5.

Innovation and entrepreneurship. Path dependency and innovation. Innovation and the outdoor trade. Leadership succession in business. Family firms and business culture.

BA (Econ) Liverpool, PhD Manchester