P M Rao
Professor - International Business & Marketing Strategy
Professor - International Business & Marketing Strategy
Polavarapu (P.M.) Rao is a professor in the College of Management at the Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, New York.
P.M. received his Ph.D. in economics from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Prior to joining the academy, Dr. Rao worked at AT&T as an economist at the senior level for many years, including Chief Economist of New Jersey Bell. He supervised a number of large-scale studies involving corporate R&D, innovation, productivity, and econometric estimation of cost and demand. In addition, Dr. Rao provided data and analyses on corporate financial policy, foreign exchange risk management, and transfer pricing to senior management.
Dr. Rao began teaching at LIU Post in 1992, and throughout his tenure has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate courses, including several in LIU Post’s Honors College. Six courses were developed entirely by Rao and are recognized as integral to a strong and viable international business curriculum. Rao’s pedagogy and instructional practice span subject areas and levels of study; delivering foundational and elective offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate level while embracing curricular innovation and revision. Dr. Rao’s most recent work is an MBA elective seminar, Current Issues in International Business, which focuses on current debates concerning free trade, BREXIT, renegotiation of NAFTA, and the future of WTO. In addition, Dr. Rao taught for two summers in LIU's Accelerated International MBA program in Paris, France and Lugano, Switzerland.
An active and engaged researcher, Dr. Rao has published extensively in his field. His scholarly contributions feature strategies for high-technology firms, intellectual property rights in software and pharmaceutical industries, and internationalization of R&D. His co-authored book, Strategies for High-Tech Firms: Marketing, Economic and Legal Issues (2015), is the first of its kind to approach this subject through an interdisciplinary lens. Rao’s articles appear in a range of scholarly peer-reviewed publication, including the Journal of World Business (Elsevier), International Business Review (European International Business Academy), and Telecommunications Policy (Elsevier). Dr. Rao’s current research interests include trade in IT services and multinational corporate strategies in an environment of populism.
Dr. Rao’s teaching and advisement help students understand a world beyond North America and appreciate trade and development on a global stage. He brings disciplinary perspective, subject area specialty, awareness of current trends and applications, and collegial support to the development of curricula and students alike, while participating in broader interdisciplinary efforts toward institutional advancement.