31st EIBA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Oslo, December 10-13, 2005

Landscapes and Mindscapes in a Globalizing World

The theme of the 2005 EIBA Annual Conference – Landscapes and Mindscapes in a Globalizing World – is an acknowledgement of the multifaceted attributes of today’s international business. Landscapes evoke the structural and fairly objective aspects of international business, for instance the economic, geographical and spatial dimensions of cross-border activities. In contrast, mindscapes conjure imagery of the perceptual, and hence fundamentally subjective, aspects of such activities. Few international business scholars would deny that both aspects are important and that our field must necessarily encompass both, but because our scholarship seldom treats them in tandem we are left with partial and isolated insights. To understand an increasingly globalized world of business we need not only to comprehend its landscapes and its mindscapes, but also how they shape each other and together evolve into ever more complex patterns of reality.

In addition to contributions focusing on the main theme of the conference, papers and panel proposals are – as always – invited on a wide range of international business issues. Ten conference tracks have been set up that cover both traditional topics and emergent fields of investigation in international business:

• The economics and governance of multinational enterprise
• Cross-cultural marketing and buyer behavior
• International distribution and supply chain management
• Historical and humanistic perspectives on international business
• Cross-cultural management
• Managing knowledge
• International entrepreneurship and untraditional internationalization behaviors
• International finance and management control
• International strategy and organization
• FDI, development policies and trajectories

July 15, 2005
Deadline for submission of papers and panel proposals.

September 15, 2005
Notification of acceptance of papers.

October 15, 2005
Deadline for early-bird registration and final papers due.

Conference Chair: Gabriel R.G. Benito
Secretariat: Lillan Steigum
BI Norwegian School of Management
E-mail eiba2005@bi.no

For further information, guidelines for authors, submission of papers and panel proposals, and registration, please see the web site:

www.eiba2005.bi.no

INAUGURAL CONFERENCE ON GLOBALIZATION: OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING
San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk, Texas, U.S.A.
October 7 - 9, 2005

This three-day conference initiates a conference series that will focus on the cultural, economic, ethical, historical, political and social implications of globalization from multiple perspectives. The first conference will focus on 'Globalization: Offshore Outsourcing'.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Political-economy implications of offshore outsourcing for donor and recipient countries, their enterprises, and their citizens;
• Cultural and social implications of offshore outsourcing for donor and recipient countries, their enterprises, and their citizens;
• The role of entrepreneurship in both donor and recipient countries in formulating and implementing offshore outsourcing;
• Religious implications of offshore outsourcing for donor and recipient countries, their enterprises, and their citizens;
• Educational implications of offshore outsourcing for donor and recipient countries, their enterprises, and their citizens;
• Career implications of offshore outsourcing for donor and recipient countries, their enterprises, and their citizens;
• Historical implications of offshore outsourcing for donor and recipient countries, their enterprises, and their citizens.

A two-step process will be used to screen paper submittals.  Step one involves the screening and selection of three-page abstracts.  The abstracts will be blind reviewed by two appropriate reviewers.  Step two involves the completion of the selected papers two months before the conference is held.
 
November 30, 2004
Submission of three-page abstracts.  Please send electronic submissions to globalbusiness@stmarytx.edu.

August 15, 2005
Submission of final papers by authors of the selected abstracts.

Additional details regarding the submittal requirements and the conference will be found at www.stmarytx.edu/outsourcing.

Arrangements have been made with the San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk.  Rooms will be $139 plus tax per night for single and double occupancy.

The registration fee will be posted in a few weeks at the above webpage address.  It is expected that the registration fee will include a reception on Thursday evening for early arrivals, continental breakfast for three days, two evening banquets, and a copy of all papers on a CD-ROM.

For further information please contact:
Jeffrey E. Johnson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of International Business
School of Business & Administration
St. Mary's University
One Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio TX 78228-8607
e-mail jjohnson6@stmarytx.edu
fax 210-431-2115
phone 210-431-2024

March 11-12, 2005
WHU - Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management
Vallendar, Germany
Call for Papers

Conference Co-chairs

Thomas Hutzschenreuter
Chair of Corporate Strategy and Electronic Media Management;
Dietmar Hopp Endowed Chair
WHU - Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management

Henning Kagermann
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
SAP AG

Conference Board

Harry G. Barkema, Professor, Tilburg University
Klaus Brockhoff, Professor, Dean, WHU - Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management
Richard D’Aveni, Professor, Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College
Martin Glaum, Professor, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen
Jean-François Hennart, Professor, Tilburg University
Leif Melin, Professor, Jönköping International Business School
Guenter Mueller-Stewens, Professor, University of St. Gallen
Arnold Picot, Professor, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Andreas Rueter, Director, Booz Allen Hamilton
Ursula Schneider, Professor, Karl-Franzens-University Graz
John Stopford, Professor, London Business School

Today’s competitive landscape is fundamentally shaped by globalization and technological change. The internationalization of markets makes it increasingly difficult to think of firms as domestic companies because they are facing a global marketplace. Firms are also impacted by dramatic changes in technology, especially information technology. The ability to access and use information effectively has become an important source of competitive advantage in virtually all industries.

In this new competitive landscape, industries and companies have undergone dramatic changes during the last couple of years. Companies have faced challenges such as the consolidation of their industries or the emergence of new competitors playing new games by establishing new business models.

Companies have to adapt their strategies to those new requirements in order to achieve sustainable success, and thus, have to face questions such as: How can companies successfully grow? Should companies diversify or focus to be successful? Are mergers and acquisitions still an appropriate mean for a company to grow? How should companies internationalize?

The conference will build a platform that focuses on the discussion of the above mentioned strategic questions. Whereas most of the other conferences have a much broader scope, this conference focuses on corporate strategy topics. We aim at engaging academics and practitioners in this discussion and invite full papers, panel proposals, and dissertations addressing this topic. The author(s) of the best paper will receive the SAP Best Strategy Paper Award (€ 2500). Additionally, the author of the best dissertation will receive the SAP Best Strategy Dissertation Award (€ 2500). Furthermore, accepted papers will be suggested for publication in a Special Issue of the Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr).

The “Growth, Focus, and Success” Conference Topics

Submissions are invited that respond to any of the following topics. The questions for each topic given below are illustrative only and by no means preferred or exhaustive.

1 GROWTH AND INTERNATIONALIZATION
How to exceed domestic markets for growth?
What are the research insights on the strategies and modes of internationalization? Is there a new wave of internationalization? What are the risks when growing internationally? Is there a difference in the internationalization paths of entrepreneurial vs. established companies and between small/medium-sized vs. big companies? Is there a relationship between domestic and international success?

2 FOCUS STRATEGIES VS. DIVERSIFICATION
Diversify or focus to be successful?
How does globalization affect the question of focus vs. diversification? When should companies diversify or focus to be successful? Are diversified companies creating economic value? What kind of diversification strategy suits a certain context best? Is focus an appropriate strategy for successful growth? Do diversified and focused companies follow different ways for going international? How do management capacities affect diversification?

3 GROWTH OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES
How do small companies become big?
What are the success factors for small/medium-sized companies compared to big companies? How can small/medium-sized companies internationalize? Under what conditions should small/medium-sized companies diversify or focus to be successful? Why are certain industries dominated by small/medium-sized companies? How do small/medium-sized companies’ stakeholders affect growth? How do small/medium-sized companies benefit from innovation? How can those companies learn from big companies?

4 GROWTH AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES
How can structures support growth?
What organizational structures can be used to implement a specific growth strategy? How can the fit of strategy and structure be assured? Can existing structures limit future growth opportunities? What is the importance of alliances, business webs, or networks for organizational structure? How do strategies and structures differ for certain internationalization modes? How do structures for companies being in the process of internationalization differ from those of already internationalized companies? How do companies organize their knowledge transfer?

5 BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING, DECONSTRUCTION, AND RECONFIGURATION
How are industries and firms reshaped by deconstruction?
How does the phenomenon of deconstruction impact different industries? How does the phenomenon of deconstruction impact different value chain functions? Which factors are influencing? Do certain growth patterns for companies specialising on deconstructed value chain functions exist? How do industries reconfigure after being deconstructed? Are there geographical differences in deconstruction? Are there certain developments questioning deconstruction?

6 CORPORATE GROWTH AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
How to grow in the digital age?
How does IT affect growth? How can companies use IT to grow successfully? What influences the growth of IT-suppliers? What are the peculiarities of the IT-environment? What is the impact of information technology developments on industries? Does information communication technology support the growth of companies in the knowledge society?

7 STRATEGY PROCESS
How should the strategy process be managed to be successful?
Which routines are used for strategy planning and implementation? How does the strategy process influence the outcome on the level of strategy content? Which capabilities do firms develop to overcome the dilemma of continuous change and efficiency? How can signals be effectively perceived and transformed into action? How does the formulation of strategic decision problems influence strategic directions?

8 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Is the era of unsuccessful M&A deals over?
Do mergers and acquisitions create or destroy economic value? Under which conditions should companies grow organically or by means of mergers and acquisitions? Are mergers and acquisitions an appropriate way to internationalize? What is the impact of corporate governance on mergers and acquisitions? What are the latest research insights on post-merger-integration? What are the objectives of mergers and acquisitions and how did they change over time? How does industry evolution affect the importance of mergers and acquisitions?

Submission Guidelines

We invite you to submit full papers, panel proposals, and dissertations addressing issues covered in the eight topics, or any matters of interest to the field of Corporate Strategy. Paper submission will be organized via an electronic submission form presented on the conference homepage (www.corporate-strategy-conference.com).

All submissions must be received by November 15, 2004.

Paper Submissions

• Only original and unpublished work will be considered.
• Please do not submit more than two papers, whether as an author or co-author.
• Do not include any author’s information in the body of the paper.
• All papers will be double-blind reviewed by two members of the Review Committee.
• A selection of papers will be suggested for publication in a Special Issue of the Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr).
• Paper submissions may be nominated for the SAP Best Strategy Paper Award.

Panel Submissions

• Panel submissions offer opinions and discussion on important issues and bring together scholars on the same panel.
• Please submit an electronic panel proposal.
• Panel moderators should provide us with complete contact information of each panelist.

Dissertation Submissions

• Please submit an electronic summary of the dissertation of no more than 15 pages.
• Please send one print version of your dissertation to the mail address given below.
• Dissertation submissions may be nominated for the SAP Best Strategy Dissertation Award, and can be submitted written in English or German.

Important Dates

• Submission deadline: November 15, 2004
• Notice on acceptance: December 30, 2004
• Conference in Vallendar: March 11-12, 2005

SAP Strategy Awards

The author(s) of the best conference paper will receive the SAP Best Strategy Paper Award (€ 2500). Additionally, the author of the best dissertation will receive the SAP Best Strategy Dissertation Award (€ 2500). The awards will be presented at the end of the conference on March 12, 2005. The best paper will be selected from the submitted conference papers. The best dissertation coming from the field of Corporate Strategy will be selected from separately submitted dissertations.

Hosting Organization

The Dietmar Hopp Endowed Chair of Corporate Strategy and Electronic Media Management deals with various aspects of corporate strategy, such as the management of company growth and crisis or the development of industries and value chains. The chair's activities are internationally oriented and aiming at developing applicable management innovation.

The WHU - Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management, founded in 1984, is a top ranked German business school. It is the first German business school to have received the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) Certificate in 1998. The joint WHU/Kellogg Executive MBA Program has been accredited by the FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration and Accreditation).

Main Sponsor

Founded in 1972, SAP is the world’s largest inter-enterprise software company, and the world’s third-largest independent software supplier. The German company employs more than 28,000 people in more than 50 countries and delivers its products and services to more than 12 Million users.

Co-Sponsor

Booz Allen Hamilton was founded in 1914. Booz Allen Hamilton provides services to major international corporations and government clients around the world. Booz Allen Hamilton's major areas of expertise include Strategy, Organization and Change Leadership, Operations, Information Technology, and Technology Management. Booz Allen Hamilton employs more than 14,000 members located in offices on six continents.

Associated Academic Center

The Center for Strategic Negotiations (CSN) at the WHU - Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management was established in 2003 and deals with negotiations in today's business environment.

Contact Information

Chair of Corporate Strategy and Electronic Media Management
WHU - Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management
Burgplatz 2, D-56179 Vallendar, Germany
Phone: +49-261/6509-201
Fax: +49-261/6509-209
E-Mail: contact@corporate-strategy-conference.com Website: http://www.corporate-strategy-conference.com

8th Vaasa Conference on International Business, August 21-23, 2005
University of Vaasa, Finland
For details see   http://www.uwasa.fi/ibconference

International Doctoral Tutorial on International Business, August 21st, 2005
University of Vaasa, Finland
For details see http://www.uwasa.fi/ibconference