EIBA-zine - Issue No. 2 - December 2005

1. Letter from the President

   1. The Oslo Conference: New Initiatives in 2005 

      Dear Colleagues,

      

      It is with great pleasure and honor that I have taken on my term as President of EIBA. Our academy has undergone considerable changes over the last few years. In particular, the initiation of International Business Review as the official journal of EIBA, the re-organization of the EIBA Board and Secretariat, and an increased emphasis on academic excellence in the organization of our Annual Conferences have all been successful initiatives. These features have contributed to a substantial increase in the number of members of our academy. In 2005, while emphasis will be put on securing the results achieved so far, new initiatives have also been taken. Principally, a new series entitled Progress in International Business Research will be published by Elsevier Science. Ulf Andersson and Torben Pedersen have been appointed as Editors and their intention is create a high-quality research outlet. The volumes in this new series will publish selected contributions presented at EIBA’s Annual Conferences, commencing with the 2005 conference.

      This year’s Annual Conference will be held in Oslo, December 11 to 13, preceded as usual by the EIBA Doctoral Tutorial on December 10 and 11. The conference opens with a keynote panel on the theme of “Research Programs in International Business”. Henrich R. Greve has a key role in organizing the panel and I’m very pleased to announce that three prominent scholars will take part: Witold J. Henisz, Jean-Francois Hennart and Anand Swaminathan. The closing EIBA Fellows panel is organized by John Cantwell and John Hagedoorn, and they will together with Jan Fagerberg, Knut Haanæs, and Franscesca Sanna-Randaccio present their views on ”Internationalization of R&D and the Location of Asset Seeking Foreign Direct Investment”.

      In between these two panels we will be looking forward to take part in what I trust will be numerous exciting sessions about the latest research in International Business. We have received more than 250 paper submissions, one of the highest figures ever for the EIBA conference. We have also received a number of very interesting proposals for panel sessions. For information about the conference, please visit the conference web page at www.eiba2005.bi.no. The conference web site is updated on a frequent basis.

      With your help, we aim to organize the best ever EIBA Conference both academically and socially. The conference will be held at the new campus of BI Norwegian School of Management. The main conference hotel, Radisson SAS Hotel Nydalen, is just across the street. This is central location with most of Oslo’s many attractions conveniently within reach. Transportation to the conference venue is speedy and efficient with the metro and buses stopping straight in front of the conference venue.

      Looking forward to seeing you in Oslo, I remain with

      Very Best Regards

      
      Gabriel R.G. Benito
      Professor, EIBA President 2005
      

2. Letter from the Chairman

   1. From Jouy-en-Josas to Ljubljana and Oslo 

      From Jouy-en-Josas to Ljubljana and Oslo

      Ljubljana -2004

      The 30th EIBA conference in Ljubljana was a memorable event, not only because it was the first conference in one of the news EU-countries, but also because of its scientific quality and pleasant social events. EIBA owes a lot to the three MMMs i.e. Marjan Svetlicic, Matija Rojec and Maja Bucar. The short evaluation of this successful conference, written by the immediate past president Marjan Svetlicic and included in this newsletter, does not do full justice to the many successful events that were organized in Ljubljana, but the local team is probably too modest about its contributions to the academic and social dimension of the conference.

      On the one hand high level quality papers were presented and on the other hand the social happenings certainly forged an even more intense link of friendship among EIBA members and participants. One of the principal highlights of the conference undoubtedly was the standing ovation addressed to John Dunning when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the EIBA community. An academic laudatio by John Cantwell and a more light-hearted one by Rajneesh Narula put both scientific merits and the human aspects of John Dunning’s personality in perspective. May be it will be possible to print their remarks in a future edition of the EIBA-zine.

      Oslo-2005
      As is clear form the letter of the EIBA President, Gabriel Benito, Oslo-2005 will continue in the same vein as Ljubljana and Copenhagen and deliver another successful EIBA conference in Oslo. At the interim board meeting in Oslo at the end of April some board members got worried about the state of readiness of the conference venue. Indeed the new building of the BI Norwegian School of Management was still under construction at the time of that meeting. Yet, the board members became quickly convinced that the Oslo team had everything under control. In his letter Gabriel is rightfully proud that 250 paper submissions were received and that a number of new initiatives are being launched.

      An important new development is also the EIBA Fellows’ Young Scholars Award that will be granted for the first time during the Oslo meeting.

      The EIBA board meeting in Oslo also decided about the venue of the 2007 conference in Catania, Sicily, Italy to be organised by Grazia Santangelo.

      Jouy-en-Josas-1974

      Ljubljana was the 30th EIBA Conference. During the special session organized to commemorate the founding of our Academy, I read a special message from the first president of EIBA, Jim Leontiades:

      Dear EIBA Colleagues,

      I am truly sorry that my teaching commitments in Cyprus do not permit me to join with you today in celebrating the 30th anniversary of our association. 30 years sounds like long time but believe me it is not very long for those that have already lived through them. Even so, enough time has gone by now that we can say that EIBA has not only survived but has firmly established itself as a part of the European research environment and more importantly it has contributed substantially to European research on our favourite subject.

      Many persons have contributed to this success – I refer not only to those attending EIBA conferences such as this one but also that have taken on the administrative burden required to continue such events as well as the other activities now springing up. The evidence of EIBA development over the past 30 years shows that the initiative to establish EIBA was in fact a very useful one. EIBA has grown and with your support it will continue to grow, develop and contribute further to European research.

      I wish you all a very fruitful and productive meeting. I look forward to participating in future EIBA meetings.

      Jim Leontiades, Cyprus International Institute of Management, Nicosia, Cyprus

      It is probably a coincidence that at the 30th anniversary of EIBA questions were raised about the relationship AIB-EIBA. Since many years EIBA has also functioned as the West European Chapter for the Academy of International Business. I was a shock to some of the board members that the project for a new constitution of AIB was likely to make it impossible for EIBA to continue to play this role. Although a compromise was agreed upon at the end of the EIBA conference in Ljubljana between the President of AIB, Alan Rugman and Peter Buckley, immediate past president of AIB on the one hand and myself on behalf of EIBA the contradictions between the EIBA constitution and the proposed AIB statutes remain. As a result of the so-called Buckley or Ljubljana compromise a business meeting of the AIB members of EIBA will be held in Oslo. Hopefully the differences can be resolved during this meeting.

      Doctoral Studies

      Next to the comments by the winner of the EIBA-EIASM Doctoral Tutorial some interesting reflections are given by Fragkiskos Filippaios about doctoral studies.

      See you all in Oslo.

      Danny Van Den Bulcke

      
      

3. The Origin of EIBA

   1. The Birth of an Association 

      As the first president of EIBA, I have been asked by Danny Van den Bulcke to write a short history of the initial meeting that established the organization. This is probably a timely idea since I have subsequently found that there is almost nothing in writing concerning the events leading to EIBA's origins. As far as I can discover there are no minutes and no notes remaining to document this meeting. Furthermore, the people that were there, although they have not exactly faded away, certainly have a problem recalling precise details. This includes myself. It is unlikely that this will improve with time. Consequently I have asked various colleagues who were there to help me to record a brief history of the founding event that established EIBA. I am particularly indebted to Michel Ghertman, the second president of EIBA, Lars-Gunnar Mattson, the third president, Peter Buckley, Jan Erik Vahlne for their contributions regarding the events surrounding that first EIBA meeting.

      Lets begin with the date, the meeting that established EIBA took place December 16-17, 1974. The venue was HEC, at Jouy-en-Josas, outside Paris and the occasion was a conference entitled "Recent Research on the Multinational Corporation". Michel Ghertman, and myself were co-sponsors of the conference. Michel was then a faculty member of HEC. I, on leave from the Manchester Business School, was on the faculty of EIASM (the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management), located in Brussels.

      The 1974 conference was to be the second such conference, Michel and I had sponsored a similar conference on the same subject in 1973, also held at HEC.

      The preliminary discussions laying the groundwork for both of these conferences took place at the offices of EIASM, in Brussels. EIASM, then as now, was devoted to the promotion of a European network of academics which would facilitate the tutoring of students working toward a doctorate in management studies. Given its cross border orientation, EIASM soon became involved with the establishment of European based academic research societies such as marketing, finance, accountancy and others.

      In planning the 1974 conference, Michel and I discussed the possibility of using such a meeting of academics to form a European association for researchers engaged in the study of international business. At that time, the only academic association which held conferences on this subject was the American based Academy for International Business. The main conferences of this association were for the most part held in the United States. However, AIB also occasionally held regional meetings in Europe.

      Both Michel and myself considered the formation of a new European international business association to be a good idea. Feeling optimistic, I took the liberty of having membership cards for the proposed association printed well in advance of the actual conference. These declared the holder to be a member of the "European International Business Association" which, of course, did not yet exist.

      The crucial part of the 1974 conference at HEC, at least as regards the history of the founding of EIBA, came during a plenary meeting attended by the participants. As one of the co-sponsors of the conference, I chaired this meeting and raised the issue of founding a separate, European based, association of researchers interested in international business. It quickly became clear that there was considerable disagreement on this point.

      An opposing, but as it turned out small, group pointed out that there was already an association, the AIB which served this purpose. The formation of another such association dividing the membership of researchers into this subject could be seen to be counterproductive. Professor Michael Brooke of UMIST, who I believe was the chairman of the local UK branch of AIB, was a strong advocate of this point of view but there were also a good many other voices raised in support.

      The other view, forwarded initially by myself and Michel turned about the need for an association focused on European researchers and attuned to European conditions and needs. My personal opinion on this subject had been shaped by an earlier AIB conference I had attended. The conference (in Paris) was both successful and productive. However, it seemed to me that the European researchers and their interests were sometimes overwhelmed by the more numerous researchers from North America.

      This was not due to any deliberate intent on the part of the Americans. It came about quite naturally due to their larger number and different situation. This could influence even trivial decisions almost unconsciously. For example, I remember that when it came time to consider the timing of future conferences, the dates were set so as to comply with the American university holiday schedule, which was not the same as the European. Also the major meetings of AIB were usually held in the United States, making it more difficult for European researchers to attend. Perhaps more important was the need for an association which brought together European researchers as a group, fostering the development of a European network with interests which were not always the same as those of the American network. Those who have studied the relations between multinational companies and their overseas affiliates will have no difficulty recognizing this situation and the motives behind the desire for greater independence.

      Quite apart from the above, there was nothing to stop anyone from joining both organizations, the American and the European - as in fact, many ultimately did. It soon became evident that many of those at the conference agreed with Michel and myself regarding the desirability of a separate, European based Association. In particular, I remember that there was a considerable Scandinavian representation at the meeting. This appeared to be solidly in favour of the European option. However, the participants at times appeared to be fairly evenly divided. The debate at times became quite heated. Eventually, since I was chairing the meeting, I called for a vote. I was surprised that when it came to it, the conference participants voted heavily in favour of a European Association.

      Still in the chair, this seemed to me a good time to finalize the matter. Fortunately I had with me the EIBA membership cards which I had printed prior to the meeting. Taking these out of my pocket I put them on the table and asked those wishing to become members of the new European International Business Association to step forward and sign right there. I have no evidence on exact numbers but it seemed to me that in the final analysis nearly 100% of the participants came forward to sign on as members. Someone made a list of the persons signing and the new EIBA association was formed.
      
      Subsequently there was an election of officers, I was nominated as president, Michel Ghertman was the first to be nominated as vice president. Then Derek Channon of the Manchester Business School suggested that EIBA should have two vice presidents and nominated Lars Gunnar Mattsson of Linkoping University, an EIASM faculty member as vice president as well. We were all elected unopposed.
      
      At a later date, the practice emerged whereby the president of the association would serve for one year with each of the vice presidents rotating to the office of president. The serving president would sponsor the EIBA conference which took place during his\her tenure of office.

      The second annual EIBA conference in 1975 was also held in December at HEC, the 1976 one at EIASM in Brussels and the fourth in 1977 became part of the 500th anniversary celebration of the founding of Uppsala University.

      Perhaps there are others whose memory will enable them to contribute further to the history of this event. I would welcome such contributions.

      Jim Leontiades
      Cyprus International Institute of Management
      Nicosia, Cyprus

      
      

4. EIBA 30th Annual Conference 2004 - Llubljana

   1. Report from the Conference President 

      The EIBA 30th annual conference 2004 - Ljubljana, December 5-8, 2004

      by Marjan Svetlicic

      Programme and papers

      
      The objective of the 30th EIBA Conference was to create an opportunity for meeting academics and business people at least at the plenary sessions was achieved by the participation of prominent speakers from business (also thanks to the support of the EIBA Fellows). That these exchanges were not more intense was due to the limited amount of time. Although the number of special sessions was rather high, they were generally well attended.
      
      In total 230 papers were accepted: 82 as competitive papers, 105 as working papers and 43 as posters. Out of this total 192 were presented during the conference: 73 as competitive papers, 90 as working papers and 29 as posters. A blind review process with two reviewers for each paper was used. The track chairs had complete autonomy in accepting or rejecting the papers papers on the basis of the reviews. Thanks to efficient track chairs and many reviewers this process ran very smoothly. Apart from a very large numbers of papers on emerging markets the structure of papers on the basis of the subjects dealt with submitted was not all that different from the previous EIBA conferences. Internationalization and management and organization of MNCs dominated, followed by marketing issues .

      Participants

      The total number of registered participants was; 254 (11 accompanying persons, 43 students), not included the local organizing committee, the sponsors and invited external speakers.

      The regional distribution was widely spread although the academics from European countries clearly dominated. The three countries with the highest number of participants were Finland (31 participants), followed by the UK (27) and Germany (17).

      Especially encouraging was not only that the conference attracted 31 participants from transition economies, but also that as many as 10 participants came from Australia, 12 from USA, 6 from Canada, 5 from Japan, 3 from Brazil one each from China, New Zeeland and Korea.

      
      Awards

      Due to the insufficient number of applications there was no Gunnar Hedlund award in 2004. The doctoral theses that were sent in for the 2004 Prize, will be taken into consideration together with the new applications for 2005.

      
      Best Paper to a young scholar (The Copenhagen Business School gave the Copenhagen Prize (3.000€) for the best paper to a young scholar): Felicia Fei, Bath University, U.K. 
      Best PhD: Nejc Jacopin, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
      Best Poster Presentation: TakahideYamaguchi, University of Hyogo, Japan
      Best Paper on International Marketing (Awarded by the International Marketing Review): Rudolf Sinkovics, University of Manchester, UK and Anthony Roath, University of Oklahoma, U.S.A.

      And

      Lifetime Achievement Award: During the closing event John Dunning was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in International Business by Danny Van Den Bulcke and myself on behalf of the whole EIBA community

      Ljubljana, April 2005
      

5. Doctoral Studies

   1. Report from the Award Winner of the EIBA Doctoral Tutorial 2004 

      At the 30th EIBA conference in Ljubljana in late 2004 the 18th doctoral tutorial was held. I was very impressed by the names on the list of faculty participants – namely Professors Buckley, Cantwell, Doz, Grosse, Hakanson, Hennart, and Van Den Bulcke – and looked forward to the event. It turned out to be a tremendously positive experience: The organisation by EIASM, the local organisers at the University of Ljubljana and the chairman Danny van den Bulcke was very good. The faculty was well informed about the presented thesis proposals and made many challenging comments. The group of participants was quite diverse, representing eight countries. Topics ranged from more “macro”-oriented themes of country competitiveness and market structure to “micro”-views of SME and MNE strategies and performance. Throughout, the doctoral students maintained a good level of presentation and content quality, so that although not directly related or within the scope of research to each other, the topics of the tutorial were interesting for all participants. Particularly interesting was the faculty critique on all presented papers, not just on one’s own paper. Their comments very well highlighted important points in the research process and methodological and conceptual “key success factors” that are extremely useful for the successful completion of the thesis.
      

      With two half-day sessions and a group of ten Ph.D. students, the tutorial was very well suited for interaction between and within the group of students and faculty. EIBA 2004 was the first (international business) conference for many of the tutorial participants. Therefore the doctoral tutorial was also a prime starting point for the whole conference. From there, the attendants joined on many occasions during the EIBA conference and also had a much better basis for meeting new scholars from all over the world.
      

      Future improvements may be accomplished with more precise and earlier guidelines towards paper specifications (pages etc.) and tutorial structure. I can sincerely recommend EIBA to all doctoral students related to the field of international business – not only for the doctoral tutorial but also for the EIBA conference with a very warm and interesting flair throughout. I must thank the faculty members again for their very useful support and encouragement. Winning the “best thesis proposal” award was a big honour for me and has strengthened my pursuit of research in the field of international business.

      Nejc M. Jakopin is from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Campus Duisburg. He is award winner of the Best Thesis Proposal Award, 2004.

   2. The long journey of writing a PhD thesis 

      Writing a thesis is like departing on a long journey, exploring the unknown. The unknown comes sometimes in terms of time but most importantly in terms of obstacles during that journey. Reaching the ultimate destination of the voyage does not, in any case, coincide with the end. I believe that it just signs just the end of the beginning.
      

      There is a poem, by a famous Greek writer Constantinos Kavafis, entitled Ithaca. Ithaca according to Homer was the homeland of Ulysses. Ulysses after the end of the Trojan War had a ten yearlong journey to get back to Ithaca. During this trip he faced many difficulties and he confronted large threats. Someone might start wonder how this resembles to the writing of a PhD thesis…
      Well the poem starts like this:

      As you set out for Ithaca
      hope the voyage is long,
      full of adventure, full of discovery.

      Ithaca is the final destination, your final goal. Then why should someone wish and hope that the voyage should be long and full of adventure and discovery? It is in the nature of true researcher the willingness to learn more and more, to explore unexplored paths in the human knowledge. During this journey you may face many difficulties, disillusionments but at the same time many joys and successes. At the end what remains is a sweet flavour of knowledge. And the poem goes on:

      Hope the voyage is a long one.
      May there be many summer mornings when,
      with what pleasure and joy,
      you come into harbors seen for the first time;

      It is the process of learning that gives satisfaction to the researcher that fulfills his greediness for wisdom. And this is why the journey should not be a short or an easy one. The poem ends when Ulysses, the researcher in our metaphor, reaches his final destination, Ithaca:

      And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you.
      This way, wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
      you will have understood by then what these Ithacans mean.

      The end of the expedition signals the acquisition of knowledge, the so desired gift of wisdom.

      
      In every researcher’s mission towards knowledge, there are some special moments that scarify this process. Some of them are joyful and provide the necessary encouragement and support for the long trip, others are full of sorrow and make you fell like putting an end to the journey.
      

      At the end what you usually keep in your heart is a sweet memory of every moment good or hard. What gives you support and encouragement is the feeling that you are not alone in this journey towards Ithaca…
      

      Sometimes you find yourself embraced by a large family. A family, whose members are other researchers, pioneers who make their own travel. This travel for most of the time is a lonely one. There are though some moments where people sharing the same or similar worries come together. It is those times that you get inspired, encouraged and stimulated to continue the trip. It is those times that you renew your rendezvous for the next time, for the next intermediate destination as Ulysses did.
      

      For me this large family is the European and International Business Academy (EIBA). I still remember that cloudy and misty afternoon in December of 1999 in Manchester. It was my first time travelling outside Greece after a very long time. I reached Manchester late in the afternoon and I was desperately trying to find out where my accommodation was located. It was my first meeting with Danny, and I think everybody knows him with his first name. I remember that we were both kind of lost…
      

      The annual meeting of EIBA in Manchester was for me the first meeting with what I consider now my academic family. I was still on my first year of my PhD and that was my first presentation to an international conference. Since then I have only missed one meeting, that in Maastricht. I have to confess that I really regretted that afterwards. There are small things that I still keep in mind from each EIBA. From Manchester it was the anxiety of my first international presentation and the impressive hotel that the organisers selected to host the conference. From Paris it was the marvellous Gala dinner while travelling through Seine. In Copenhagen, the Hans Christian Andersen tales and a workshop session where I presented one of my papers and in the audience there were people like John Dunning, Seev Hirsch, Robert Pearce and John Daniels. The fifth chapter of my thesis is heavily influenced from that workshop session. I would like to thank all the participants and especially Professor Tamir Agmon, for his inspired comments and suggestions.
      

      Finally, from Ljubljana it was the warm hospitality of the local organisers. I have to confess that last year’s EIBA reminded me a lot of the EIBA we organised in Athens.
      

      I have to admit that organising EIBA’s 28th Annual Meeting in Athens had a real impact on the way I see the Academy. It was then that I almost learned each delegate but his or hers first name. I still keep in mind all the small details from that meeting. I felt like hosting my intellectual family. We, my supervisor Marina Papanastassiou, my colleagues Constantina Kottaridi and Catherine Glynou, all did our best to make that occasion an unforgettable one for everybody.
      

      Now, having finished my PhD last summer, I work as a Lecturer in International Business in Kent Business School and I really look forwards to the next EIBA Conference in Oslo. I will meet my old friends and academic family there…
      

      See you all in Oslo…

      Fragkiskos Filippaios

   3. Doctoral Tutorial 2004 

      EIBA-EIASM Tutorial 2004

      While 40 students applied for the EIBA-EIASM Doctoral Tutorial 2003 in Copenhagen, there were only 20 submissions for the Ljubljana Tutorial by students from 17 different countries. As only 10 students could be invited to present their thesis proposal it meant that less students had to be refused than the year before, although still only half of them could participate. The EIBA Board has discussed this in order to try to render service to more students. Because this would have meant that the format of the Tutorial would have to be changed, the Board decided to maintain the system that has proved successful during all those years.

      

      Western Europe, Northern Europe and East and Central Europe, each had 4 applicants, while three each came from Southern Europe and Asia and 2 students were from North America. In the final selection Western Europe and Eastern and Central Europe( ECE) each counted three doctoral students, compared to two from Northern Europe and one each from Southern Europe and North America.

      The Faculty consisted of Peter Buckley, Yves Doz, Rob Grosse, Lars Häkanson, Jean-François Hennart, John Cantwell (co-chair) and Danny Van Den Bulcke (chair).

6. In Memoriam

   1. In memoriam - Carlos Hemais 

      IN MEMORIAM CARLOS HEMAIS (1947-2005)

      
      Our Brazilian colleague Carlos Hemais passed away in the 22nd October 2005. Fighting against the fatal disease for more than one year, Carlos died two days before the beginning of the 5th Workshop on the Internationalisation of Firms which he organised with the usual commitment and eagerness to foster the exchange of perspectives among international business scholars.
      
      Many EIBA colleagues will remember him. Very discreet, he was an excellent companion for a conversation on a wide number of topics, from international business (he had extensively researched on internationalisation strategies) to the challenges of studying or working abroad or to the wonders of his native Brazil. I first met in a flight Paris-Athens, in 2002. We were together in the same row, and we started talking (in English) just to discover that we might switch to Portuguese, and that both of us were going to Athens with the same objective – to attend the 28th EEIBA Conference. We started then a friendship for life (so short his own, unfortunately…), strengthened with opportunities to meet in both Brazil and Portugal and in successive EIBA Conferences: in 2003 in Copenhagen, in 2004 in Ljubljana. Not in Oslo, in 2005, as we expected.
      
      After getting a bachelor’s degree in law, Carlos was gradually attracted to business administration, getting a bachelor’s degree and then a Master in Administration Science, from COPPEAD (Brazil). He was granted a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies by the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. As other Latin-American fellows, Carlos came into the international business field from his professional interest in technology transfer and commercialisation issues. Based on his experience in the polymer industry he developed a model of international transfer of technology (Technology Management, 3 (3), 1997). Since the early 2000’s he focussed his interests in internationalisation, and more specifically on how the so-called Nordic approach might explain the internationalisation of Brazilian firms. This was exactly the topic he addressed in his first EIBA presentation in Athens. In 2003 he was behind the organisation of the 4th Workshop on the Internationalisation of Firms, of COPPEAD (Rio de Janeiro), and invited Matts Forsgren and Ingmar Bjorkmann as key-note lecturers. This year he had invited John Dunning, Danny Van den Bulcke and myself. Unfortunately, death came first.
      Carlos was also editor of the Latin American Business Review, since 2003. At COPPEAD he coordinated MBA courses on International Business and Business Management. He was still able to publish his last book, already in the second half of 2005: a two volume on the Desafios dos Mercados Externos (the challenge of foreign markets).
      
      I lost a friend and EIBA an increasingly committed member. On behalf of the EIBA Board, I would like to express our sorrows to his wife Barbara and to his son Marcus. There will be now another star in the sky, helping us to extend and deepen our knowledge on international business… but I will miss Carlos friendship and kind presence in our EIBA Conferences.

      Vitor Corado Simões
      

7. Upcoming Events

   1. IFSAM VIIIth Congress 2006 

      International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management

      
      Call for Papers
      Special Track at the IFSAM VIIIth World Congress 2006
      as well as
      Special Issue of the Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr)

      Theme:
      Global Accounting Convergence – Implication for Companies and Stakeholders

      
      Chairpersons and Guest Editors

      Axel Haller
      University of Regensburg , Germany
      Sid Gray
      University of Sydney, Australia
      

      Background

      September 28-30, 2006 the German Association of University Professors of Management (Verband der Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft e.V.) will be hosting the VIIIth World Congress of the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management (IFSAM) in Berlin. IFSAM is the umbrella organisation for academics and associations of management and business studies from all over the world. It aims at bringing together all scholars who are interested in business research and international exchange. The world congresses which take place every two years in different parts of the world are a major instrument to reach this aim. Apart from plenary sessions and panels the upcoming conference in Berlin will have special tracks with presentations of research papers. While every track covers a particular area of business research they focus all on the challenges for companies caused by the tremendous internationalization of business. One of the tracks is devoted to the internationalization of accounting. For further information about the conference please visit the website www.ctw-congress.de/ifsam.

      Triggered and fuelled by the internationalization of corporate activities and capital exchange, accounting - especially financial reporting - has been subject to considerable change on a global and national level during the last decade. With the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) a global common basis of accounting standards has been created that provides the chance to overcome national differences in accounting regulation and practice and to reach a cross-border comparability of accounting information. This era of global convergence of accounting systems, concepts and standards causes enormous challenges for regulators, standard setters, companies and their stakeholders and opens up a vast field of research topics and issues. Accordingly, the track at the IFSAM conference will focus on the global convergence process that is going on at the moment and its resulting implications for regulators, companies and their stakeholders. Submissions of papers are invited that cover topics such as:
      

      • the impact of IFRS on national regulations,
      • transition of national accounting systems due to international convergence of accounting standards,
      • application and extent of compliance with IFRS by companies,
      • convergence of national accounting systems,
      • problems faced by companies in implementing IFRS,
      • costs and benefits of accounting convergence,
      • differential reporting issues arising from the dominance of IFRS,
      • technical issues concerning IFRS,
      • enforcement of IFRS,
      • the impact of IFRS on financial performance,
      • the impact of IFRS on stakeholders,
      • the impact of convergence on the accounting profession,
      • the impact of companies´ application of IFRS on management accounting,
      • global accounting convergence and cost of capital, and
      • analysts use of IFRS information.

      All types of methodologies (such as normative, empirical, behavioral etc.) are very welcome. The papers may have a global or regional perspective. The presentation of papers at the conference gives the opportunity to bring current knowledge of international accounting research to a broad audience of academics in management and business sciences and provides an excellent platform for interdisciplinary discussions and contacts.

      Submission Process

      Full Papers must be submitted before February 28, 2006. The papers should be in English and submissions need to be electronic. Please follow the instructions on the congress website www.ctw-congress.de/ifsam. Submissions by fax, mail or E-mail will not be accepted. Please make clear that you submit the paper to the conference track “internationalization of accounting”. Papers submitted to the conference will also be considered for a Special Issue of sbr that will be published in 2007. Please indicate whether you also submit your paper for the Special Issue of sbr in the IFSAM electronic submission form. With your submission for the Special Issue of sbr you accept the sbr guidelines (www.vhb.de/sbr/for_authors.html). All papers will go through a double-blind review process.

      Timeline

      February 28, 2006 Paper submitted electronically to IFSAM
      May 31, 2006 Authors notified if paper selected for the IFSAM conference
      September 28-30, 2006 IFSAM conference to be held in Berlin
      October 2006 Authors notified if paper selected for Special Issue of sbr
      November 2006 Revised papers due (incorporating reviewer comments)

      Contact Information
      Track Chairpersons and Guest Editors sbr
      Axel Haller,
      University of Regensburg,
      xel.haller@wiwi.uni-regensburg.de
      
      Sid Gray,
      University of Sidney
      s.gray@econ.usyd.edu.au
      
      
      

   2. 33rd AIB Annual Conference 

      33rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE
      ACADEMY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – UK CHAPTER
      Manchester, U.K., April 7-8, 2006

      International Business in the Age of Anxiety

      
      There has been a profound change in the international business environment in recent years. The relationship between multinationals and governments is becoming increasingly complex, particularly in emerging markets. The developments in the political environment during the last few years have led to a situation in the global economy, its context and its rules which has put the various stakeholders under the clouds of anxiety. Managing the interdependence between multinationals, governments and society has thus become a formidable challenge.The conference welcomes IB-research contributions in any area, but particularly encourages topics related to the following:

      • Multinationals and International Business in the developing world
      • Foreign Direct Investments and linkage effects on local firms/economies
      • Revisiting the developmental impact of foreign direct investment
      • Contributions of mainstream theories, e.g. internalisation and OLI, to understanding ethical and sustainability issues in International Business
      • Globalisation and world poverty
      • Critical perspectives on international business.
      • International Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Trends and implications of outsourcing and offshoring
      • Internationalisation processes and SMEs
      • MNE / government relationships
      • Marketing and financial issues in International Business
      • Information technology and International Business

      The organisers are open to proposals for specialist track/panel presentation sessions relating to the conference theme.
      

      Review process and submission of competitive and working papers
      All papers will be refereed. The accepted competitive and workshop papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings as a CD Rom, which will carry an ISBN number. A selection of papers around the conference theme will be edited and published in the Palgrave – AIB Book Series in International Business.
      Deadline for submission: Monday 16th January 2006.

      All papers should be submitted electronically at http://www.mbs.ac.uk/aib2006
      

      Conference organisers
      International Business Group (www.mbs.ac.uk/ib)Conference
      Chair: Prof. Pervez N. Ghauri
      The University of Manchester, Manchester Business School (East)
      PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD
      Email: Pervez.Ghauri@mbs.ac.uk

      Conference programme and track organisers :
      Dr. Rudolf R. Sinkovics (Rudolf.Sinkovics@mbs.ac.uk)
      Dr. Mo Yamin (Mo.Yamin@mbs.ac.uk)
      

8. Publications and Calls for Papers

   1. Special issue of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 

      Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets

      Special Issue Editors

      David Ahlstrom, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (ahlstrom@baf.msmail.cuhk.edu.hk)
      Garry D. Bruton , Texas Christian University, USA (g.bruton@tcu.edu)
      Krzysztof Oblój, Warsaw University &Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management,Poland (kobloj@wspiz.edu.pl)

      
      Emerging markets encompass a wide range of countries including but not limited to those that are in transition from communism such as China and Russia, as well as countries that have had some democratic institutions historically but which have had strong governmental control of the economy and are now liberalizing such as India & Turkey, and those countries whose economic development is only recently beginning to develop substantial critical mass such as nations in Africa. The common factor in each of these settings is that market forces are increasingly allowed to direct what occurs in these economies. As a result each of these countries to varying degrees is experiencing significant economic growth and institutional change.

      Historically the field of entrepreneurship has been dominated by research on mature economies, particularly those of the United States and Europe. However, the institutional environment of emergent markets has been shown to be significantly different than that in the mature economies. Fundamental issues like the rule of law, the availability of capital, and accepted legitimacy of entrepreneurship to exist is fundamentally different in emergent economies than in mature economies.

      This special issue will present high quality research that explores the unique differences that exist in entrepreneurship in emergent markets. We encourage far ranging explorations of these differences that will extend our understanding of how entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship is able to prosper in diverse, frequently challenging emergent markets.

      Particularly, those research efforts that contrast different emergent markets are encouraged since such examinations allow greater insight on the domain of emergent markets rather than single nation studies. We also strongly encourage authors from emergent markets to prepare submissions. ETP is one the top 50 journals from all business disciplines that is used by the Financial Times to rank business programs worldwide.

      
      Relevant topics include but are not limited to:

      • Development of key resources including the financing of new ventures in resource constrained emergent markets.
      • Building legitimacy for entrepreneurial firms in environments that are turbulent and some times hostile. Institutional environment and how it impacts entrepreneurial efforts.
      • How entrepreneurs align with or seek to shape complex and dynamic environments.
      • The impact of governments and legal systems on the development of entrepreneurial ventures.
      • How entrepreneurs in emerging economies use relationships and networks as strategic resources.
      • Going international - entrepreneurial ventures that attempt to compete globally or regionally
      • The development and maintenance of defendable competitive advantage in rapidly changing emergent markets.
      • Role of human resources in entrepreneurial ventures in emergent markets.
      • High technology ventures and their role in the development of emergent markets.
      • Entrepreneurial supports such as incubators and their impact
      • Leadership in the entrepreneurial venture in emergent market – differences in roles and impact
      • Decision making in emergent markets, what is the impact of rapidly changing and resource constrained environments

      Submission Information:

      Submissions are to be prepared in a form consistent with ET&P’s style guide.
      Submissions are to be submitted to Garry D. Bruton at g.bruton@tcu.edu by September 1, 2006.

      Publication date: January 2008.

      If you have any questions on the special issue please feel free to contact any of the editors of the special issue.

   2. Book Announcement 

      The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy:
      An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

      By Pietra Rivoli
      Associate Professor
      McDonough School of Business
      Georgetown University

      
      Some info on the book can be found at the Amazon link below:
      http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471648493/qid=1126854500/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-3009534-0686361?v=glance&s=books
      

   3. International Investment Agreements: Key Issues 

      International Investment Agreements: Key Issues (Volumes I, II and III), Unctad, New York and Geneva (2004 and 2005)

      Philippe Gugler
      Department of Economics University of Fribourg. Designated dean of the faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

      With the ascendancy of FDI as one of the main factors driving international economic relations in the era of globalization, international investment rulemaking has become to the forefront of public and private concerns facing a patchwork of bilateral agreements (more than 2’300 BITs), regional agreements as well as plurilateral agreements. In this context, the UNCTAD has published 3 volumes dedicated to the key issues regarding the international legal framework on FDI. Whereas the business community as well as the governments are suffering from a fragmented international legal framework on FDI, the UNCTAD publications are of tremendous importance to help the private sector as well as the public sector to understand the current framework and to contemplate a more coherent international framework on FDI. Indeed, the international legal framework for FDI has undergone significant changes in the past two decades. UNCTAD describes the series of national and international developments which radically reversed the attitude of host States concerning FDI. The policy prevailing is now to actively attract FDI by liberalising its entry, by offering strict guarantees for investor protection in order to promote economic development, and by offering incentives for foreign investors. The methods and instruments currently in use are described and the reader will find an accurate picture of the complexity of the present legal situation. Key scholars have contributed to these three publications.

      In volume I, UNCTAD stresses the importance of flexibility for development in international investment agreements (IIAs). Developing countries must be able to strike a balance between promoting FDI and pursuing their development objectives. The important issue of scope and definition of IIAs - in particular the definition of “investor” and “investment” - is ably outlined. Following, the different approaches concerning admission and establishment are discussed. UNCTAD then depicts the treatment standards known from the WTO context in their application to FDI. National treatment, most-favoured-nation treatment, as well as fair and equitable treatment are each explained and analyzed in a chapter. Subsequently the issue of investor protection is explained. The different categories of takings of properties, the requirements for the legality of takings, and the subject of compensation are subject to important controversies. Another important aspect of investor protection, the transfer of funds, is also examined. Investor protection must guarantee that the foreign investor will be able to enjoy the financial benefits of a successful investment and reference is made to the OECD Code of Liberalisation of Capital Movements. However, the “balance-of-payments derogation” included in IIAs reflect the recognition that transfer of capital might, under certain circumstances, lead to a financial crisis. The issue of transparency - often overlooked but of vast significance - is treated in detail. First, the potential addressees of a transparency obligation are identified, secondly the content of the transparency obligation is delimited and finally, the implementation of transparency policies is reviewed. Finally, provisions concerning dispute settlement are considered. State-State disputes can arise out of either the exercise of diplomatic protection or as a result of a dispute over the interpretation of the IIA. The procedures governing the dispute settlement mechanisms and the applicable standards for the settlement of disputes are crucial elements of an IIA. The second category is Investor-State disputes. It is discussed in detail why this issue is of significance for the foreign investor and why treatment standards and guarantees are of limited importance unless they are enforced by an efficient dispute settlement system.

      In volume II, the possibility and the limitation of extending IIA protection to cover State contracts is explained. Subsequently, UNCTAD discusses host country operational measures, i. e. measures implemented by host countries concerning foreign affiliates in their jurisdiction, such as performance requirements. Although it is rarely considered a separate issue in IIAs, the implications of the agreement on host country operational measures are discussed at length due to their great practical importance. UNCTAD also further develops the topic of the increased use of incentives as a policy instrument to attract foreign direct investment, introduced in volume one. The possible content of incentives and the key policy issues at stake are explained. The volume also offers a remarkable overview of the topics environment, social responsibility and illicit payments which have been the focus of public attention on the activities of MNEs. Finally, the issues of transfer pricing and taxation are addressed.

      In volume III, UNCTAD highlights the fact that home countries also influence FDI flows, e. g. by imposing restrictions on capital outflows. The following chapter discusses the issue of technology transfer in the context of IIAs and how developing countries can use IIAs to ensure maximum benefits from the generation, transfer, and diffusion of the best available technology. Competition is a central element of liberalisation. UNCTAD examines what issues related to competition arise in the context of FDI and how competition issues have been addressed in IIAs. Finally, UNCTAD provides a final overview in respect of the role of FDI in development.

      UNCTAD offers a general overview of the topic of investment agreements, including peripheral but nevertheless essential aspects of FDI such as investment-related trade measures and the lessons from the failure of the MAI negotiations. Thereby, UNCTAD provides not only an insight into the technical legal aspects of IIAs but it also provides the broader economic underpinnings for further international discussions and negotiations, the particular focus always being on the role of FDI in development.
      

   4. Call for Papers - Special Issue of Journal of International Business Studies 

      Call for Papers
      Special Issue of Journal of International Business Studies
      Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work:
      Implications for Globalization, Corporate Strategies, and Organizational Designs

      Due Date: August 1, 2006

      Co-Editors:
      Thomas P. Murtha, University of Minnesota and
      University of Illinois at Chicago
      Martin Kenney, University of California, Davis
      Silvia Massini, University of Manchester

      
      Introduction

      The idea of a JIBS Special Issue on Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work originated from discussions and explorations at the 3rd Annual JIBS Conference on Emerging Research Frontiers in International Business at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, on September 28-30, 2005.

      Offshoring refers to the process by which companies undertake some activities at offshore locations instead of in their countries of origin. Western economies have practiced offshoring for at least 50 years. Until relatively recently, however, offshoring has affected mainly manufacturing work and blue-collar jobs. Since the late 90s, a new type of offshoring has emerged. The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has created the potential to locate digitized business processes almost anywhere in the world. Existing data appear to depict a modest, but fast-growing trend that can fundamentally change the ways companies in high-cost economies organize to compete globally. Clearly, efficiency-seeking represents an important initial motivation for many firms to search for new locations in which to conduct relatively low-value-added activities. But the quality of work and the level of services that they discover abroad has lead many firms to realize that offshoring offers many new opportunities to source new organizational capabilities, rethink business models, and leverage innovation processes. The emergence of disintermediated global value chains for service delivery poses critical issues for international business regarding the spatial and organizational configurations of professional and administrative operations which must take into account not only cost savings, but also risk management, and managerial competence.

      Research Questions

      The following statements and questions encompass, but do not exhaust the many issues regarding offshoring that IB scholars may find of interest:

      • Offshoring of administrative and technical work is a relatively new business practice, but growing rapidly. What are the implications for global competitiveness?
      • How can offshoring of administrative and technical work, and, indeed, knowledge work in general, be understood in the context of FDI theory, and theories of international management? What new developments are needed in our theories to take account of these phenomena?
      • How does offshoring affect the various actors in domestic and global economies (offshoring companies, service providers, employees, governments, institutions, high cost and low cost countries, etc.)?
      • Offshoring often involves highly complex processes and is not trivial to plan and execute. How do companies learn how to manage cultural, technical and operational challenges associated with delegating business processes to entities on the other side of the world?
      • What potentials exist for globalization of human capital to change firms’ organizational capabilities to source, locate and manage people anywhere in the world and how can these capabilities lead to new sources of competitive advantage?
      • Do non-English-speaking companies and countries suffer a competitive disadvantage compared with English-speaking counterparts?
      • How do offshoring and third party service providers affect the capabilities of small and medium-sized enteprises to enter and compete in global markets?
      • How does offshoring affect the capabilities and opportunities for state-owned enterprises and centrally planned economies to span organizational boundaries and country borders with private firms and traditional capitalist economies?
      • Do offshoring and third party service providers create opportunities for firms to globalize without owning operations outside of their home countries?
      • Under what conditions does prosumption (joint design of product and service specifications by cutomers and providers) emerge in offshoring contexts? How and when does offshoring enable learning by doing, knowledge creation, and new product development? Does offshoring increase opportunities and requirements for MNCs to provide individualized customer specifications and services?
      • How does the evolution of global markets for offshored organizational processes challenge firms to develop capabilities to select third party providers for business or IT processes anywhere in the world as well as to manage diverse networks of providers and captive units?
      • What governance issues and new organizational models pertain to decisions to outsource or provide services internally, and simultaneously, whether to do so onshore or offshore?
      • How do firms evaluate the importance of criteria such as language, culture, politics, IP protection, data safeguards, and local business practices for activities being relocated offshore?
      • How does offshoring create new local and global entrepreneurial opportunities?

      In order to advance the state of research on these topics, and more generally on the IB- related strategic and organizational implications of offshoring administrative and technical work, we invite both theoretical and empirical papers as well as theory-guided case studies for a Special Issue of JIBS.

      JIBS Conference and Review Process

      Papers must be submitted by August 1, 2006 through the JIBS electronic submission process at http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/guidelines.php. Please clearly identify your submission to go to ‘Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work: Implications for Globalization, Corporate Strategies, and Organizational Designs’ Special Issue. All papers will be reviewed according to the JIBS double-blind process and must follow the JIBS Guidelines for Contributors, Style Guide, and Manuscript Format, viewable at:
      • http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/guidelines.php
      • http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/style.php
      • http://www.outdare.com/jibs/submission/format.php

      Time Line

      August 1, 2006 Paper submitted over the JIBS electronic submission process.
      December 1, 2006 Authors notified of outcomes of first review process (reject or revise and resubmit)
      February, 2007 Revised and Resubmitted papers invited to a paper development workshop at Duke University – The Fuqua School of Business

      Editors will select papers from among those presented at the workshop for final revisions to appear in the JIBS Special Issue. Remaining papers will be either rejected, invited for publication in a regular issue of JIBS, or invited for publication in an edited volume, which will also reprint the special issue.

      More Information

      For additional information on the ‘Offshoring Administrative and Technical Work: Implications for Globalization, Corporate Strategies, and Organizational Designs’ Special Issue of JIBS, please contact:

      Tom Murtha, tmurtha@uic.edu
      Martin Kenney, mfkenney@ucdavis.edu
      Silvia Massini, Silvia.Massini@mbs.ac.uk
      Arie Y. Lewin, AYL3@duke.edu
      Danielle Trojan, dtrojan@mail.duke.edu
      

9. Awards

   1. Golden Pen Award to Ulrike Mayrhofer 

      Ulrike MAYRHOFER, responsible of the executive program Marketing Management at IECS Strasbourg, Robert Schuman University and Sylvie HERTRICH, responsible of the executive program Event Management at IECS Strasbourg - Graduate School of Management, Robert Schuman University, have received, for the third year, the Golden Pen of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Centrale de Cas et de Médias Pédagogiques, CCMP) in Paris.

      This prestigious award is given to authors whose case studies are used by an important number of Business Schools and Universities. The two authors have received two distinctions: (1)“the Top Case-Study Prize in Marketing ” (prize of the best marketing case-study) and (2) “the Top Authors Prize” (prize of the best authors). Several case-studies, written in close cooperation with the marketing direction of the concerned companies, meet a very important success: “Adidas: le marché des chaussures de sport” (also available in English: “Adidas: The Athletic Shoes Market” ), “Astérix: ils sont marketing ces Gaulois!” , “Audi: le lancement de l’A3 Sportback” (also available in English: “Audi: The Launch of the A3 Sportback” ), and “Hilton: le marché de l’hôtellerie” (see http://www.ccip.fr/ccmp).
      

      After the success in France, Ulrike Mayrhofer and Sylvie Hertrich are invited to Business Schools and Universities in other countries to present their expertise in the creation and use of the case-study approach. Two seminars have been organised by the University of Pavia in Italy and by the University of Nürnberg in Germany. Other seminars will be held at the University of Manchester as well as at the University L. Senghor in Alexandria in Egypt and at the University Gaston Berger in Saint Louis in Senegal (in collaboration with the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie).
      

10. Personalia

    1. Personalia - 'Jazz' Solberg 

       Personalia: ‘Jazz’ Solberg

       Very few EIBA-members are aware of the fact that some years ago Carl Solberg indulged in recording a CD together with some friends, in the now ‘still-not-so-famous’ jazz band ‘Bb-gjengen’. The name refers to some of the limitations of the band, as the musicians basically play in the key Bb, simply because they find it easier to play in that key. Yet, sometimes they excel into other keys as well, such as F and G. While they consider themselves a real amateurs, they have now recorded a second CD, which is slightly different from the first one. The EIBA specialists with a more fine-tuned ear, will most likely observe some aberrations to the so-called ‘norm’ when they listen to the new CD. They play jazz and the improvisations they dive into may sometimes go beyond what they themselves define as musically defendable…

       In fact Bb musicians have a long experience. Some of the musicians started to play together at primary school. For Fredrik and Jens Johan this was fifty two years ago, for Svenning and Carl it was forty seven years ago. The band itself was started thirty years ago about the time that EIBA got launched...). Although they have this long experience they consider themselves as real amateurs.

       Some of he tunes are good old basic jazz songs which may be well familiar. The title song ‘I’m confessing that I love you’ is reflected in the cover as they (just like prisoners) very ‘mournfully’ confess their sins. Also the last song, ‘Please don’t talk to me when I’m gone’ needs some explanation because it states exactly the opposite from what they want to do.

       Other songs are what might be called ‘jazzified’ folklore music from Norway and Sweden, well known at the northern latitude. They convey a sentiment of melancholy and longing and contrast some of the more lively traditional jazz. It is a good blend that should put the listeners in the right mood.

       I hope that the EIBA members will have the opportunity to listen to this new contribution to the history of jazz (and maybe also of EIBA !!) and that we will be able to savour the Bb-gjengen either in a sleazy Norwegian bar or at some time during the Oslo conference.

       Danny Van Den Bulcke, with thanks to Carl.