Call for Papers: Special Issue of Business & Society. Insights from Institutional Theory

Call for Papers: Special Issue of Business & Society

Social Innovation: Insights from Institutional Theory

Guest editors:

• Silvia Dorado, University of Rhode Island
• Ignasi Marti, EMLYON Business School, OCE Research Center
• Jakomijn van Wijk, Maastricht School of Management 
• Charlene Zietsma, Schulich School of Business, York University

Submission deadline: September 1, 2015

Social innovation refers to the process of developing and implementing novel solutions to social problems, often involving re-negotiations of settled institutions among diverse actors with conflicting logics. As such, social innovation entails institutional change. Social innovations are urgently needed as we confront “wicked problems” (Rittel and Weber, 1973), such as climate change, poverty alleviation, income inequality and persistent societal conflicts. Such problems feature substantial interdependencies among multiple systems and actors, and have redistributive implications for entrenched interests (Rayner, 2006). 

Institutional research has played a significant role in the study of efforts to alleviate social problems (Battilana & Dorado, 2010; Dorado, 2013; Hallett, 2010; Lawrence, Hardy & Phillips, 2002; Maguire, Hardy & Lawrence, 2004; Zietsma & Lawrence, 2010), and is well positioned to contribute to an improved understanding of social innovation. Institutional theory starts at a macro-level, assessing the positions and interdependent actions of the multiple constituents of issue-focused fields (Wooten & Hoffman, 2008; Zietsma & Lawrence, 2010), and considering seriously the idea that rules, norms and beliefs are socially constituted, negotiated orders (Marti, Courpasson & Barbosa, 2013; Strauss, 1978), which can be renegotiated in socially innovative ways (e.g. Van Wijk, Stam, Elfring, Zietsma & den Hond, 2013). The study of institutional work emphasizes the creation, disruption and maintenance of the institutionalized social structures that govern behavior (Lawrence & Suddaby, 2006), and thus speaks to how entrenched practices and ideas get held in place, and how they may be replaced with more socially beneficial arrangements. Furthermore, the burgeoning institutional complexity perspective, with its focus on how actors respond to multiple, sometimes competing logics (Greenwood, Raynard, Kodeih, Micelotta & Lounsbury, 2011), applies well to the context of wicked societal problems. 

Taking an institutional perspective on social innovation suggests several topics and a range of interesting questions in line with our theme, listed in the full call for papers, available at:
http://www.iabs.net/Research/BusinessSociety/SpecialIssueCallSocialInnovation.aspx.
A paper development workshop is planned at EMLyon in France from March 27-29, 2016. 

Further information:

Dr. Charlene Zietsma
Associate Professor and Ann Brown Chair in Organization Studies
Director, Entrepreneurial Studies
Schulich School of Business, SSB N317
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON, CANADA
M3J 1P3
(416) 736-2100, Ext. 77919.

Call for papers: Special Issue on: Internationalisation of Family Business Groups

Call for papers: Special Issue on: "Internationalisation of Family Business Groups"

European Journal of International Management

European J. of International Management

Guest Editors: 

Frank Hoy, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA fhoy@wpi.edu
Jacobo Ramirez and Michael Wendelboe Hansen, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
jra.ikl@cbs.dk
mwh.ikl@cbs.dk
Paloma Miravitlles, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain paloma.miravitlles@ub.edu

Important Dates

• Submission of manuscripts: 11 May, 2015
• Notification to authors: 22 June, 2015
• Final versions due: 16 November, 2015

Special Issue on: "Internationalisation of Family Business Groups"

Internationalisation strategies of family business groups vary across developed and emerging free-market economies (e.g. Etemad 2013; Astrachan 2010). While a growing literature addresses issues related to the internationalisation of family business groups (e.g. Zahra, 2003; Donckels & Fröhlich 1991), there has been less of a research focus on (1) how institutional pressures moderate their internationalisation process, (2) the motivations behind their internationalisation (e.g. Ward 1997), and (3) the specific internationalisation strategies adopted. This special issue is open to theoretical and empirical papers that analyse the link between family business groups and their internationalisation processes.
Different institutional contexts might dictate family business groups’ responses to institutional pressures. Formal (official regulations and laws) and informal (traditions and customs) institutions might challenge the internationalisation of family business groups (e.g. Dickson et al. 2006). It might be argued that in turbulent institutional settings, both challenges and opportunities encourage the internationalisation of family business groups. External challenges may be in developing alliances with partners with local knowledge (e.g. Lu & Beamish, 2001). However, family business groups could also face internal challenges, as their members could have different global visions, mindsets and entrepreneurial personalities (e.g. Hutchinson et al. 2007).

Subject Coverage

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• · Responses by family business groups to political and societal institutional arrangements to gain access to international developed and emerging markets
• · Effects of family management on the intention for internationalisation
• · Effects of family culture and ethnicity on internationalisation
• · Intentional vs. opportunistic impacts on family business practices in international expansion
• · Extension of family network relations into international operations
• · Where and how family groups internationalise
• · Types of strategic alliances that family groups use in their internationalisation strategies
• · Family firm life cycles and internationalisation
• · Sources of financing for implementing family business group internationalisation strategies
• · Roles of governments in family business internationalisation
• · Human resource issues for family businesses in international commerce
• · Supply chain issues faced by family firms in internationalisation
• · Perceptions that international business partners hold of family ownership

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).


All papers are refereed through a peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online before 11 May 2015. To submit a paper, please read our Submitting articles page or at http://www.inderscience.com/info/ingeneral/cfp.php?id=2878

Call for conference papers: ‘Restoring Trust in Business through Corporate Governance’

Call for Proposals – Inaugural ICGS Conference
‘Restoring Trust in Business through Corporate Governance’
September 18-19, 2015 at the Copenhagen Business School

In our information-based economy, the reputation of a business is essential to its success and survival. The trust of investors, consumers, employees, and the general public as well as regulators can have a direct and profound effect on a company’s bottom line and even its viability. Recently, the importance of reputation has become apparent, as companies such as JP Morgan, BP, and Toyota have had to manage their responses to crises in order to maintain or resurrect the reputation of their companies to their stakeholders. Notably, the Pew Research Center recently reported that 78% of Americans believe “too much power is concentrated in the hands of too few corporations.” This perception is not unique to the United States, as discussed by Colin Mayer in his new book entitled, Firm Commitment. Notably, Professor Mayer will be one of our featured keynote speakers. 

The corporate governance system has a major influence on the public’s view of the trustworthiness of business. Each corporate governance system is composed of corporate governance mechanisms that are both external and internal to the firm’s boundaries. Because most external corporate governance mechanisms are regional or national in scope, multinational firms increasingly must deal with transnational corporate governance pressures, which are often not well integrated and conflicting. 

The International Corporate Governance Society (www.icgsociety.org) will focus its inaugural conference on how corporate governance systems work to enhance trust in business, and deepen our understanding of how failures in corporate governance systems degrade trust in business. Due to our inter-disciplinary nature, we think of corporate governance in broad terms – those systems and mechanisms designed to channel corporate power for the well-being of society. As such, corporate social responsibility initiatives and the cultivation of ethical practices fit within our conceptualization of corporate governance as they can be labeled “self-governance” mechanisms. 

We invite you to consider submitting a research proposal that advances our understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of corporate governance systems and practices. The proposal must draw from previously unpublished original research. Well-crafted work in progress is welcome. Specifically, we invite authors to submit a 10,000 (maximum) word research proposal that includes the following sections: (1) Title page: Title of the proposed presentation, author name(s), author affiliation(s,) e-mail address(es), designated conference track (see below), and a 200 to 300 word abstract which describes the essence of your proposal; (2) Extended abstract: Narrative description of the essence of your conceptual or empirical study; and (3) Supporting material: Tables, figures, and references which support the extended abstract. Overall, the proposal should not exceed 10 single-spaced pages in length. Proposals must be submitted by 12 midnight (EST) on March 30, 2015 to conf@icgsociety.org in order to be considered for presentation. 

Each research proposal will be double blind refereed. A decision on your conference submission about its inclusion in the conference program will be provided by May 15, 2015 at the latest. The very best proposals will be invited to submit a full research paper of approximately 30-40 double-spaced pages by July 30, 2015 in order to be considered for the best conference paper award. The author(s) who win this award will be recognized during the conference and receive a $1,500 check provided by the Harold S. Geneen Institute of Corporate Governance. 

CONFERENCE TRACKS. 

 Within each proposal on the title page, the authors should indicate which of the eight tracks in the program their proposal best fits. The conference tracks are listed below. 

• TRACK A: Theme: ‘Restoring Trust in Business through Corporate Governance’. This track explores how trust is antecedent to, related with, and/or generated by corporate governance systems and practices. We will consider all levels of trust or distrust – individual, group, corporate, industry, and national – and we seek to understand how corporate governance is influenced by or influences trust.

• TRACK B: Boards of Directors. Every corporation in the world is led by a board of directors. However, in some nations, corporate boards are vested with great power and responsibility; while in other nations, the board is an impotent pawn. Furthermore, the power and influence of corporate boards often varies within national economies and industries. In this track, we seek to understand the antecedents, processes and effects of boardroom effectiveness. 
• TRACK C: Ownership. Every corporation in the world is also owned by a single or array of investors. These owners have a vested interest in seeing that the corporation is governed well. In this track, we will explore the antecedents and outcomes associated with different ownership profiles throughout the global economy. 
• TRACK D: National Governance Environments. This track focuses on corporate governance mechanisms and outcomes within a single national governance environment. Typically, this governance environment is within a national economy. Multiple governance mechanisms operating within a single governance environment are especially welcome.
• TRACK E: Transnational Governance Environments. In our increasingly global economy, pressure and accountability is exerted from transnational non-governmental institutions. In this track, the antecedents and effects of comparative governance systems is explored. Corporate governance research surrounding the multinational firm fits well in this track.
• TRACK F: Multi-Level Governance Systems. Recent research has shown that corporate governance mechanisms and systems often complement or substitute for each other. Furthermore, all corporate governance practices are embedded within a larger governance system. This track explores research related to corporate governance bundles and the embedded nature of corporate governance. 
• TRACK G: Self-Governance. Rules, regulations, and continuous monitoring by outsiders are the norm for most governance solutions, but they are inflexible and often quite costly. When corporations choose socially-responsible behavior and/or executives possess an internal moral compass that translates into ethically-sound decisions and actions, society often benefits as does the corporation. Thus, this track seeks to understand the potential and limits of self-governance. 
• TRACK H: Teaching Corporate Governance. This track seeks to enhance the teaching of corporate governance within our educational programs. Specifically, we welcome such innovations as new case studies, teaching tips, simulations, experiential exercises that have been used to convey important corporate governance concepts and relationships. In addition, any research related to online education and innovative teaching delivery mechanisms are welcome.

Call for conference papers: European International Business Academy (EIBA)

European International Business Academy (EIBA)

40th Annual Conference
Conference website: www.eiba2014.org
Uppsala University, Sweden

December 11-13, 2014

The Future of Global Organizing

Call for Papers

Introduction & Background

Over the past four decades, since the establishment of the European International Business Academy (EIBA), we have seen large changes with regard to the organization and structure of international firms. Partly as a consequence of the on-going globalization process, we see today a great variety of organizational and geographic structures in multinational corporations (MNCs). These structures, in turn, reflect the tensions between different organizational principles, such as, the MNC as a hierarchy or a network, internalizing or externalizing core business activities, and the relative importance of headquarters and subsidiaries in the value creation processes. Such tensions are crucial issues for further research on the future of global organizing – the underlying theme of this year’s EIBA Annual Conference.
We have also seen an increased interest in the interplay between the environment and the MNC. While earlier studies tended to concentrate on the impact of national and cross-national institutions on the organization of business, recent studies have also focused on the political role of MNCs and their possibility to shape the rules and regulations in different countries. The interplay between the institutional environment and the MNC leads to new challenges as well as a variety of opportunities for multinational corporations to ultimately affect the way in which business across national borders is organized. Taking a more critical stance towards MNCs has raised questions of organizational politics and power, not only reacting to unethical behaviours and financial crises, but more fundamentally challenging our overall understanding of the MNC; post-colonial organizational and intersectionality theories have also provided new understandings.
When we observe contemporary phenomena around us we find a number of interesting organizational forms, which potentially may characterize global organizing in the future. One example is cross-sector partnerships where firms join together with non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and local communities to pursue unattainable goals and resources. Further, individuals outside the MNC are increasingly involved in the firm in novel ways such as in the use of ‘open innovation’, or ‘equity crowd funding’. We can raise questions as to whether these large groups of investors in the future may be interested in more than profit in return for their investments, and if so, what does that imply for firm management and organization? We have also seen how small local players who organize themselves into networks have become competitors seriously challenging large global firms, as for example, when small energy producers in Germany challenged large multinationals on the market. Will such independent local network organizations spread across the world and become a new form of global organizing in the future?

The above raises questions like:

• What new forms of global organizing can we expect in the future, and will the MNC as we know it become extinct?
• How can we understand the value creation processes in the MNC and the contributions of different units in these processes?
• How is the tension between corporate and local rationality handled in the contemporary MNC?
• Are market power and political power of the contemporary MNCs relevant issues for research among IB scholars?
• How can MNCs meet the often conflicting demands of corporate social responsibility, sustainable operations, and responsible (ethical) leadership, and remain viable in the long run?
• What do contemporary digital and technological developments, e.g., social media, virtual worlds, and cloud services, imply for the international organization of work, communication, and management practices?
• How can MNCs’ human resource management practices become inclusive yet motivating, flexible yet representative, and how do they link to employer branding efforts on a global scale?
• How do linguistic and cultural diversity enrich global organizations and their activities?

We encourage and would welcome the IB community at large to submit their thought-provoking and adventurous papers on these and related questions to the EIBA 2014 theme track on the future of global organizing.

Conference Tracks

We invite competitive papers and working papers on any of the following EIBA 2014 conference tracks.

For more information and key words for each track, please visit the conference website:http://www.eiba2014.org/.

Competitive papers, presented in competitive sessions, should be close to a publishable state, whilst working papers, presented in interactive sessions, may be in an earlier stage of development.
Proposals for panel sessions can also be submitted to the most appropriate track.


1. Theme track: The Future of Global Organizing

Track chair: Ivo Zander, Uppsala University

2. Developments In IB Theory and Methods, Trends and Critical Approaches

Track chair: Ana Teresa Tavares-Lehmann, University of Porto

3. Internationalisation Process, SMEs and Entrepreneurship

Track chair: Olli Kuivalainen, Lappeenranta University of Technology

4. Corporate Governance, Finance, and Accounting

Track chair: Niels Hermes, Groningen University

5. International HRM, Global Leadership, Language and Cross-Cultural Management

Track chair: Dana Minbaeva, Copenhagen Business School

6. MNC Strategy and Organisation

Track chair: Tina Ambos, University of Sussex

7. International Marketing and Value Chain Management

Track chairs: Tomas Hult, Michigan State University, and Vicky Bamiatzi, University of Leeds

8. Knowledge Management and Innovation

Track chair: Kristiina Mäkelä, Aalto University

9. MNCs, Governments and Sustainable Development

Track chair: Mo Yamin, Manchester Business School

10. Teaching International Business

Track chair: Elizabeth Rose, University of Otago

Submission of Papers

All papers will be double-blind refereed. Copies of all the accepted papers for competitive and interactive sessions will be published in the EIBA 2014 Conference Proceedings. Detailed guidelines for the submission of conference papers will be available on the conference website: http://www.eiba2014.org/.
The submission deadline for all competitive and working papers, as well as for panel proposals, is Tuesday, July 15, 2014.
All papers should be submitted via the conference website to the Chair of one (and only one) of the conference tracks. The submission system will be live from May 15, 2014.

Pre-Conference Activities

Doctoral Tutorial & Doctoral Symposium

The 2014 EIBA Annual Conference is proud to host the 28th John H. Dunning Doctoral Tutorial in International Business. This one-day event gives selected doctoral students the opportunity to discuss their research with distinguished international faculty, and enables the students to become better acquainted with an international network of researchers in international business.

EIBA 2014 is also pleased to host the 3rd EIBA Doctoral Symposium, recently initiated to increase the number of student participants to EIBA doctoral events and conferences as well as offer and provide more feedback opportunities for young scholars in the field of IB.

More information about both doctoral events will be available on the EIBA 2014 conference website; the submission deadline for thesis proposals is September 1, 2014. Note that students participating in the Doctoral Tutorial or the Doctoral Symposium are expected to register for the EIBA conference.

IBR & JIBS Paper Development Workshops

Among the featured EIBA 2014 pre-conference activities will be Paper Development Workshops for theInternational Business Review (IBR) and the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS). Authors who have not yet been published in the respective journal can submit their papers for the workshop of their choice; deadline September 1, 2014. Note that papers submitted to these workshops cannot also be presented at the conference.

For more information about the above pre-conference events, please visit the EIBA 2014 website.

Conference Venue

The EIBA 2014 conference will be held in Uppsala University’s main building and in the Centre for Economic Studies. The beautiful university main building and the Auditorium (Aula), built in the 1880s, will be the venue of the opening session and welcome reception on Thursday evening, December 11, 2014. On December 12and 13, delegates will be in the Centre for Economic Studies that will house the remaining plenary sessions – including a lecture by the 2014 Nobel prize winner in economics on December 13 – as well as the parallel competitive and workshop sessions. Both venues are within walking distance (5-10 minutes) of each other and are located close to the city centre, which is also the older part of Uppsala. To complete the conference, the gala dinner on Saturday evening will take place in Uppsala Castle, located on a hill overlooking the city centre.

The international airport of Stockholm (Arlanda) is located between Stockholm and Uppsala.
Several means of transportation will take participants directly to Uppsala within 30-50 minutes.
Hotel accommodation has been reserved in advance, ranging from low-budget to high-quality standards.

Conference Fees and Registration

The EIBA 2014 conference fee includes: conference participation, breaks and lunches, the opening reception, the gala dinner, the conference handbook and CD-ROM (including the proceedings), EIBA membership for 2015, and a one-year journal subscription to the International Business Review. There are reduced conference fees for PhD students and persons accompanying registered delegates who wish to attend the gala dinner.

Contact Information

Detailed information about EIBA 2014 Uppsala can be found on the conference website.

All related inquiries should be sent via e-mail to info@eiba2014.org.

EIBA President & 2014 Conference Chair: Rian Drogendijk (Uppsala University)

Call for conference papers: AIB-Lat 2015. Internationalization of Family and Entrepreneurial Businesses in Latin America

Internationalization of Family and Entrepreneurial Businesses in Latin America 

Santiago, Chile, January 22-24, 2015


Latin American countries, with few exceptions, have experienced the increasing landing of foreign MNCs in the last two decades, as a consequence of global strategies developed by firms, and a more liberalized and stable environment during these past twenty years. However, this economic and political landscape has also inspired and motivated the internationalization process of a growing number of MNCs from the region –the so-called multilatinas- with operations in several countries across the continent.

Who are behind these multilatinas? How have these companies emerged and developed? Although some research has been done in recent years on the topic of multilatinas, most of them are family or entrepreneurial businesses. In fact, experts estimate that more than 90% of Latin American firms are family-owned companies or entrepreneurial ventures, and most family firms initiated as a start-up of the family founder. Thus, the majority of companies listed in the stock markets in Latin America are family-controlled, and most regional conglomerates, known as grupos, are family-based.
To deal with these interesting issues, the Latin American Chapter of the Academy of International Business is pleased to announce that the conference "Internationalization of Family and Entrepreneurial Businesses in Latin America" will be held in Santiago at ESE Business School, Universidad de los Andes, on January 22-24, 2015. This AIB-LAT conference aims to promote the best and latest research findings and theoretical developments in the fields of Internationalization, Family Business and Entrepreneurship in Latin America, and especially the overlaps and intersections of these three fields.

We cordially invite you to share your experience in this field of research, by submitting empirical and conceptual papers explicitly or implicitly related to the theme of the conference.

Below is an illustrative list of topics that will be considered:

• Internationalization in LA and entry modes 
• Subsidiary management and performance 
• Knowledge management in the region 
• International entrepreneurship 
• International marketing 
• Cross-cultural management 
• Inward and outward FDI 
• Offshoring and outsourcing in the region 
• Corporate governance, international finance and international standards 
• Regional policies, IGOs, NGOs 
• Research methods in international business 
• Internationalization of family firms 
• Entrepreneurship and internationalization 

This will be the fifth conference of the AIB Latin America chapter, following meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2010), Miami, USA (2012), Puebla, Mexico (2013), and Medellin, Colombia (2014). Each conference has built upon successes of the prior one, and we are aiming for the best yet in 2015. Details regarding a doctoral consortium, paper development workshop, keynote speakers, publishing opportunities, potential side-trips in and around Santiago and other conference details will be announced shortly.

Submission guidelines:

There will be a link to the AIB submission system from www.aib-lat.org at least one month before the submission deadline, so that you can submit your work. Please make sure that your submission meets the JIBS Style Guide format. All submissions will be subject to a double blind peer review process. Please direct questions to: lat2015@aib.msu.edu

Key dates

• Full paper submission: August 31, 2014
• Full paper acceptance: October 15, 2014

Organizers:

Jon Martínez, Conference Chair
William Newburry, Chapter Chair